Be Grateful, Not Berate-ful

By Thomas Parris

Imagine being so privileged, so possessed by ideology, so progressive, that you had to feign an incidence of systemic oppression to reinforce your worldview that most relationships are governed by some perverse power dynamic in which you are, most certainly, always the victim on the losing end of that power struggle (Jussie Smollett, anyone?). Imagine living in one of the most progressive, affluent, luxurious areas in the most progressive, affluent, luxurious state on planet earth and being a victim to some backward, oppressive power-hungry mindset that is completely unbecoming of Lake Tahoe. In the year 2024, imagine being so shaken to the core by this experience that you aren’t even sure Lake Tahoe is a “safe” place for you to live anymore. Well, precisely that has happened, twice no less within a similar timeframe as described by two contributors to My Shot in the same issue. The contributors — a real estate broker on the West Shore and a business owner on the North Shore — have surely been blessed with lives full of opportunities and changes and been rewarded commensurately. For their hard work, on paper, neither seem to fit the bill for an oppressed class, though it is true I have not walked a mile in either’s shoes.

Regardless, after reading each of the columns, it is difficult to ignore the shared sense of entitlement and lack of personal accountability for what sounds like a couple of shady decisions that lead each to being penalized by their respective “oppressors.” This mindset is saddening and disappointing to me. But it also reminds me of how much I have to be grateful for: to be living in Truckee/North Tahoe; to breathe wonderful clean air; drink delicious fresh water; have access to the finest shops, gyms, markets, and facilities; to be able to ski, bike, ride, fish, swim, golf, sled right out my door. Couple our regional awesomeness with the fact that we also live in the United States, and we have even more to be thankful for this Independence Day. We live in a nation where a Latina woman can be a business owner in Lake Tahoe, where a London transplant can be a real estate broker in an area with a median home price of $1.2 million. People like that and a person like me are unconditionally guaranteed that our ideas and thoughts and opinions are intrinsically valuable, and we may express them to our local press. How cool! Try to find all the regional and national perks I listed in Ukraine or Russia or China or Palestine.

It is disingenuous and insulting for anyone to call into question their safety in a place where the biggest threat, generally speaking, might be from a bear breaking into your 2024 Subaru because you forgot half a latte and avocado toast inside. Undoubtedly, exceptions exist and there are men, women, and children of all creeds suffering through terrible circumstances in this area. That doesn’t change the fact that Lake Tahoe is a wonderful place to be. Lake Tahoe is not cartel-controlled Mexico. Lake Tahoe is not women-oppressing Afghanistan or Yemen.

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Let’s remember to count our blessings, we are all so fortunate to be here together. In doing so, we will feel better about ourselves and others. We will be better able to be kind and compassionate and more willing to compromise and solve conflicts with others without feeling the need to air out our dirty laundry in the paper. When you are so fortunate to be kicked out of your local ski resort or your local rock climbing gym — each with thousands of patrons — the problem is probably not societal; the problem is probably you.

~ Thomas Parris is just a dude living life in Truckee. He believes social media and identity politics are destroying the social contract and social fabric of this country. If you see him around town, feel free to bond over the beautiful plight of human existence.