If the protesters were disappointed with their numbers – substantially lower than the 100 to 200 they were hoping for, they made up for it with their presence which threatened to overshadow the dedication of the Gandhi statue with speeches from among others Senator Lois Wolk and the Indian Consulate General.
Throughout the speeches, the protesters made up of primarily Sikhs, unhappy that the legacy of Gandhi has been celebrated, chanted things such as “Gandhi Gandhi, Shame Shame,” and others which would have be less appropriate for an event with numerous children singing songs and reading poetry.
But Mayor Robb Davis stole it back, turning to face the protestors and for a few impassioned minutes, all were silent and riveted on the words of the mayor.
The Gandhi statue
I would like to address my remarks to the statue. Welcome to Davis, California Mr. Gandhi. That is “where” you are but I wonder if you know “when” you are—not the exact year (it is 2016) but the “when” in terms of the evolution of society and the evolution of the human heart.
Over the past generation mighty empires and smaller states have crumbled and splintered, leaving behind a growing tribalism and violence… and war that has become the background noise of our lives.
And within this nation, demographers tell us that we have nearly completed the successful physical “sorting” of ourselves into communities that are homogeneous in thought and ideology. We also sort ourselves “virtually” tuning out the views with which we do not agree and surrounding ourselves only with opinions we already hold.
And what of our hearts? In our age Nietzsche’s superman has met Rand’s Galt at the altar of hyperconsumption and that union has begat an offspring called narcissistic autonomy—a child that wills to be left alone to pursue personal peace and security. And we have accepted this child into our hearts. We have sought autonomy but have obtained only anomie.
Like sheep we have gone astray, each one turning to his or her own way.
And while we have not killed the God or the gods as Nietzsche’s madman suggested, we have certainly driven them out. We are abandoned to ourselves. But we still hear that voice—the same one that mythical Cain of old heard from the God after he had slaughtered his brother. That voice asked: “Cain, where is your brother?”
The voice we hear asks us:
Where is your black brother?
Where is your immigrant sister?
Where is your refugee brother?
Where is your war oppressed sister?
But unlike Cain, who knowing his sin petulantly responded “Am I my brother’s keeper?”, we stand arms folded across our chests and boldly retort:
“I am NOT by brother’s keeper “
I am not my sister’s keeper.”
And like Cain, we find ourselves abandoned.
This is the “when” into which you have come Mr. Gandhi.
And so we ask: Can you save us Mr. Gandhi?
Why have you come?
Who are you or perhaps more appropriately WHAT are you Mr. Gandhi?
Are you merely a symbol?
Currency in a patron/client exchange?
Brand India?
A god revered by some?
A scapegoat hated by others?
What will you do here Mr. Gandhi?
What will you do with them (gesture to protesters)? Will you dismiss them as a slice of nothing? As terrorists? Will you minimize them? Or will you approach them to engage them? To hear their stories even as they hurl their vitriol at you? Can you become their friend through the non-violent conflict resolution methods you taught?
So many questions… Despite them, we welcome you Mr. Gandhi.
We welcome you… but with some amount of fear.
Fear because it is not yet clear what we will do with YOU.
Will we hide behind you, to block out the conflict all around us, to shield our eyes from the violence all the while proclaiming we are peacemakers because, after all, we have our Gandhi statue? Will we ask you to shield us from the brokenness of our world? To merely check the box that says we have done our part for peace?
Or will we walk beside you like children, clutching your hand, hoping beyond hope that in some talismanic way you will cause the conflict to cease? Will we seek to derive a magical power from your presence, asking you to solve our conflicts because we feel incapable of doing so?
Or… will we walk before you to face the conflict born of our autonomy quest, our narcissism, our anomie? Will we engage it OURSELVES as peacemakers: turning the other cheek again, and again, and again—as you suggested we MUST—in order to move beyond the casual violence of neglect, to peace and reconciliation. May we find the strength to do the latter—to walk before you—thereby beginning the long process of putting an end to the “great turning away”—the great exclusion—so that we might rediscover human embrace.
Welcome to Davis Mr. Gandhi.
Sham Goyal speaks during his introductory remarksMayor Davis receives certificateSenator Lois Wolk speaks
The Mayor’s remarks followed those of Senator Lois Wolk who invoked the spirit of the first amendment. She told the protestors, “I have listened to you, you have the right to be here, but I also have the right to speak.”
