Pete Carroll Addresses 'Dialogue Of Discord' In Facebook Post

SEATTLE, WA — Without referring to them by name, Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll in a Thursday Facebook post appears to address the recent racist tweets made by Roseanne Barr - and the tone set by President Donald Trump.

In his post, Carroll remarks that the nation is undergoing a "cultural transformation," one where hatred is tolerated by "our leaders." But it's also a time of people developing a "new empathy" for minority groups.

This week, Barr's show was canceled after she compared former Barack Obama aide Valerie Jarrett, who is black, to an ape. Trump has addressed Barr's remarks, but only to ask ABC - the network Barr's show was on - to fire people people at the network who have insulted him.

Here's the full text of Carroll's post:

We are living in the midst of a cultural transformation.

As we find ourselves speeding across a landscape driven by digital evolution, we are drawn to distraction by our screens. So it is no wonder that in our desperation to keep pace, we just might be unaware of where we find ourselves in terms of social and interracial development. If we take the time to stop and listen, there is a cacophony of discontent clamoring for a sympathetic ear.

In many ways, our leaders have fostered a dialogue of discord and division, resulting in an elevation of this discontent. We have witnessed perspectives that have communicated a contempt, perhaps even a hatred, that has always existed but had remained somewhat dormant to our distracted senses.

It is not too dramatic to say that there is a revolution of social awareness on our current horizon. And it seems we could miss it by burying our heads in the sands of complacency and delusion.

These challenging times are not only testing our daily resolve; they are also calling us to search our souls for deeper meaning. We have been thrust into a moment in time where we can no longer ignore the real history of our nation — a history that not only ignored social injustice but fostered raging inequality. And a history so sordid that many have repressed and defended against the truth in an effort to ignore the despicable realities.
Our leadership has opened the scars of our past by encouraging a reemergence of biased sentiments. Most of us in the majority have been raised with such a bias, often disguised, and eventually we became oblivious to the truth of our history. Our teachings have masked the facts, thus creating insensitivity and a lack of awareness about the realities of those in the minority.

Ironically, this same leadership has now provoked an opportunity to surge toward a calling for openness and a newfound sensitivity, one grounded in a new caring, a new awareness, a new calling, a New Empathy!
This New Empathy could serve as the baseline of thinking that would produce a willingness to see and listen with a fresh sensitivity and awareness — one that would facilitate the engagement necessary for real learning and understanding to take place. And this new understanding would open the passageways to true cultural transformation.

It won’t be easy, and of course, resistance is to be expected. There will be many unable to agree that we are even in need of a New Empathy. But can’t we all agree that people caring for people in need is a simple place to start?

Please consider living out a renewed commitment to empathy. Make a conscious effort to listen, to understand, to care — to build bridges instead of building walls. Be a part of the change by moving toward a new caring for others.

Help create a culture of New Empathy — one day at a time, one person at a time.

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