What You Risk

Posted by parhad on July 02, 2001 at 23:31:14:

Five or six years ago when the State Convention was held in San Jose, I was given a minute to speak at the banquet. I'd just received the letter from the Arts

Council of Chicago telling us they would be pleased to have the Sumuramat Monument added to their magnificent collection of public statuary.

John Nimrod was also to speak and I had told him and Helen the good news previously. John was to speak first. I asked him if he would allow me to be the one to

mention the acceptance and read the brief letter. He said he would, of course. The first words out of mouth were, "Fred has good news about Chicago accepting our

monument and he will read the letter to you himself." Great...I was now reduced to "reader" for John and the AUA. It was "his" project, I was the flunkie they hired

to do the job.

This is the warning all these guys issue..."If you think you want to work for this heritage...you have to get through us first". They will lie, cheat, steal, double deal,

renege, insult, insinuate all sorts of things, undo, sabotage...whatever it takes to "lessen the threat". The threat is that you are going to "take over". Take over what I

can't imagine, but to these guys this Heap they've made of our heritage is a choice spot, a dunghill to be proud of and they want to be on top. They think my motives,

or those of any number of people who have held their noses and tried to improve this Heap...are the same as theirs...we too want to be TOP of The Hill.

They could care less for the heritage, even for the church...most of them are rank hypocrites and find a ready home there. What they fear...what they think you aspire

to, is to replace them...it's just a position to them, a mark of distinction, no matter how pathetic it is...so pathetic are they.

John and Sargon and Ramin and Gassman, all of them want to maintain "control". They don't see that no one wants to wrest control from them...who the hell wants

their "positions" anyway. We want to salvage and re-define and outline better goals for this heritage... To get away from them, not replace them on it.

There isn't a thing they have achieved anyone covets or aspires to...but they think that. John wanted to be "Big Shot" at any expense. I'll admit I thought it was only

fair to allow me to read the letter, after all I'd started the project myself, had raised thousands of dollars myself, had written to the Arts Council in HIS city, had done

all the follow up etc...it seemed fair to me. I wasn't crushed by any means...just dismayed at the measure of the man, and us for allowing these people any room at all

at the table.

If you wish to promote this heritage, be prepared to be slandered and villified...your way of life attacked, your very work for which you may be praised elsewhere,

sneered at by your own community. Even your family will not be safe. people will pretend to mistake your motives, release fantastic "conjectures" intended to sow

doubt, to ruin any support or trust you may have built up...anything and everything to get you to stop.

Why? I mean really.....Why?