She called Gandhi, “one of the greatest teachers of peace and non-violence and passive resistance in the twentieth century.” She said, “He taught that change can take place without violence.”
Among the leaders of the protests was Attorney Amar Shergill. He told the Vanguard prior to the march, “It’s simply shameful that the city of Davis through its council has allowed the government of India to place a statue here about a man that exhibited horrible racism throughout his life, pedophilia. And more than that, the Indian government is using the myth of Gandhi to obscure the ongoing brutalization of minorities, Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, in India.”
“This is not a matter of ancient history,” Mr. Shergill explained. “This is what’s going on right now. So we’re protesting not only to address the truth of Gandhi, but also to possibly save the lives in India right now.”
Mr. Shergill said, “We need to bring truth to Davis. Davis is a progressive town. They’re willing to listen. They just haven’t heard this story. So today is an opportunity to make sure that people in Davis hear the truth that their council turned a blind eye to… and by educating people here, we can make sure that a Hollywood myth is not propagated anymore.”
Greenwald is the founder, editor, and executive director of the Davis Vanguard. He founded the Vanguard in 2006. David Greenwald moved to Davis in 1996 to attend Graduate School at UC Davis in Political Science. He lives in South Davis with his wife Cecilia Escamilla Greenwald and three children.
How is Key Riced a racial epithet? That deceptive edit was a yellow dog move. You allow a blatantly racist avatar every day, but edit a homophone designed not to offend your fundamentalist readers? This is bull crap.
And the American flag is just a flag. And look at all the emotion that has been stirred up by both supporters and detractors of the actions of Colin Kaepernick.
Likewise with the Confederate flag. Just a flag, and yet consider the years and years of dissension based on differing meanings to different groups of people
Our symbols including statues, flags, religious symbols….., matter deeply to many members of our community even if they are not of great importance to some. A little empathy might be in order.
Does that empathy apply to statues in public parks in Davis of someone, who say, has the numbering of years in our calendar based on an approximation of his birth? Am guessing not.
Am sensing a ‘deification’ of Ghandi. An effective person (in establishing a ‘state’, independent of British colonial rule… and also the seed in creating a divisiveness that still exists ~ 70 after his death), to be sure, but cannot think of another statue of an identifiable person in a public park in Davis.
Empathy is never directed at a statue. I certainly do have empathy for the feelings of those who would like to see a statue of Jesus in a public place. But would they have the same empathy for the same sized placement of a statue of the Buddha, or a symbol of Islam, or worse yet for some I am sure a statue of the devil for the Satanists amongst us ? I suspect not. This is one of the reasons that we have separation of church and state, which is in my mind, where the difference lies between your comment and the current statue.
Apparently they do [have empathy or disinterest]… saw no reference to Jewish, Christian, or Muslim protesters…
There are certainly questions about Ghandi’s view of women… do you espouse those?
There are certainly questions about Ghandi’s views of children?
Can you not see other religious backgrounds in Ghandi’s message?
Can you not see that Ghandi incorporated elements of Judiasm, Christianity into his philosophy? Can you not see his, and his followers’ hatred toward Sihkism and their tenet that there was only one deity? While believing in multiple “gods”?
His and his followers’ hatred toward those of the Muslim faith?
Ghandi was no atheist/agnostic…. why do you insist on ‘deifying’ him?
He was a man… who, overall, did good, but was imperfect. No more, no less… yet became a ‘cult figure’.
Nehru was is ‘appointed’ successor… how did that go?
They were obnoxious. They disrupted the ceremony and did little to advance their cause, whatever it was, about India. They insulted the rest of the Indian community instead of building bridges that might help them in the their cause.
Robb Davis was obnoxious too and insulting, preaching and turning to the protestors and away from the crowd, calling people sheep.
Robb thought he could diffuse the situation by reopening it at the council or make it a teaching moment with his speech. He was wrong on both counts. At least Brett Lee had the good sense to not show up after voting to delay the statue dedication. Robb added insult to injury with his patronizing behavior and speech.
