Our Path

At this point in time, trying to convince hierarchy supporters to come over to our side of the seesaw is mostly a waste of our valuable resources and energy that could be focused elsewhere.

Alabama Governor George Wallace was a major national figure for his support for Jim Crow laws and his strong resistance to civil rights. In his 1963 inaugural address as Governor of Alabama, he declared that he stood for “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.” He famously stood in front of the entrance of the University of Alabama to try to stop the enrollment of Black students.

Decades later, George Wallace did apologize for his earlier segregationist views. But what if people in the civil right movement had waited around for him to change, or focused on changing him? Think of the time and energy that would have been wasted.

Increase Our Weight

We may be tempted to look over towards people who are building division, bigotry and inequality and think that they are the only ones who need to adjust.

But actually, we on the equality side have plenty to do.

We can strengthen our side of the seesaw by forming welcoming teams that draw people toward us. As we jump together, we can have a huge impact in the motion of both ends of the seesaw.

As with George Wallace, maybe one day the hierarchists will become less clueless and bigoted, but we can’t wait for them.

After all, someone has to bring up the rear.