[January 9, 2017] Turner Classic Movies is running a number of classics this week and one of my favorite films is the 1967 movie classic In the Heat of the Night. The movie is about a black police detective (Virgil Tibbs, played by Sidney Poitier) involved in a murder investigation in a small racist town in Mississippi. The film is complex but the central theme is about the racism experienced by the police detective (Poitier). To me, it’s all about maintaining one’s dignity.
In the movie classic there’s a time when the Virgil Tibbs suggests that Endicott (played by Larry Gates) may be the murderer. Endicott slaps Tibbs across the face for the accusation and Tibbs slaps him right back. On its surface, this confrontation says a lot about the conditions in the Southern United States at the time but more important is the keeping of one’s dignity even when faced with the most difficult of circumstances.
Good leaders treat others with dignity. That means everyone, even those who may not deserve the treatment. Treating others with dignity is more about the person giving it than receiving it. I was once in a Brooklyn, New York rehabilitation center where my mother-in-law was staying for temporary treatment of an injury. My wife and I witnessed a female nurse yell loudly to an elderly male patient that it was “time to change your diapers.”
“The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances.” – Aristotle
Obviously the man was horrified and I would have not been surprised if he had screamed back at her or reported her lack of professionalism (I would have). Instead he calmly said that it was not his diaper that needed changing but that he would be thankful if she helped him clean himself. This all occurred in a large recreation room with about a dozen people present. The man had both dignity and guts. Sometimes it takes guts to maintain your guts; just like Virgil Tibbs.
When I was deployed to war, the formal policy of the United States to treat the enemy with dignify was met with skepticism by some. To me it was rather obvious why the policy was so important despite the despicable and brutal acts often perpetrated by the enemy. Those who deny others dignity are morally corrupt. No one can deny others dignity without degrading themselves at the same time.
In the film, the local police Chief says, “Well you’re pretty sure of yourself, ain’t you, Virgil – that’s a funny name for a nigger boy that comes from Philadelphia! What do they call you up there?” Poitier replies, “They call me Mister Tibbs! (emphasis on the word mister).”1 The line is one of the more memorable lines in American movie making. It tells us of the importance of dignity.
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