Robb Davis is a dangerous man. From his previous rants on this blog, I have learned that he is an arrogant and angry person. I now know that he truly believes he is his “brothers keeper”. My advice to the mayor would be to stick to the issues affecting the “sheep” such as revenue generation, pavement deterioration and job creation. Leave the preaching to the likes of Westboro. We are not your flock and you are not our shepherd.
I don’t understand the vitriol towards the mayor by you – Rbb’s made it clear, he’s one and done in terms of council and he’s never running for higher office – UNFORTUNATELY
My dislike for the mayor and most of the city council is that Davis’ real problems are no where near being solved and idealistic stunts like this do nothing for us. We need pragmatic action from our city council. How much police overtime did this charade cost us? Did India pay for that?
> Robb Davis, as a person, is one of the most decent persons
> I’ve ever had the chance to encounter.
I feel the same way about Robb, but still don’t understand why Davis needs to waste time getting in to issues with religion in other countries or pipelines in other states.
Any idea if the next city council meeting will have a debate on a Chinese Falun Gong leader statue in the new Rainbow City Park or have a vote on the Keystone XL pipeline?
“I now know that he truly believes he is his “brothers keeper””
I was raised in a Methodist household. In my home and in my church, we would have considered this the highest form of compliment that could be paid to an individual. I was raised with the belief that service to others is amongst our highest callings as human beings.
I know longer believe the origin myth of the Methodist church. However, I believe now as firmly as I did when growing up that the highest purpose of the gifts and talents that I have is in my contribution to the well being of others. I am frankly at a loss about how you seem to disparage this quality in our mayor.
Perhaps you do not know him personally and therefore have never experienced just how carefully he considers each persons opinion, even if he does not end up in agreement. Perhaps you are mistaking his precision with language with elitism or hubris. Having worked closely with Robb in the past, I can assure you that this is far from the case. I would encourage you to get to know the mayor and I would be very, very surprised if your opinion remained the same.
It is rare to find a leader who is brave enough to give a speech that challenges people to think about how they view the world and the conflicts that exist within it. Davis is fortunate to have one at this moment. Thanks Robb.
These people shouted over Senator Lois Wolk yelling “shame, shame” at her. Lois has conducted herself in a dignified and fair manner for over 20 years serving this community. They disrespected everyone and even though they got quiet when the children spoke or sang there were other children who didn’t participate because they were afraid.
Robb is not a hero here, he is a tool, disrespecting the local Indian community and dismissing their efforts to bring the teachings of Gandhi to Davis as “Brand India.”
Then he asks if we would dismiss the protestors as “terrorists” when nobody did any such thing. Robb was tone deaf to the community he is supposed to serve. He may still command the respect of his friends but he spent all of his political capital and goodwill yesterday with a portion of this community.
Misanthrop said . . . “he spent all of his political capital and goodwill yesterday with a portion of this community.”
That was a guaranteed outcome yesterday. The only question was what portion of the community would no longer have goodwill.
My personal opinion is that if “Brand India” is in fact a conscious initiative, then the advocates of that initiative are likely to be the first people who embrace Robb’s effort. It was both peaceful and non-violent.
Your through the looking glass analysis reminds me of one candidate blaming the other for birtherism. If you think people should be happy with what Robb did from the podium and behind the scenes to allow the protestors to get close enough where they could disrupt the ceremony with bullhorns you are sorely mistaken. Robb thought he could reason with the unreasonable whose only purpose is to disrupt and embarrass India. His efforts were at best a colossal failure and more likely made it easier to disrupt and insult this community and its elected leaders. Robb should be ashamed and he should admit his failure of judgement and apologize to the community that was insulted and subjected to abuse at the hands of people he enabled through his actions in his official capacity as mayor to disrupt and disrespect the people of Davis.
Your prejudgment of yesterday’s events is crystal clear. You clearly have a closed mind on the subject, so it appears there is nothing to be gained by discussing it further. Thank you for your unambiguous contribution to the dialogue.
How do you know Michelle? Robb enabled these people by re-opening the issue. Robb enabled these people by not using his position as Mayor to insist the protestors be kept farther back from the ceremony by the police. Robb enabled these people by not insisting they not use bullhorns to disrupt at close range. Bullhorns they didn’t have a noise permit for. The protestors right to free speech does not supersede the communities right to free speech. What action, name one, did Robb take to protect the free speech rights of the people who were there for the ceremony. A case can easily be made that Robb did indeed throw kerosene on the conflagration both through his actions and his inactions.
