“The Writers Guild of America, West, viewed with abhorrence the attacks of Vice President Agnew on the right of news and editorial media freely to analyze and criticize statements and policies of the administration.
“We found it shocking that the second officer of the nation dared to suggest that the Constitutional guarantee of the First Amendment, embodying the fundamental right of free speech, may not apply to tv commentators and should perhaps be abridged in the press as well.
“We are concerned that the President himself has not repudiated this assault on spoken and written opinion.
“We are aware of the curiously coordinated chorus of support for these attacks by three cabinet officers, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, and other office-holders. This kind of concerted pressure by Government on organs of public expression, and against individuals singled out by name, is exactly what we have condemned in our enemies.
“As writers who have faced censorship in many forms, we are not lulled by disclaimers that no censorship was implied, and condemn as repugnant and sinister any attack on the basic right of free expression. That right was meant to be exercised by Americans at any and all times, for or against any administration, policy or issue. That right was not meant to be altered or suspended following a particular speech, nor is it subject to any delays or qualifications imposed from above.”
I find the above curiously parallel to my situation in Dayton. And I find it significant that it was the writers who said it.
When I began writing this column, little over a year ago, my first column dealt with what I called “the illiterate conspiracy against dissent.” The war on counter-opinion. At that time I conceded that the attack was an unarticulated one, that no cabal of men actually sat down in a room and said this week we silence this one, and next week we get that one.
But even in one year the times have changed drastically. Faster than I’d thought possible. The conspiracy is open now. It comes down from the top. And because of its blatancy, men who were middle of the road have been pushed to their left, have become Liberals. Liberals have been jammed over into being Activists. The Activists have, against their will, become Militants
…and the Militants, who saw what this year would become, have now hideously, horribly, without their wanting it…been crammed all the way over into the Revolutionary Blood and Death position.
Television has given Agnew and his ilk the platform from which to martial the fear and stupidity of the masses. And those of us who began the year with sanity and hope for change, now see the Middle Americans totemized as the epitome of rationality and patriotism. Now we find ourselves on the edge of a darkling plain, looking out across a time in this country when weak men like Glenn Ray and Jack DeVelbiss will conscience any degradation of their ethics and morality in the name of not being singled-out as The Enemy.
And the strong men will be picked off, one by one.
They will be gagged and tried and salted away. And the darkness will creep across this land.
Friends, you may not know it, but the war is on. The big war, and possibly the last war. It had a tiny skirmish in Dayton, and we lost it.
The puppet masters in Dayton are not evil men, they are merely weak men. And it is that weakness that will kill us. The fangs of Spiro bite deep.
AFTERWORD: 30 JANUARY 70
ADDENDUM TO DAYTON
I was wrong. At least in one very important matter. After almost 10,000 words of copy relating what went on down in Dayton, Ohio during my two-day lecture/lynching, I’d thought I’d said it all.
But there is one more final fillip to be added to the confection. One that humbles me. Because, if you recall, I began part two of “Poisoned By The Fangs of Spiro” with the comment that even the kids might not be able to save this country, because the poison of repression had seeped down into them, too. Whew! That’s what happens, friends. It gets so damned depressing, coming up against the cultural hari-kiri we keep committing, that cynicism becomes the only supportable attitude. And then the kids prove they’ve got it. Even I, anxious to give them every possible point, begin to suspect the rot goes from top to bottom, young and old alike. And then the kids do me in. They come up with solid gold, and make me feel like the idiot I certainly am, on occasion.
What I’m talking about is this: you recall I spoke to two high school groups in Dayton. One was a class of kids from Dunbar High. All black. They were hip, into it, really exciting kids to rap with. The other group was all white, middle to lower-middle-class Appalachian kids. I reported they were deadheads, were offended by my manner and my language and my choice of lecture material. I reported they were responsible for inflaming their parents sufficiently at the “freak” who’d talked to them, to get those parents on the muscle against the Dayton Living Arts Center, which resulted in my being canceled.
That was incorrect reportage.
Barbara Benham of the Center has sent me a salient bit of information. Straight from the mouths of the kids.
