It looks like we're stuck with another four years of, well, I don't want to say his name so I'll just stick to calling him The Orange Blob. Some Progressives swear they're going to leave the country. However, a large number of us plan to stay and fight. I've been what right-wingers call a Radical for some time (I actually consider myself a moderate). Although I've been on picket lines and various protest rallies through the years, nowadays I mainly just write letters to editors or blog. So with the next fight about to begin, I thought I'd rerun a blog from seven years ago about how I became "Radical." Sort of a statement to let the MAGAts know that "we Radicals ain't going nowhere."
Although today it seems rather odd given that I consider myself a
Progressive, as a youth one of my heroes was John Wayne. Everyone knows
his politics leaned to the right. However, looking at some of his movies
from a political aspect, he starred in numerous ones that espoused Liberal
issues.
I know, you missed that too. I didn't really grasp this message until I aged a bit (hey, don’t say grew old). As a kid, I just saw it as standing up to injustice no matter the odds.
In my sophomore year at Texas Tech (eventually got my degree from the University of Texas; another story), my friends and I went out to play tennis at the spanking new student tennis courts. However, they had been taken over by the women’s tennis team for some match against another school. I should point out that at this time the men’s team had some really nice courts they used exclusively, while the women’s courts were, well, they were crappier than something you’d find in a public park.
For some reason, the men’s team was unwilling to share their nice
courts. The women’s team, not wishing to irritate them or the athletic
department (controlled by men), decided to instead make a move on the common
students—who probably had even less power or voice with those in charge. Historical note: Title IX had only
recently kicked in (1972) and women’s sports across the US were very slowly
getting their due. Very, very slowly.
Outraged at this, I did the only thing voiceless and powerless people have done for years: I wrote a letter to the editor of the school newspaper. Although I’m sure it was an explosive and moving letter, the only part I remember is that I used the phrase “the students get screwed again.” Probably the only reason I remember that phrase is because I heard some “suits” repeat it as they walked out of the rowdy hearing that resulted from said letter.
That’s right, my first attempt at social justice somehow touched a nerve across campus. Soon other angry letters flooded the paper, and with some threatening to organize a protest rally the administration decided the way to calm things would be to have an open discussion between students, the women’s team and the administration.
Outraged at this, I did the only thing voiceless and powerless people have done for years: I wrote a letter to the editor of the school newspaper. Although I’m sure it was an explosive and moving letter, the only part I remember is that I used the phrase “the students get screwed again.” Probably the only reason I remember that phrase is because I heard some “suits” repeat it as they walked out of the rowdy hearing that resulted from said letter.
That’s right, my first attempt at social justice somehow touched a nerve across campus. Soon other angry letters flooded the paper, and with some threatening to organize a protest rally the administration decided the way to calm things would be to have an open discussion between students, the women’s team and the administration.
My friends and I joined the packed house and even got to sit at
the front table opposite the suits.
Because the student courts were paid for by a special fee assigned to
us, we believed we had the upper-hand and we attempted to stress that although
we supported the women’s team and thought they were treated unfairly, it wasn’t
right to be equally unfair to us.
We also, numerous times, asked why the men and women teams couldn’t
share the men’s team courts.
To this day I proudly declare to everyone that we had an impact. The women’s team only played on the student courts one more time after that, supposedly because they didn’t have enough time to reschedule. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if the administration had begun to feel pressure because of Title IX and relented to have the men and women’s teams share until something new could be built for the women.
To this day I proudly declare to everyone that we had an impact. The women’s team only played on the student courts one more time after that, supposedly because they didn’t have enough time to reschedule. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if the administration had begun to feel pressure because of Title IX and relented to have the men and women’s teams share until something new could be built for the women.
So my radicalization had begun. I would fight for justice and the little guy
thereafter. As mentioned in a previous blog, I worked for enlisted people’s rights while in the Army, I took
part in several civil rights demonstrations and well, let’s just say I fought
for issues in which John Wayne would not show up for the rallies. You know, radical Liberal ideas like
clean air and water, fair pay, feed the poor, etc.
