My friend S tells a story when she facilitates workshops. Whales are the best and most important mammals on the planet. She tells her workshop participants that whales have been hunted for centuries for their meat and to use for other human needs. Most species of whale are now on the endangered species list and whaling is now banned in all but a few countries. She then tells her audience that she loves whales; that she grew up reading science books to learn all that she could about them. For Halloween, she insisted that her mother find her a whale costume. She spent several Halloweens as a whale. Then she pivots and tells participants that she wants everyone to make a donation to the S Save the Whales Fund. She tells them that they can make cash or check donations. The Fund is intended to help protect whales that are still being illegally hunted off the shores of certain countries. What do you think happens after she makes her pitch? Does everyone reach into their pocketbooks and wallets to donate to the S Save the Whales Fund?

The moral of the story, she tells her audience, is that not everyone is going to be moved to contribute to your cause. We all have different priorities. We have to remember that whenever we start lamenting the fact that everyone is not getting equally outraged about something that we care passionately about. For some people, saving the whales is the most important cause on earth and to others it might be global warming. Still other people believe that Doctors Without Borders is the most important organization that they can support.

I started thinking about S’s anecdote this afternoon as I was getting incensed about the fact that a couple of friends were not immediately getting back to me about something related to a cause that I care very much about. Millions upon millions of people are not passionate about eradicating incarceration. On an intellectual level, I really get that. Emotionally, I want everyone to just agree with me and get behind my organizing.

For months now, I have been trying to get a certain well-known Chicago-born hip hop artist to endorse a campaign for the expungement of juvenile criminal records. So far, I have mostly been getting the runaround from his handlers. I have increasingly found myself getting more and more frustrated and impatient with the matter. Why won’t he just sign on to the campaign? The demographic that idolizes him and buys his music overlaps with the young people who we need to be engaged by our campaign. It might be a good time to remember the moral of S’s whale story.

So no luck so far. But if anyone knows a famous hip hop artist who wants to do some criminal legal organizing… Feel free to forward this post to him or her….