Tragic Irony, or Poetic Justice?
I think that to grow up means to become selfish and to learn that other people are for stepping
on. . . . Growing up is to abandon, at least in some small way, the compassion and honesty and
passion and virility that we are all capable of.
They're quite capable of coming in here if they start acting like adults. They're trying to break
down the door and trying to break the security cameras.
All my life, I've wanted to make a difference. In junior high, I was elected the grade 8
class rep for the students' union. In high school, I was treasurer of the students' union in my
senior year. And, in university, I applied to run the radio station, ran for the position of VP
External, and even ran an opposition campaign to Brad Goertz's un-opposed presidential bid.
But, it seems that there are cosmic forces at work to keep me out of leadership roles. I
eventually had to resign as class rep in grade 8 because no one would tell me when the meetings
were and I was constantly left in the dark. By the time my senior year was finished, I was
halfway through sorting out the messy books that the treasurer before me had left, and I had yet
to start books for my year. And, in university, I lost my bid to be station manager and the
election to be VP External, plus my opposition campaign turned me into the most hated person
on campus. Actually, it's that opposition campaign that sticks out the most in my mind.
For those of you who don't attend Augustana, let me explain how things work. If one
person is running for a Students' Union position un-opposed, that person is put to a yes/no vote,
rather than get in by acclimation like in the real world. Throughout my 3 ½ years at Augustana,
I was always frustrated at how people under-qualified for a position would get in with results of
99.9% for yes, and 0.1% for no. And so, in my final year, when I learned that Brad Goertz was
running un-opposed for SU president, I couldn't take it anymore. This was a man who had been
suspended twice from his position as editor of the student paper for drinking on campus
(Augustana is a dry university; no alcohol on campus). Throughout the many issues of the paper
that he had served on as editor, quite a few people didn't agree with his political views. So, I
felt I should make the people aware of why they should vote no for him. I printed up a series of
posters. One highlighted how he'd been suspended twice from the paper, and urged people to
vote no. The other utilized a quote from one of his prior editorials in the paper, describing his
opposition in derogatory terms and essentially telling them to shut up. Within hours of putting
these posters up, they were torn down by Goertz supporters. This hurt me, because the Chief
Returning Officer of the election had approved my campaign materials, and assured me the same
protections as all other candidates. I tried putting the posters back up, only to have them torn
down again and replace with posters mocking my work. So, I softened the posters somewhat. I
replaced "Vote No for Brad Goertz" with "Know who you're voting for!" After being accused
of taking that quote of his out of context, I added a few more comments on the poster to try and
place it back into context. But that wasn't enough. A supporter of Goertz's, a Mr. Andre
Goulet, continuously verbally assaulted my supporters, and myself. This made me upset, so I
made a poster stating how Goertz had organized his supporters into a goon squad and was trying
to silence us. I was originally just going to put it on my door, but after some of my supporters
saw it, and liked it, they wanted it for their doors, too.
Things came to a head when Goertz challenged me to a debate, and I agreed. On my way
to the debates, one of my supporters wanted to meet with Brad before the debate. So, I went
with her to support her, but Brad gave me the verbal brow-beating of my life. He was twisting
my words, and made me so distressed that I no longer knew what I was saying. When the debate
came, rather than give my prepared opening statements, I apologized for what I was doing, and
quit the campaign. I then made (in what I will admit was mostly for dramatic effect) an exit
from the cafeteria. My only regret in my short life was that I left that debate. Apparently, one of
my supporters stepped in for me, and the look on Brad Goertz's face throughout the debate
showed shock and dis-belief as he began to learn that I was not a lone crackpot, but the sole
voice of a silent majority. I tore down my posters the next day, and the final results were
roughly 60% yes, 40% no. It was the closest yes/no vote in Augustana history. This still sticks
in me because I graduated from Augustana, so all this year I cannot stay apprized of what kind of
job Brad is doing. I can't get closure on this issue.
When I returned to Augustana to visit some friends, some of them advised me of Brad's
upcoming protest. He was going to march from Camrose to Edmonton in support of a proposed
tuition freeze. I thought that this was a bad idea, as I had flashbacks to a similar protest. A
group of people were going to march from Edmonton to Jasper to protest a coal mine, but it was
nothing more that 10 people behind a bus. The evening news said that Brad had 200 people with
him. When I was back at Augustana, I actually ran into Brad and he asked me to be part of his
march. I told him that I'd think about it, which is my diplomatic way of saying "No f**king
way." The article in the paper said that this was actually a scheduled meeting that Brad had with
the Minister of Learning, but that the Minister wouldn't meet with him because he brought 200
rowdy protesters with him. I couldn't help but draw parallels between this and my vote no
campaign. Brad told me that what I was doing wasn't part of real world politics, and that he
wouldn't acknowledge what I was doing. Now, here's Lyle Oberg, telling Brad that what he's
doing isn't part of real world politics, and Lyle wouldn't acknowledge what Brad was doing.
Brad accused me of goon squad politics, because of my poster accusing him of goon squad
politics, and the fact that when he gave me the brow-beating of my life, I had with me one of my
supporters and a friend who was just following the two of us to the cafeteria. Lyle wouldn't
meet with Brad because of his 200 rowdy protesters. I can't help but see the parallels.
My first instinct was to gloat. I wanted this article to say "See, Brad! See what you did
to me! All that effort to try and make a difference, only to be shouted down by someone who
was louder! Now you know what you put me through!" But I thought about it for a while. I am
right. He does know now what he put me through. I know how disappointed he his. I know
how hurt he'll be that all his work was for naught. I know that because the media is only
pointing out how rowdy things got that he'll be upset that the wrong image is being projected.
But they were only rowdy because they were passionate about their cause. I was passionate
about my cause, that's why I made the poster accusing Brad of organizing a goon squad to
silence me. Passionate people sometimes do regrettable things in pursuit of their cause. So, my
original intent of gloating has become one of sympathy.
And, if I know Brad, this isn't the last we'll here of him. He'll take a break, have a few
beers, and then come back stronger than ever. If he's like me, he'll take solace in the little
victories that came out of this. He did bring media attention to the tuition freeze, after all. And
again, I go back to my opposition campaign. I received this one e-mail, the gist of which was the
following: "I am a supporter of Brad Goertz. I will be voting yes for him. But I am in complete
agreement with your campaign. People should know who they're voting for." Small victories.
Maybe that's why Brad and I never really saw eye-to-eye. We're just too much alike. It's going
to take me some time, but I think I will try to make a difference once again. It'll just take some
time for the wounds to heal, to marshal my forces, to assemble the Avengers, stuff like that.
But, as much as the universe has tried to tell me not to, I will forever be compelled to try and
make a difference. We just have to learn from our opposition, use their arguments to make ours
stronger, and try to see that we all have the same goals after all. Like those 13-year old kids on
junior high Students' Unions, we all just want to make a difference. |