Life Gems: Our Core Principles for (Good) Human Development
08 March 2017
Raising children is a project, and any good project manager will scope out goals and deliverables at the onset to make sure the project is staying on track. So for this project (parenting), we need to determine now what attributes we want our fully-grown humans to have, and what principles that they should hold dear.
We call them 'Life Gems', and we'll be talking quite a bit about them throughout the course of the posts on this site. That's because they're our blueprint for creating a good human. Think of them as the merit badges of personality development.
We'll likely add to them over time, and we'll keep this post up to date, complete with notes and revisions. So without further ado, here's our (current) list:
1. Be Kind to Others and Have Empathy
2. Respect Differences in Others, Even if You Don't Agree
3. Pick Your Battles, But Stand Your Ground When Necessary
4. Be the Voice for Those That Can't Speak Up for Themselves
5. Be Selfless
6. But Be a Little Bit Selfish Too (Have Self-Respect)
7. Never Stop Learning
8. Listen Actively and Communicate Freely
9. Commend Others for Their Achievements Over Boasting Your Own
10. Accept That Negativity and Evil Exist in the World
11. And Fight Like Hell to Counteract Them with Good
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.