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Botham Jean's brother asked to hug Amber Guyger after her sentencing

Botham Jean's brother asked to hug Amber Guyger after her sentencing

Amber Guyger's trial was an incredibly divisive moment in our culture. A police officer who shot and killed a black man after accidentally entering his home is a recipe for culture war across social media. And sure enough, millions of Americans found themselves unable to look away from her trial and eventual sentencing of 10 years.

First, there was the controversy over whether or not Guyger should be found guilty. Then, many people were split over whether the sentence of 10 years was just.


It was a moment of intellectual honesty running into feelings of rage, sadness and hopelessness and those who advocate for social justice and leniency rooted for someone to put away in prison for as long as possible. The lives of those already lost and those on the line were pawns in a political chess match across the spectrum.

And then the brother of Botham Jean reminded us all that these are human beings. As Guyger was sentenced, Brandt asked the judge if he could hug Guyger. He approached her in the courtroom where he offered his forgiveness and the two embraced. It's a photograph that will be impossible to forget for almost anyone who sees it:





Of course, the moment also spurred a negative reaction from some who say the narrative of expected forgiveness is one too often thrust upon black Americans:


Others argued that mercy is a sign of strength, not systemic racism or individual weakness:


What do you think? Was Brandt's gesture an opportunity for healing and compassion in the face of tragedy? Or, was it little more than an honest display from a grieving man that will be manipulated by those who opposed Guyger's conviction?

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How to end hunger, according to the people who face it daily

Here’s what people facing food insecurity want you to know about solving the hunger problem in America

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Even though America is the world’s wealthiest nation, about 1 in 6 of our neighbors turned to food banks and community programs in order to feed themselves and their families last year. Think about it: More than 9 million children faced hunger in 2021 (1 in 8 children).

In order to solve a problem, we must first understand it. Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization, released its second annual Elevating Voices: Insights Report and turned to the experts—people experiencing hunger—to find out how this issue can be solved once and for all.

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Outside of collars, harnesses and bandanas, immediately identifying the dog that belongs to you has to be a secret skill because at first glance, their personalities are also super similar. That's why it's not surprising when one family dropped off their sweet golden pooch at daycare and to be groomed, they didn't notice the daycare sent out the wrong dog.

See, not even their human parents can tell them apart because when the swapped dog got home, nothing seemed odd to the owners at first. She was freshly groomed so any small differences were quickly brushed off. But this accidental doppelgänger wasn't fooling her feline siblings.

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via Pexels

A teacher lists his class rules.

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Call it Murphy’s law. Call it the great “reason we can’t have nice things.” Call it entropy. It feels like a whole lot of pain could be avoided if we all had just a little bit more sense.

But what if there was one rule that we all agreed to follow to make everyone’s life better? What would this magical rule be?

A Reddit user who goes by the name P4insplatter came to this realization and asked the AskReddit subforum, “What simple rule would fix the world if everyone actually followed it?” They received dozens of simple rules that if everyone got behind would make the world drastically better.

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He didn’t care if a film was a Hollywood blockbuster or art-house fare; what mattered was whether it deserved his highly-coveted “thumbs up.”

Ebert was an extremely gifted communicator whose interests went far beyond film. In his later years, he often mused about music, politics, and American cultural events with the same eloquence, thoughtfulness and wit.

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It seems like so many iterations of unfettered joy from our childhood haven’t made it to the modern age, and playgrounds are no exception.

Gone are the days of metal slides that scorched the derriere in the summertime, seesaws that doubled as human catapults and the notorious merry-go-rounds that separated the weak from the strong. Good old fashioned character building—safety be damned!

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A big reason why some are leaving the U.S. is that an increasing number of employers allow people to work abroad. Others are choosing to leave because of cost of living increases and “golden visa” programs. Golden visas offer the chance to get a foreign residency permit by purchasing a house or making a significant investment or donation.

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