Prejudgement, there is no prejudgement on my part. I was there I saw the whole thing. What is obvious is that Robb’s friends want to protect him from well deserved criticism. Of course I didn’t see most of you who are defending him there. Oh you like his speech but you weren’t there to put that speech in the context of Robb being the only one who wasn’t shouted down and insulted like was Senator Lois Wolk, the Ambassador of India, Dan Wolk, the M.C., Rochelle Swanson and Will Arnold. Yet Robb never spoke up for respecting any of the other dignitaries even though he was the only one they allowed to speak without badgering and constant interruption. Whatever respect he earned he failed to use when it mattered the most.
Sunder was up in the front and the anonymous individual was toward the back of the seated section
Your eyes deceived you I was nowhere near Sunder. As do your assumptions. One person’s right to free speech does not over ride another person’s right to free speech.
Probably why people who don’t live here should butt out. Robb’s made it clear he’s not running for office again, so what does he gain by pandering to voters? Most of the protesters are out of town anyway, so who is he pandering to and for what?
How do you know Michelle? Robb enabled these people by re-opening the issue. Robb enabled these people by not using his position as Mayor to insist the protestors be kept farther back from the ceremony by the police. Robb enabled these people by not insisting they not use bullhorns to disrupt at close range. Bullhorns they didn’t have a noise permit for. The protestors right to free speech does not supersede the communities right to free speech. What action, name one, did Robb take to protect the free speech rights of the people who were there for the ceremony. A case can easily be made that Robb did indeed throw kerosene on the conflagration both through his actions and his inactions.
These people? Can you be more dismissive and denigrating? He enabled them? They were going to protest anyway, there were like five of these protests across the country, was Robb responsible for all of them?
Geezeus {deleted racial epithet}, people, it’s just a freakin’ statue.
I think that’s insensitive.
How is Key Riced a racial epithet? That deceptive edit was a yellow dog move. You allow a blatantly racist avatar every day, but edit a homophone designed not to offend your fundamentalist readers? This is bull crap.
And I think setting police line boundaries (see pictures in story) is insensitive.
you’ve never been to a protest?
Yes, DP, but did not encounter Police “do not cross” tape… and you?
“Just a ….. statue”
And the American flag is just a flag. And look at all the emotion that has been stirred up by both supporters and detractors of the actions of Colin Kaepernick.
Likewise with the Confederate flag. Just a flag, and yet consider the years and years of dissension based on differing meanings to different groups of people
Our symbols including statues, flags, religious symbols….., matter deeply to many members of our community even if they are not of great importance to some. A little empathy might be in order.
And for some it is the symbol of someone they see either as an oppressor or connected with their oppressor.
As someone wrote on here, one man’s protester is another man’s freedom fighter.
doesn’t that explain the aversion to the statue?
Does that empathy apply to statues in public parks in Davis of someone, who say, has the numbering of years in our calendar based on an approximation of his birth? Am guessing not.
Am sensing a ‘deification’ of Ghandi. An effective person (in establishing a ‘state’, independent of British colonial rule… and also the seed in creating a divisiveness that still exists ~ 70 after his death), to be sure, but cannot think of another statue of an identifiable person in a public park in Davis.
This is going to be interesting…
hpierce
Empathy is never directed at a statue. I certainly do have empathy for the feelings of those who would like to see a statue of Jesus in a public place. But would they have the same empathy for the same sized placement of a statue of the Buddha, or a symbol of Islam, or worse yet for some I am sure a statue of the devil for the Satanists amongst us ? I suspect not. This is one of the reasons that we have separation of church and state, which is in my mind, where the difference lies between your comment and the current statue.
Apparently they do [have empathy or disinterest]… saw no reference to Jewish, Christian, or Muslim protesters…
There are certainly questions about Ghandi’s view of women… do you espouse those?
There are certainly questions about Ghandi’s views of children?
Can you not see other religious backgrounds in Ghandi’s message?
Can you not see that Ghandi incorporated elements of Judiasm, Christianity into his philosophy? Can you not see his, and his followers’ hatred toward Sihkism and their tenet that there was only one deity? While believing in multiple “gods”?
