Wednesday, March 18, 1998

REBEL GIRL ON "PROCESS"


From Dissent 3, 3/18/98 
Originally entitled: 
WE’RE WAIST DEEP IN THE BIG MUDDY 
by Rebel Girl 

     The union’s recent appearance at a district press conference to offer our unqualified endorsement of Trustee Steven J. Frogue was surprising. The growing public record about Frogue is disturbing to say the least, and should have made most pause, even those who have previously wholeheartedly endorsed a man who, at least three years ago, thought the Holocaust-denying Institute for Historical Review was worthy enough to enter the “debate” about the Holocaust. 
     (Just to be sporting, let’s leave out of this my criticism of Frogue’s campaign tactics that attacked gays and lesbians.) 
     Can the union support Steven Frogue? Sure. Why not? In the past it has—to the tune of thousands of campaign dollars. 
     Should they? Sure—if the union wishes. My criticism is with how this endorsement was decided—the process, my union sisters and brothers, the process
     According to remarks made by negotiating team member (and vice-chancellor of fiscal services stealth intern—just see who that job goes to—there’s process for you) Ken Woodward during his recent radio appearance on KPFK, the union had not taken a stand on the recall campaign. In fact, Brother Woodward chided fellow Brother Bauer about Bauer’s claim to the contrary: “Well, the faculty union actually itself, as Roy Bauer well knows, has not taken a position on Mr. Frogue....” 
     So the union’s quick action, some four weeks later, to oppose the recall campaign and support Frogue caught some of us by surprise. Had we missed something? A meeting? A phone poll? A flyer? Were we supposed to vote on Frogue as well as our contract? What happened? And when? 
     My concept of a union is pretty basic. A union is just that, a confederation, an alliance. It is made up of people who have some kind of affiliation—In our case, our shared working conditions. A union represents its members, recognizing that, of course, as with any union, there might be disagreements among the membership. 
     Still, it’s the charge of the leadership to seek guidance, permission even, from the members and to operate the union democratically. This charge should not be taken lightly. Who says? The law. (No, no, not those pesky ever-evolving F.A. by-laws—the law. Of the land.) 
     When did our union decide to oppose the recall campaign? When did the union decide to reaffirm our support of Steven Frogue? How was this (potentially embarrassing) decision made? When? Who was consulted? 
     Clearly, the union leadership, which has so often ignored the rank and file in the past, has done so again—and this time cloaked themselves with our “manufactured” consent. At the press conference, Brother Bob Kopfstein (at first reading a statement on behalf of FA president Sherry Miller-White) said that the union opposed the recall on the grounds that it was “disruptive.” Apparently the presence on the college board of a person who sympathizes with the Institute for Historical Review and The Spotlight is not “disruptive.” Apparently the systematic dismantling of shared governance is not “disruptive.” Hmmm.
     Perhaps a better tactic, one that would have honestly addressed and represented the obviously deep divisions within the membership, would have been for the union to have abstained from any action in this case. Or certainly refrained from any public action until they had done what union leadership should do--especially in a situation as volatile as this one--consult its members. 
     As for now, my fellow union sisters and brothers, look at those with whom our leaders have aligned us. And why? For what purpose? To save face? To be loyal? 
     It reminds me of an old song, Waist Deep in the Big Muddy. It goes like this: 

It was back in 1942 
I was part of a good platoon 
We were on maneuvers in Louisiana 
One night by the light of the moon 
The Captain said, told us, to ford a river 
That’s how it all begun 
We were--knee deep in the Big Muddy 
But the big fool kept yelling push on. 

The Sergeant said, “Sir, are you sure 
This is the way back to the base?” 
“Sergeant, I once crossed this river 
Not a mile above this place, 
It’ll be a little soggy but we’ll keep slogging 
We’ll soon be on dry ground.” 
We were--waist deep in the Big Muddy 
With the damn fool yelling push on. 

The Sergeant said, “Sir, with all this equipment 
No man will be able to swim.” 
“Sergeant, don’t be a nervous nellie,” 
The Captain said to him. 
“All we need is a little determination 
Follow me--I’ll lead on.” 
We were--neck deep in the Big Muddy 
And the damned fool kept yelling push on. 

All of a sudden the moon clouded over 
All we heard was a gurgling cry 
And a second later the Captain’s helmet 
Was all that floated by. 
The Sergeant said, “Turn round men 
I’m in charge from now on.” 
And we just made it out of the Big Muddy 
With the Captain dead and gone. 

We stripped and dived and found his body 
Stuck in the quicksand 
I guess he didn’t know that the water was deeper 
Than the place he’d once been... 

...Well, I’m not going to point any moral, 
I’ll leave that to yourself 
Maybe you’re still walking, 
maybe you’re still talking 
Maybe you’ve got your health 
But every time I hear the news 
That old feeling comes back on 
We’re--neck deep in the Big Muddy 
And the damned fool keeps yelling push on 

Knee deep in the Big Muddy 
And the fools keep yelling push on 
Waist deep in the Big Muddy 
And the damn fools keep yelling push on 
Waist deep, neck deep 
We’ll be drowning before too long 
We’re--neck deep in the Big Muddy 
And the damned fools keep yelling push on. 

     Famously, CBS attempted to prevent folk legend Pete Seeger from singing this song on the Smothers Brothers Show because of its obvious parallel to LBJ’s suffocating Southeast Asian war policy.

REBEL GIRL SAYS…READ YOUR OVID!


From Dissent 3, 3/18/98 

The ancient Greeks warned against hubris, the pride that made people believe they could defy the law, defy the gods. Why? This pride, this hubris, leads to arrogant behavior and a tendency to disregard the rights of others. 

Hubris is perhaps the best way to characterize the current jostling for power within the evolving SOCCCD administration and the insolent behavior of the board majority. How else to explain the ascent of Raghu “Narcissus” Mathur, Mike “Ganymede” Runyan, Ken “Midas” Woodward and the other Myrmidons who wait for resignations and the subsequent job announcements? 

The union angle? The metamorphosis of union leaders to management stooges is troubling--especially considering the single-minded crusade to diminish faculty power shared by these “faculty” leaders and the administrative colleagues they hope to join. The fingerprints of “acting” administrators are all over the proposed administrative hiring policy--the same policy which will cement their own appointments in months to come. 

Unlike the convenient (lecherous Zeus’s sneaky self-changes) or vindictive (the punitive metamorphosis meted out to the presumptuous Arachne) or even compassionate (Daphne’s mutation into a laurel tree) transformations so prevalent in Greek myths, the recent morphing of faculty to management seems steeped in self-interest and nepotism, inspired perhaps by hubris. 

What happened to the Greeks who were too full of hubris? Nemesis, the goddess of retribution, was dispatched from Mount Olympus to deal with the offenders. While “nemesis” has come to mean a vengeful opponent, the Greek origin is closer to “distribute”--or to mete out matters evenly. The goddess Nemesis ensures that hardships offset the ill-got fortune gained by hubris. It’s a kind of justice. 

Rebel Girl recommends that offerings of thigh bones wrapped in fat and libations be presented to Nemesis at the appropriate alters near you.

Roy's obituary in LA Times and Register: "we were lucky to have you while we did"

  This ran in the Sunday December 24, 2023 edition of the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register : July 14, 1955 - November 20, 2...