Today my thoughts are of Captain Alix Idrache, a US Army helicopter pilot, who graduated at the top of his West Point class with a degree in physics in 2016.
He's also a Haitian immigrant.
Among the many notable things about him is what he wrote when the above photo of his West Point graduation went viral...
The bot response to this tweet is rather remarkable.
Yes, the Tracy Chapman / Luke Combs performance mattered because it was a connection across supposed divides, but it also mattered because Combs embodied unbridled joy, admiration,and respect for Chapman, something we see FAR too rarely when these sorts of bridges are celebrated.
He knew he was a guest at HER table and rightfully was out of his mind with joy to be there.
Anyway, I can't say enough about how Luke Combs handled that moment, but maybe the most appropriate compliment I can pay him is that he held it together while onstage with Tracy Chapman & sang beautifully. I suspect that's also the thing that he's most proud of because...
The thing about the get along with everyone advice is that it’s easily given and followed from a position of power, because “getting along” rarely means giving up anything that you’re already denying to the folks you’re getting along with.
It’s the fact that he’s OF these people but CLEARLY thinks he’s better than them (spoiler, he’s not) but lacks the acting talent or natural charisma to mask it.
In fairness to him, I definitely thought that guy said his name was Timantha so I was also confused.