His and his followers’ hatred toward those of the Muslim faith?
Ghandi was no atheist/agnostic…. why do you insist on ‘deifying’ him?
He was a man… who, overall, did good, but was imperfect. No more, no less… yet became a ‘cult figure’.
Nehru was is ‘appointed’ successor… how did that go?
They were obnoxious. They disrupted the ceremony and did little to advance their cause, whatever it was, about India. They insulted the rest of the Indian community instead of building bridges that might help them in the their cause.
Robb Davis was obnoxious too and insulting, preaching and turning to the protestors and away from the crowd, calling people sheep.
Robb thought he could diffuse the situation by reopening it at the council or make it a teaching moment with his speech. He was wrong on both counts. At least Brett Lee had the good sense to not show up after voting to delay the statue dedication. Robb added insult to injury with his patronizing behavior and speech.
wow.
I liked his speech, and I like the statue.
Robb Davis is a dangerous man. From his previous rants on this blog, I have learned that he is an arrogant and angry person. I now know that he truly believes he is his “brothers keeper”. My advice to the mayor would be to stick to the issues affecting the “sheep” such as revenue generation, pavement deterioration and job creation. Leave the preaching to the likes of Westboro. We are not your flock and you are not our shepherd.
I can’t think of a description of a local political figure that I find less accurate than what you’ve written here.
I agree, Robb is not dangerous, simply misguided at times.
I hope I’m wrong. Fortunately, redistricting has made Davis candidates less viable for higher office so we may never have to find out.
I don’t understand the vitriol towards the mayor by you – Rbb’s made it clear, he’s one and done in terms of council and he’s never running for higher office – UNFORTUNATELY
My dislike for the mayor and most of the city council is that Davis’ real problems are no where near being solved and idealistic stunts like this do nothing for us. We need pragmatic action from our city council. How much police overtime did this charade cost us? Did India pay for that?
Let’s say that’s true – is anything you’ve said going to change anything?
Normally, I don’t get into personality perceptions. But I can’t let this one go.
Robb Davis, as a person, is one of the most decent persons I’ve ever had the chance to encounter. And that list is very long.
Politics must be coloring assessments to the contrary.
Phil wrote:
> Robb Davis, as a person, is one of the most decent persons
> I’ve ever had the chance to encounter.
I feel the same way about Robb, but still don’t understand why Davis needs to waste time getting in to issues with religion in other countries or pipelines in other states.
Any idea if the next city council meeting will have a debate on a Chinese Falun Gong leader statue in the new Rainbow City Park or have a vote on the Keystone XL pipeline?
Woody
“ I now know that he truly believes he is his “brothers keeper””
I was raised in a Methodist household. In my home and in my church, we would have considered this the highest form of compliment that could be paid to an individual. I was raised with the belief that service to others is amongst our highest callings as human beings.
I know longer believe the origin myth of the Methodist church. However, I believe now as firmly as I did when growing up that the highest purpose of the gifts and talents that I have is in my contribution to the well being of others. I am frankly at a loss about how you seem to disparage this quality in our mayor.
Perhaps you do not know him personally and therefore have never experienced just how carefully he considers each persons opinion, even if he does not end up in agreement. Perhaps you are mistaking his precision with language with elitism or hubris. Having worked closely with Robb in the past, I can assure you that this is far from the case. I would encourage you to get to know the mayor and I would be very, very surprised if your opinion remained the same.
It is rare to find a leader who is brave enough to give a speech that challenges people to think about how they view the world and the conflicts that exist within it. Davis is fortunate to have one at this moment. Thanks Robb.
Were you there Michelle?
These people shouted over Senator Lois Wolk yelling “shame, shame” at her. Lois has conducted herself in a dignified and fair manner for over 20 years serving this community. They disrespected everyone and even though they got quiet when the children spoke or sang there were other children who didn’t participate because they were afraid.
Robb is not a hero here, he is a tool, disrespecting the local Indian community and dismissing their efforts to bring the teachings of Gandhi to Davis as “Brand India.”
Then he asks if we would dismiss the protestors as “terrorists” when nobody did any such thing. Robb was tone deaf to the community he is supposed to serve. He may still command the respect of his friends but he spent all of his political capital and goodwill yesterday with a portion of this community.
