Today the Epiphany, feast of the Three Kings, is a good a day as ever to reveal my new essay: Story of Struggle for Milwaukee SVDP. It is a story of how a small group took over the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Milwaukee and changed its mission and purpose and how a small group is now trying to restore the Society to its original mission and purpose. A friend who help me edit the essay said “If all facts and figures are correct, this is a damning piece.” Well, I did my best in research to get the facts right, but with limited data available it was difficult. I sent it today to the leaders of the small group that has taken over the Milwaukee SVDP. I ask them for correction of facts and bore complete responsibility for opinions expressed in the essay. I suspect that the leaders of small group in power referred to in the essay will not even read the essay and, if they do, to ignore it and not respond.
After finishing the Story I felt a little like the story of David and Goliath with our small group being David in battle with powerful inner group at SVDP. Perhaps in our next nonviolent action we can match some of the success of David.
Mother Mary reminds us in her Magnificat as well as Jesus in the Gospel, that the weak and powerless do have victories over the strong and powerful. Let’s hope so.
It is hard in this case because the small group, for the most part, are good persons. They, white middle class sincerely believe they know what is best for the impoverished. It is the culture of exceptionalism except on a local level. Whites have been telling Blacks in Milwaukee what is best for them and the wall along North Avenue separating low income Blacks from Middle Class White grows taller and taller.
When I was getting a little discouraged today thinking how this essay would be ignored I thought, of all things, of the movie “Finding Nemo” and the famous advice to Nemo “Just Keep Swimming.” just keep swimming,
just keep swimming, just keep swimming swimming swimming, What do we do we swim swim swim.
So being persistent as Nemo, doing what I do best, and hoping to be like David I just keep on going. These are lessons from Nemo and David; let’s hope they work.
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