Something weird happened the other day, and it got me thinking about something much bigger.
Mark Carney posted something about doubling Canada's electricity capacity. I got upset and, without much thought, commented:
“GO AWAY.” 😂
Then someone replied:
“Hi, it’s Elon. Send me a DM.”
😳
I deleted the comment.
I found what appeared to be an actual Facebook page with 7.7 million followers and only 6 following. Was it really Elon?
Who knows. 🤣
My first thought was, maybe Elon is skulking around Facebook. And then my imagination went straight into my own book, Exodus of BillionaireZ.
I've spent a lot of time thinking about billionaires and power, but also about the human beings underneath all that money and influence. I've wondered whether grief, family history, fear, identity, addiction, loneliness, or a midlife crisis could help explain some people's behaviour.
But then we had a much more uncomfortable conversation.
We can make excuses for almost anyone.
Someone hurt us → we explain why.
A partner behaves badly → we explain their childhood.
A family member hurts us → we understand their trauma.
A friend treats us badly → we find a reason.
A politician makes a harmful decision → we hear the explanation.
And I've realized I've done this for much of my life.
I sometimes confused understanding someone with having to tolerate their behaviour.
My child saw some of that. I don't know what they carried forward from watching me, and I hope they have found their own way to break whatever patterns weren't healthy.
But I'm trying to learn something different now:
I can understand why you became who you are without accepting what you do.
I can have compassion and still have boundaries.
I can forgive and still walk away.
I can understand your pain and still hold you responsible for the pain you cause.
And maybe this is something we should expect from our politicians too.
Not:
“Why did you do it?”
followed by an explanation and everyone moves on.
But:
“You have explained why. Now what responsibility are you willing to take for the consequences?”
Because explanations matter.
But explanation is not absolution.
And maybe that's one of the lessons I'm still learning at 64.
As for the mysterious Elon…
If it really was him, sorry Elon. 😂
I deleted your comment.
And if it wasn't you…
Well, nice try. 🤣
Maybe Bowie had the better idea anyway:
There may not be any life on Mars.
And perhaps nobody should be trying to escape Earth until we've figured out how to take better care of the people already living here. 🌎❤️
10 Reflective questions
1. When does understanding someone's pain become an excuse for their harmful behaviour?
2. Can we have compassion for someone while still holding them accountable?
3. Have you ever stayed in a harmful relationship because you could explain why the other person behaved that way?
4. Do we sometimes confuse forgiveness with allowing someone continued access to us?
5. When a politician explains why something went wrong, do we also ask who is responsible for the consequences?
6. Are we teaching the next generation that empathy means tolerating mistreatment—or that empathy can coexist with boundaries?
7. When a celebrity or politician appears online, how do we know the account is actually theirs?
8. Could a provocative comment, fake account, emotional outrage, or invitation to move into private messages be part of a manipulation strategy?
9. With elections approaching, how carefully will we question what we see, share and believe—including foreign interference and coordinated disinformation?
10. What would change in our politics if we demanded both compassion AND accountability from the people who hold power?
#Accountability #CompassionAndBoundaries #ThinkBeforeYouShare #DigitalLiteracy #FakeAccounts #Disinformation #ForeignInterference #Democracy #PoliticalManipulation #ExodusOfBillionaireZ