Misanthrop said . . . “he spent all of his political capital and goodwill yesterday with a portion of this community.”
That was a guaranteed outcome yesterday. The only question was what portion of the community would no longer have goodwill.
My personal opinion is that if “Brand India” is in fact a conscious initiative, then the advocates of that initiative are likely to be the first people who embrace Robb’s effort. It was both peaceful and non-violent.
Your through the looking glass analysis reminds me of one candidate blaming the other for birtherism. If you think people should be happy with what Robb did from the podium and behind the scenes to allow the protestors to get close enough where they could disrupt the ceremony with bullhorns you are sorely mistaken. Robb thought he could reason with the unreasonable whose only purpose is to disrupt and embarrass India. His efforts were at best a colossal failure and more likely made it easier to disrupt and insult this community and its elected leaders. Robb should be ashamed and he should admit his failure of judgement and apologize to the community that was insulted and subjected to abuse at the hands of people he enabled through his actions in his official capacity as mayor to disrupt and disrespect the people of Davis.
Your prejudgment of yesterday’s events is crystal clear. You clearly have a closed mind on the subject, so it appears there is nothing to be gained by discussing it further. Thank you for your unambiguous contribution to the dialogue.
How do you know Michelle? Robb enabled these people by re-opening the issue. Robb enabled these people by not using his position as Mayor to insist the protestors be kept farther back from the ceremony by the police. Robb enabled these people by not insisting they not use bullhorns to disrupt at close range. Bullhorns they didn’t have a noise permit for. The protestors right to free speech does not supersede the communities right to free speech. What action, name one, did Robb take to protect the free speech rights of the people who were there for the ceremony. A case can easily be made that Robb did indeed throw kerosene on the conflagration both through his actions and his inactions.
Strange i wrote a whole screed about prejudgement and instead a reprint of another post went up. Weird.
Here it is.
Prejudgement, there is no prejudgement on my part. I was there I saw the whole thing. What is obvious is that Robb’s friends want to protect him from well deserved criticism. Of course I didn’t see most of you who are defending him there. Oh you like his speech but you weren’t there to put that speech in the context of Robb being the only one who wasn’t shouted down and insulted like was Senator Lois Wolk, the Ambassador of India, Dan Wolk, the M.C., Rochelle Swanson and Will Arnold. Yet Robb never spoke up for respecting any of the other dignitaries even though he was the only one they allowed to speak without badgering and constant interruption. Whatever respect he earned he failed to use when it mattered the most.
You have prejudged the Indian controversy, deeming one side right and the other side wrong. That is your prerogative.
I was there and if my eyes did not deceive me you were sitting very close to Mahdavi Sunder.
Sunder was up in the front and the anonymous individual was toward the back of the seated section
Your eyes deceived you I was nowhere near Sunder. As do your assumptions. One person’s right to free speech does not over ride another person’s right to free speech.
Does anyone have a photograph of the the back of the seated section during the event?
Not a photograph, but a video.
Robb did not spread the flame of hatred by throwing kerosene on it. If more leaders took this approach fewer people would get burned.
Frankly, (I’m taking it back!) I feel Robb was pandering to the voters in Davis.
Probably why people who don’t live here should butt out. Robb’s made it clear he’s not running for office again, so what does he gain by pandering to voters? Most of the protesters are out of town anyway, so who is he pandering to and for what?
“What would Gandhi have done in Robb’s position? ”
He almost certainly would have orchestrated the press coverage much better.
The real question that should be asked is, what would Partanski do?
How do you know Michelle? Robb enabled these people by re-opening the issue. Robb enabled these people by not using his position as Mayor to insist the protestors be kept farther back from the ceremony by the police. Robb enabled these people by not insisting they not use bullhorns to disrupt at close range. Bullhorns they didn’t have a noise permit for. The protestors right to free speech does not supersede the communities right to free speech. What action, name one, did Robb take to protect the free speech rights of the people who were there for the ceremony. A case can easily be made that Robb did indeed throw kerosene on the conflagration both through his actions and his inactions.
These people? Can you be more dismissive and denigrating? He enabled them? They were going to protest anyway, there were like five of these protests across the country, was Robb responsible for all of them?
What would Gandhi have done in Robb’s position?