TIP # 24 | Stick to what you know
Resist the urge to weigh in on topics if you're not an expert
We see them a lot these days. Hot takes. A hot take is an opinion on a cultural issue or current event which is given by a person, a company, or organization that is designed to be provocative and a bit moralizing.
The hot take can be a way to align with a popular opinion - a way of showing people that you’re on the “right side” of an issue. Or, it may simply be way to get mentioned in a news story (or somebody’s Substack newsletter).
Perhaps a hot take has solved a problem and changed the world, but most of the time it’s a social exercise meant to align the speaker favorably with some, while likely alienating others. That’s the danger.
Actor Alan Ritchson, who stars in a hit Amazon Prime show called Reacher made a hot take recently that is not going down well with the Fraternal Order of Police. More on that part later.
Here’s why it’s a problem. Reacher is a cop (former military police, to be precise) but Ritchson, the actor who plays him recently said in an interview that “cops get away with murder all the time.”
That’s not surprising commentary. We hear it regularly. It’s not necessarily a problem that he said it; it’s a problem that he said it while playing the title character in a show that appeals to members of law enforcement.
Like every show, Reacher employees hundreds or possibly thousands of people and is their bread and butter. And that’s now in jeopardy. Many law enforcement professionals and their loved may stop watching the show or call for a formal boycott.
I want to live in a world where I can say what I believe to be true without fear of ruining someone’s life or mine. But I have to be disciplined and avoid saying something that will have far-ranging consequences for people I care about and work with.
We’re all part of something greater than us, so we have to choose our battles - and our words - very carefully.
My best advice is to stick to what you know best. Don’t get out of your depth on a topic you feel passionate about but are not an expert in. Not even for clicks. It’s not worth it.
I admit that one of the reasons I was attracted to this story in the first place is the absolute master class contained in the Fraternal Order of Police messaging they released in response to Ritchson’s comments.
"While Mr. Alan Ritchson gets his face and forehead powdered on set, our officers are out doing a job he doesn’t have the courage to do. While he gets to hear loud pops and have blanks fired at him, our officers feel the heat of the bullets as they pierce their skin. There are no take twos or take threes in real life, Mr. Ritchson. We have people who want to kill us and we play for keeps. Just another useless Hollywood actor, virtue signaling for attention at the expense of brave police officers around this country. Go back to your pampered life and let the heroes handle this."
Please note that I’m not saying that the FOPs response is right or wrong. Frankly, I think the personal attack at the end is juvenile and counterproductive. I’m simply saying that the messages did the job they were intended to do.
They were creative word pictures, full of colorful, quotable and memorable language. Here’s my Tough Talk take on making it memorable.
This is how I know they were successful; I read the messaging once and three hours later I still remembered what they said, almost to the word.
In the end, this is an important dialogue to have. But Ritchson is no expert and shared a hot take that may impact the livelihoods of all the people who make his show.
That’s the risk we take when we wade into a subject where we don’t belong. You’re an expert in something so stick to that.
Thank you, dear Kathy!