Waking the Giant - Democratic Underground

H2O Man

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Wed Oct-13-10 09:14 AM
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Waking the Giant

One day, long ago, in a community much like your own, the house of a giant man caught on fire. As the giant was sleeping inside, the people of the community began to panic. They debated how many of them would be required to lift the giant from his bed? To carry him down the stairs? Or if they could possibly lift him through a window to safety? Finally, an elderly woman said, “I think we should simply wake the giant up. Then he can get out of the burning house himself.”

This is an old story that has been used as a teaching tool for a long time. You have probably heard some variation of it before. Different versions are found in many cultures. It has a simplicity that gives it meaning to even very young children, but I think it is also of great value to adults in our society today.

What does it take to wake up a giant? In the past couple of weeks, I've posted several essays about events in the town where I was born – Sidney, N.Y. – where some Tea Party members of the Town Board are attempting to force a tiny Sufi settlement to excavate their private cemetery. That this conflict has been in the national and international news is impressive. However, far more significantly, this Tea Party nightmare has resulted in a growing movement of democratic consciousness in and around Sidney.

On one internet forum, where this issue is being debated, a local businessman wrote that part of the problem is that so few community members have been active in local politics, thus allowing the Tea Party activists the opportunity to grab power. Although I haven't lived in the town for decades, I still have family and friends there, and so I take part in these discussions. I wrote that I agreed with this fellow, and added something that I've wrote here several times: that the election in 2008 showed the potential for a great force, but after Barack Obama was elected, far too many people sat back. In effect, they went back to sleep. And that allowed the radical republican right-wing the opportunity to fill the vacuum with their power grab.

Today, people there are waking up to the terrible consequences. Their town is on fire, one started by the repulsive passions of those Tea Partiers. Now awake, and conscious of the danger, the giant can not only get out, but can put out the flames of hatred. And that is a key point: we must not simply attempt to reach safety by fleeing, but guarantee safety by putting out these fires.

Putting out fires isn't easy. Some of these fires have been burning the foundations of our society for many, many years. Some of our arsonists are easily identified: those who wore white gowns and cone-head hats, for example. But others are disguised as “normal” human beings, and even hold positions of power in our communities, in the media, in business, and even in national political offices. It can make it difficult, even intimidating, to try to put out some fires they cause. I have found a curious example of this, as a result of my participation on the Sidney issue.

I had an opportunity to converse with a former co-worker about Sidney. She mentioned recently reading a letter in a regional newspaper by another social worker, in which he attacked Muslim, gay and lesbian people. This from a social worker. Disgusting. I was not shocked, however, because I knew this fellow casually from the workplace, and he was one of those self-righteous christians who give religion a bad name.

I recognize that all people are guaranteed the right of free speech, and that employers generally should not consider an employee's political or religious views in the context of job performance. But I think that this is a bit different, and requires something beyond my simply responding with a letter to the editor. I did some “googling” of four words (jerry, kabat, oneonta, editor), and found that this “social worker” has been engaged in a crusade against what he considers the “evils” of homosexuality. More, in a series of phone calls, I've learned that this guy – who works with “at risk” children and youth – has a habit of preaching his religion inside of clients' homes. At least one family demanded that he be replaced.

Rather than writing a letter to the newspaper, I'm writing to both the NYS Office of Mental Health, and to the NYS Office of Professions. There needs to be a serious consequence. If this guy wants to work for a church, that's one thing. Then, I would be happy to debate him in the newspaper. But his rigid thinking and dangerous behaviors do not belong in a public mental health clinic.

My friend and ex-coworker said that while she agrees that I should contact these agencies, it makes her nervous. Tensions in a workplace are no fun, I told her, but it is our responsibility as human beings to stand up to racists and bigots and hateful, prejudice fools. We can't sit back and snooze while they destroy the fabric of our communities, and do harm to innocent people.

Thank you for reading this.

Peace and Justice,
H2O Man