I was opposed to the war and demonstrated my opposition by as a seventh grader spending my weekends volunteering for the anti war Presidential campaign of Sen.Eugene McCarthy and four years later for the anti war campaign of Sen.George McGovern. Two of my best friends in High School had different opinions. There was Robert Loy. Robert Loy was a staunch Republican who viewed Richard Nixon was too liberal. Loy was highly intelligent,some students called him "Meet the Press" due to his thoughtful responses to questions that he would answer in a nearly monotone voice. Our friendship was based on the fact that we were both considered nerds.
There was also Josh Eddy. Josh with his crew cut hairstyle and love of Elvis Presley could have easily fit into the High School scene of the 1950's. We were teammates on our Varsity Basketball team. In his own way,he was an outsider in our High School thus we connected.
Despite our differences on such issues as Vietnam and Marijuana Legalization,Robert Loy,Josh Eddy and myself were staunch anti Communist which pissed my younger brother Howie off to no end. In High School,Howie was involved with the Black Panthers and viewed Mao Tse Tung's Red Book as like a Bible.
All of us attended Watkinson School,a private college prep school in Hartford Connecticut. At Watkinson,there were two History Teachers. Jack Chatfield was a Trinity College graduate who as an undergraduate was active in the Civil Rights movement as a member of the Student Non Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) Once,while registering black voters in the South,he was shot by the Ku Klux Klan. Among his personal friends was noted Civil Rights and Anti War activist Julian Bond. Jack was a controversial teacher at Watkinson. Some parents petitioned to have him fired for teaching a course on Communism. Jack wasnt a Communist but felt we needed to be informed. He also let students drink at his house and crash there if need be,figuring it was better to have some supervision rather than none at all.The other history teacher was John Robinson. John Robinson was a World War II vet who fought in the Pacific. His hero was John Wayne and to be in John Robinson's class or Study Hall meant at some point you were going to hear of his exploits in the Pacific. Some of his stories seemed to echo John Wayne movies. His stories were often peppered with ethnic slurs which I'm sure today would be grounds for firing,but he could get away with it because there was no way he was going to get fired without Jack Chatfield being fired also and that wasnt going to happen.
Next to Watkinson School was the University of Hartford. Like with many college campuses at the time,there was an active anti war and anti draft movement on campus and at one point there was a call for a sit in to protest the war. Needless to say word of the sit in spread to Watkinson and in fact some U of H students asked Watkinson students to join in on the action.
In his classroom,Chatfield promoted the sit in and encouraged any student that wished to join in the action. Robinson could not stop students outside of his class from participating,but made it clear that any student skipping his class to participate would find themselves facing Saturday detention.
Thank God I was assigned to Jack Chatfield's class!
On the day of the sit in,yes, there were some students that looked at it as an opportunity to skip class. My pal Robert Loy didn't,but was willing to debate any student or teacher on the merits of the war,including Jack Chatfield and my brother Howie. Jack Chatfield brought in a host of anti war speakers to his classroom,including a member of SNCC who made the connection to American Imperialism abroad and racial issues at home.
Some students assigned to John Robinson's class felt it was worth Saturday detention to participate in the sit in. His classes went on pretty much normal as my friend Josh Eddy was assigned to his classroom although Josh told me he was using the term "Commie Pinko" more often than usual that day. After attending Jack Chatfield's history class,I spent the rest of the day on the University of Hartford's campus assisting in various efforts there.
My brother Howie ended up being assigned Saturday detention. It was not for skipping John Robinson's class as he like myself had Chatfield but rather for his, along with fellow student Jon Lubin, taking down the American flag off the flagpole and hoisting the North Vietnamese flag.
For that action,I found myself in arguments with Howie,Josh and Robert.
As I look back,I am greatly appreciative of the diverse voices I was exposed to. It helped create the critically thinking mind I have today.
No comments:
Post a Comment