I WENT DOWN TO THE DEMONSTRATION TO GET MY FAIR SHARE OF ABUSE

Tuesday afternoon, I tagged along with my wife and a friend to the Tucson office of Congresswoman Martha McSally, where we intended to leave a message asking her to hold a town hall meeting sometime in the near future.  I expected to sign in, write a message, and leave. 

Instead, when we got to the entrance of the large office building, we found ourselves at the back of a group of perhaps 40-50 demonstrators were talking at (not to) one of McSally’s staffers.  The staffer was saying predictable things, using the word “concern” a lot in an attempt to mollify the crowd.  The crowd wasn’t in a mood to be mollified.    

I’m sure they were good people, and that we’re on the same side.  Nevertheless, I felt kind of uncomfortable with the part of the interaction I saw.  I found myself identifying more with the staffer than with the crowd.  I’ve been in that guy’s shoes.  Before I retired, I was a minor league administrator at the University of Arizona, tasked among other things with fielding complaints from the public. 

I understand people’s frustrations, but haranguing a minor regional functionary about his boss 2000 miles away makes about as much sense as yelling at the airline employee at the check-in gate because your flight was cancelled.  Will the staffer tell the Congresswoman about the protest?  Certainly.  Will he offer a sympathetic summary of their issues?  Unlikely.   Just venting in these situations doesn’t make things better. 

 My advice is to save the “mad as hell and not going to take it anymore” speeches until the actual decision-makers are listening, and even then, use that approach rarely and strategically.  The speeches at rallies and protest marches are usually the weakest part of the demonstration.  People ramble, speakers repeat what others have already said, and then someone says something silly that the press might seize on to make the whole thing look bad.  Energy dissipates.

Maybe you’re thinking, “OK, so what would you have done, Mr. Smartypants?”  Fair question.  I would have selected a single spokesperson, someone who could speak calmly in this sort of situation, to summarize the group’s issues; then hand the staffer a single sheet of paper with a summary those issues; and finally thank the staffer for his time and let him get back to his work.   

I’m willing to show up to boost the crowd numbers for important events (e.g. the Women’s March and the airport protests last weekend), but the rest of the time I’m going to put my energy to other uses, which I will discuss in this space soon.

But enough about me.  If your work is carrying a sign and marching, I don’t have a problem with that.  It takes a village.  And it’s important for both of us to remember that the problem isn’t each other.  The problem is the village idiot.