Each of the classes was presented with “Student Evaluation Sheets” which were to be filled in with a) whether or not they enjoyed the presentation, b) whether or not they’d care to see similar presentations in the future and c) remarks on the lecturer’s performance.
I expected the Dunbar kids to rate me high. We’d done okay together. We’d related. But I also expected the kids from Wilbur Wright High School, the ones with whom I’d gotten nowhere, to really put me down. I present here the results of the two Evaluations.
DUNBAR STUDENTS: 17 evaluations received.
ENJOYED THE PROGRAM: 17
DID NOT ENJOY THE PROGRAM: 0
WOULD LIKE TO SEE A SIMILAR PROGRAM AGAIN: 17
WOULD NOT LIKE TO SEE A SIMILAR PROGRAM: 0
SOME REMARKS: “It’s something refreshing for the mind.” “He talked the same talk we talk.” “With him we could really get down and express our feelings.” “I enjoyed it because he told what he thought and because he showed you don’t have to go to college to learn things.” “Liked it because he talked on my level and tried to get everyone to talk.”
Yeah, great. But what about those Wilbur Wright kids whom I knew despised me and refused to even speak? How about them?
WILBUR WRIGHT STUDENTS: 22 evaluations received.
ENJOYED THE PROGRAM: 21
DID NOT ENJOY THE PROGRAM: 1
WOULD LIKE TO SEE A SIMILAR PROGRAM AGAIN: 22
WOULD NOT LIKE TO SEE A SIMILAR PROGRAM: 0
SOME REMARKS: “Enables one to meet someone from another walk of life. A few moments with an interesting person like him is worth a lifetime with a dull one.” “…He made all students think about the institutions…” “I enjoyed the program from the aspect of Mr. Ellison’s ideas, but I believe many of his thoughts were of a Utopian essence and I think the world the way he wishes it is somewhat hard to imagine. I was surprised that an association joined with the Board of Education would bring a person like Mr. Ellison to the Living Arts Center. His profanity during the program was uncalled for. To me, it seems that he was…contradicting himself.” “I think that he was a good speaker, not because of his language but for his knowledge and experience.” “It really wasn’t long enough and each person could not talk to him privately.” “The speaker was certainly different from most. He was much freer, easy to speak with, and very frank…” “He was very open with us which I liked.” “I liked Ellison’s approach. He tried to get everyone involved. We didn’t talk anything about writing and that was our main objective. He did convey good ideas to me, though.” “Ellison told it like it was.” “He was frank and outspoken, but was an intelligent man who told things from experience. I could have listened to him all day! A marvelous person with a fantastic outlook on life.” “I liked it because it was not formal and the talking was open. There was nothing I didn’t like about the performance.” “…Programs like this are very valuable to high schoolers because we are preparing to take our place in society and
&nbs
p; we must realize what society is really like.” “If Mr. Ellison is going to be
the speaker I wouldn’t care to attend any other program concerning any
topic…”
You know, I actually went for the okeydoke Glenn Ray laid on me, that I’d turned the kids off and hadn’t related to them. Which—added to my thoroughly misjudging and ignorantly putting down those kids—goes to prove how muddied grow one’s perceptions, the longer on the firing line. And it even seems I managed to convey in my ham-handed fashion that Barbara Benham was a culprit. Not so. A victim, like all of us, yeah sure; and frightened, like all of us, yeah that too. But a bad guy…no.
I owe apologies, herewith tendered. To Miss Benham, and to the kids of Wilbur Wright, who are infinitely wiser and groovier than any California mushhead come to tell them “where it’s at.” Once again, troops, you have showed me there is still hope, and you make it easier to fight the battles, big and small. Jesus, I feel good today.
Spero meliora.
: Cicero
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
These columns originally appeared in the Los Angeles Free Press
Copyright © 2011 by The Kilimanjaro Corporation
Copyright © 1969, 1970 & 1975 by Harlan Ellison
Copyright © 1983 & 2011 by The Kilimanjaro Corporation
Renewed 1997, 1998 & 2003 by The Kilimanjaro Corporation
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ISBN 978-1-4976-0958-7
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The Glass Teat Page 29