Weekly wrap #004 - Betty White, EO Wilson, and Peaceful Mediocrity
This one's a freebie
This is a wrap-up of some things I’ve stumbled upon and some ponderings I’ve had over the last week.
Some things I’ve been inspired by
I grew up being familiar with the name Betty White, but that was about it. I didn’t really know who she was and her name was so familiar that I just took for granted that it was a given part of my pop culture lexicon. Of course, I was too young to really appreciate the cultural icon that Betty White was and the impression of her in my mind defaulted to her appearance in that hilarious 2010 Snickers commercial.
Until a week ago when I came across this video and the caption “The segment that led to cancelation of Betty White Show after she refused to take Arthur Duncan off air because of the color of his skin”. So I read up on it a bit more.
In 1954, Betty White hosted The Betty White Show, a variety program on NBC. One of its regular performers was Arthur Duncan, a talented Black tap dancer. But this was the segregated 1950s, and Southern viewers weren’t happy about it. NBC got complaints and pressured White to drop him.
Her response? "I'm sorry. Live with it." Instead of cutting Duncan, she gave him more screen time.
The show was cancelled later that year, officially due to low ratings, but many believe the backlash played a role. Duncan went on to have a great career, and White’s stand against racism became part of her legendary legacy.
Here are some other cool tid-bits about Betty White:
Championed inclusivity in entertainment – Worked with and supported Black performers throughout her career, forming friendships and advocating for fairness.
Supported LGBTQ+ rights early on – Spoke in favor of same-sex marriage in 2010, saying, “I don’t care who you sleep with... if a couple has been together all that time—and there are gay relationships that are more solid than some heterosexual ones—I think it’s fine if they want to get married.”
Broke gender barriers in television – Co-founded Bandy Productions in the 1950s, making her one of the first women to have full creative control over her own TV show. She also played strong, independent female characters in The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Golden Girls, challenging traditional gender roles.
Lifelong advocate for animal welfare – Worked with the Los Angeles Zoo, Morris Animal Foundation, and other animal charities for over 50 years, donating millions and promoting conservation.
I actually came across this a couple of weeks ago now but forgot to include it in the previous wraps. Harrison Ford is someone I’ve had a bit more familiarity with growing up than Betty White (watching Shrinking currently too!), but this video made me truly inspired on multiple levels.
The gravitas a legendary celebrity can bring to an important message seems obvious, but every now and then you really see it in action and realise it’s not all that common. This is one of those great examples. And it’s beautifully poetic.
Despite working in/around biodiversity for several years, I had no idea who E.O. Wilson was, and it inspires me to still be discovering new role models in the world.
Definitely watch the video. I’m going to assume you already know Indy and perhaps not so much E.O. Wilson. Allow me to introduce him to you.
Edward Osborne Wilson (June 10, 1929 – December 26, 2021) was an American biologist, naturalist, ecologist, and entomologist known for developing the field of sociobiology.
E.O. Wilson actually coined the term biodiversity.
Known as the Ant Man, he conducted ground-breaking research on ant behaviour and ecosystems, shaping the field of evolutionary biology. His 1975 book Sociobiology: The New Synthesis introduced the idea that social behaviour has genetic and evolutionary roots, sparking both scientific breakthroughs and controversy.
Wilson became one of the world’s leading voices for conservation, proposing the Half-Earth Project, which calls for setting aside half the planet for nature to prevent mass extinction.
A two-time Pulitzer Prize winner for On Human Nature and The Ants, he dedicated much of his life to making science accessible through over 30 books and mentoring future biologists. He believed in uniting science with the humanities to better understand human nature and solve global challenges.
His work reshaped biology and conservation, leaving an enduring impact on the way we think about life on Earth.
Now go watch that video if you didn’t already. Watch it again if you have.
Some things I’ve been reading
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto
“I realized that the world did not exist for my benefit. It followed that the ratio of pleasant and unpleasant things around me would not change. It wasn't up to me. It was clear that the best thing to do was to adopt a sort of muddled cheerfulness.”
Midnight All Day by Hanif Kureishi
“Everything has become very conventional. You're either in or you're out. I'm with the out- with the weird, the impossible, the victimised and the broken. It's the only place to be.”
Something I’ve been pondering
An entrepreneur / content creator I very much admire recently shared and celebrated a tweet by someone that wrote:
Hot take: the most dangerous point in life is not the point of total failure but the point of moderate success. A failed man keeps throwing punches—his spirit is alive and kicking. But a moderately successful man is in the danger of trading potential glory for peaceful mediocrity
I’m deliberately choosing to not share the source.
My immediate thought was, ‘Hey you know what, peaceful mediocrity really doesn’t sound so bad! And potential glory may well be chasing a blinding sunset.’
I was reassured to see that a lot of people felt the same way.
I appreciate where the guy was coming from - if you feel like you’re ‘settling’, that feeling will gnaw at you inside and the mediocrity won’t stay peaceful for very long.
But I think the trap is to assume that the only way to have an alive spirit is to be pursuing glory, even if the failures on the way burn you down to the ground.
There’s nothing glorious about burning yourself up in a miserable fire of passion, especially when you’re at risk of spreading the embers of that fire to others around you and it losing control.
That said, I’m throwing some punches of my own these days, hoping to land a right cross or a left hook on the face of moderate success.
So, am I hypocrite?
I don’t want glory though. I want the warm and smoky bonfire of a meaningful journey that feels reliably fun and enlivening. It’s definitely not all that glorious, and the destination isn’t necessarily all that hot.
I’ve written some thoughts on this theme before too, you can read here:
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