The Hickory Algorithm
Tired of the Meth and Death.
Kick ‘em when they’re up, Kick ‘em when they’re down.
Kick ‘em when they’re up, Kick ‘em when they’re down.
Kick ‘em when they’re stiff, Kick ‘em all around.
- Don Henley (Dirty Laundry)
This song was released in October of 1982.
44 years ago.
That song is about how the news cycle focuses on all the negative emotions of human behavior. The behaviors of how we want that information of unfortunate strangers we deem unimportant. Car crashes, robberies, domestic violence, shootings, and meth and death.
I’m just tired of this shit.
And when I ask people why they watch and follow these stories so closely its always the same answers:
“Don’t you want to know what’s happening?”
“It’s the news.”
Those answers aren’t good enough for me.
You do realize, you, choose what you put in your algorithm.
We need to do better.
You.
Me.
We need to choose better.
I’m not talking about your dirty laundry phone habits. I’m talking about our intake habits.
I’m not standing on a soapbox pointing fingers at you.
I’m pointing at the man in the mirror and reporting back to you about that conversation.
I can see my path because I have completely disengaged from the meth and death talk. That negative type of influence and intake.
I leave things that question my character. The people that judge before ever being curious. Making themselves feel better by putting down others.
You can have it.
It’s all yours to keep.
It’s all over our news cycle.
It’s all over friendship circles.
Our light is our energy.
What we choose to shine our light on - matters.
You’ll never find a meth and death headline here.
I chose over a year ago to use the Hickory Algorithm to focus on the community I love. The public schools my kids attend in our community. The creators in my community. The sports programs I attend. The stories of awesome business owners in our area. Things that I feel can help make our community better.
To use my energy here.
Shine my light here.
You know why?
Not because of some divine spirit is telling me to. I don’t need any justification from any type of power source.
Because I choose to.
Because I choose to surround myself with who I surround myself with.
Because I choose what goes into my algorithm on the screens and because I choose what is influencing my life.
Acting like I don’t have the power to make different choices because we are surrounded by a meth and death/dirty laundry mentality. And blaming, how easy that information is given to us, so we follow it - feels like a coward’s response.
You do control it.
I’m not feeding the influences of dirty laundry. The meth and death, type of bullshit.
My time, my money, my energy, and my light is mine to choose where it shines.
And for no other reason than because
I choose to.
Here is a 2 minute clip to start a Friday Morning
If you choose to.
#fortheloveofthegame
Connecting you to the algorithm of Hickory, North Carolina.
Chris Goldby is a writer and multimedia storyteller based in Hickory, North Carolina. He owns The Hickory Algorithm a hyper focused lens on Hickory, NC and is a contributing writer and Head of Documentary/Docuseries with Akula Literary Partners.
🔦 TheHickoryalgorithm website 🔦
