Lartigue's Law: embrace critics

By Casey Lartigue Jr.

I can thank critics for some of my greatest personal and professional breakthroughs. I will never forget the newspaper columnist who accused me in a multi-part editorial of writing commentaries to become an "African-American hired gun" for think tanks.

I had never considered working for a think tank. After he told me which think tanks he suspected I was angling for, I applied to all of them plus a few more. After I got hired by a think tank sharing my interest in increasing educational freedom, I thanked the columnist for the inspiration.

Some honest critics can change and even become advocates. A few years ago, one of our volunteers admitted he had gone "undercover" in our organization to uncover dirt on me. What he found was a transparent organization truly respecting the autonomy of North Korean refugees. He turned into a fan who even began donating to our organization.

I don't take criticisms personally, I know there are many disgruntled, depressed, and angry people in this world who probably hate seeing me have so much fun with my work. For some others, it is just business, they may have careers or research grants based on critiquing, analyzing or researching others.

I have learned many critics only lift a finger to point at others, not to do work themselves. As Frederick Douglass said: "They compliment me in assuming that I should perform greater deeds than themselves."

Like the fable of the blind men and the elephant, some critics only see part of what is going on. When an insider becomes a critic, I assign that person the task of fixing the alleged problem. I will never forget the volunteer who wrote me an incredibly angry email with one of the most dramatic subject lines I had ever received.

I invited him for a meeting to review his criticisms. After he gained a better understanding of what we were trying to do, he pledged to get more deeply involved. Then later, when he was in a leadership position, he was complaining ― no longer about me, but about others around us who were not more engaged.

Because of the critics, I developed Lartigue's Law: "Take most criticism as a compliment, and act on it when it makes sense." As the old saying goes: "Dogs don't chase parked cars." Several years ago, I heard some critics were accusing me of training (even brainwashing) North Korean refugees to give speeches attacking North Korea. Perhaps the critics were showing what they would do (brainwashing) if North Korean refugees wanted to work with them.

The critics didn't stop at the usual nonsense, they were connecting me to the US CIA, South Korean intelligence, and various international conspiracies. Really? Such high-level and well-funded forces would be interested in my work funded mainly through grassroots support? I saw one propaganda video by loyal citizens of North Korea that made me look so powerful, I am surprised that North Korea didn't collapse when I stepped on the peninsula for the first time.

Instead of debating critics, I started a project giving North Korean refugees opportunities to speak out.

It is a compliment to me that anyone would believe that North Korean refugees who ran away from a totalitarian country with security officials trying to hunt them down and holding their families hostage would somehow become my puppets because I arranged for volunteers to help them with English and public speaking. And it is an insult to North Korean refugees who apparently, according to critics, can't recognize my incredible brainwashing skills.

Some beautiful things have happened in empowering North Korean refugees. One North Korean refugee said our English speech contest gave her a chance to "heal my heart." Another North Korean refugee said in a speech: "Casey isn't a doctor, but he healed my heart."

North Korean refugee author Yeonmi Park, in calling me an angel, said that my organization was "a turning point out of the darkness." Emerging YouTuber Cherie Yang, who also says I am her angel, recently said she was able to find her identity after engaging in public speaking with us. Eunhee Park and Chanyang Ju never fail to call me "Pretty Flower Man" when they talk about me and the impact I have had on their lives. And many other North Korean refugees have said they gained self-confidence after studying with us.

Could critics have imagined their angry attacks could inspire such a lovely project? Those critics were connecting dots to international conspiracies, but educating and empowering North Korean refugees gave them opportunities to develop their identities and to heal their hearts.

It may not heal the hearts of critics, but, yes, I do reflect on their comments and act on them when it makes sense. They may not want credit because they could be accused by new critics of inspiring me to greater deeds.

Casey Lartigue Jr. is co-author along with Songmi Han of the forthcoming book "Greenlight to Freedom" and co-founder along with Eunkoo Lee of Freedom Speakers International (FSI).