The conscience of a moderate

Using a hand-drawn image of Spider Man, and the words from Malcolm X, Valerie Fitzgerald created a sign that she held downtown in support of "Spider Man."

I consider myself politically moderate. Merriam-Webster defines this as holding “political or social beliefs that are not extreme.” I vote with one of the two major American political parties so that my voice will be added together with millions of other Americans who more or less agree with me. It’s not a perfect arrangement, and I’ll welcome something better when it comes along, but for now I accept the compromise.

My definition of what it means to be politically moderate comes from before 1980. We had a strong public sector, represented by Democrats, and a strong private sector, represented by Republicans. The civil rights movement succeeded in passing legislation with bipartisan support. There was less economic disparity; businesses were regulated by antitrust laws to support fair market competition; and unions guaranteed that workers were paid a living wage.

Now, large corporations and wealthy individuals in the private sector buy influence with “donations” that ensure favorable legislation. The president sells his policy announcements to Wall Street firms before they go public on social media. The public sector is steadily shrinking, and legislation that helps everyday Americans is labeled radical.

I’m not speaking as a progressive or liberal or any other political label. As Alice Miller said in her book For Your Own Good, “What was considered good yesterday can—depending on the decree of government or party—be considered evil and corrupt today, and vice versa.” Conscience is my guide, and Spider Man has influenced my conscience.

In August, a white Christian nationalist came to the courthouse in downtown Minneapolis. He and his entourage drove vehicles onto a crowded sidewalk. A counter-protester dressed as Spider Man leapt onto his truck and punched him. One of the images that flooded social media showed Spider Man, standing on the back of a car with his fist raised.

I’m not an artist but this image moved me so much that I felt compelled to draw a version of it in blue and red felt-tip marker. Technically, the person dressed as Spider Man engaged in political violence, which doesn’t fit neatly with my self-described moderate status. I know he’s not really a super hero. Like me, he’s a flawed human being. But seeing him, I felt like someone was on my side, defending me. I thought for a long time about my reaction, and I remembered the movie Do The Right Thing.

At the end of the movie, two quotes roll slowly across the screen. The first is a statement from Dr. Martin Luther King that opposes violence in the name of racial justice: “The old law of an eye for an eye leaves everybody blind.” The second, from Malcolm X, clarifies that while he does not advocate violence, “at the same time I am not against using violence in self-defense. I don’t even call it violence when it’s self-defense, I call it intelligence.”

Using my hand-drawn image of Spider Man, and the words from Malcolm X, I created a sign. On the day of his hearing, I took my sign downtown and stood with the small crowd that supported Spider Man.

We who live in the City of Minneapolis are justified in feeling that we are being targeted by an administration that condones violence against people who don’t support its policies. Two of our neighbors were killed this year for protesting. Countless people who were in the country legally were disappeared from their homes, from their places of work, or off the street, with little or no information about where they went. Statewide, our Medical Assistance is threatened on the pretext of exaggerated allegations of fraud, while other states with higher rates of fraud get no such threats. I felt like Spider Man was defending us against these threats because he was.

A friend pointed out that extremists like the white nationalist who drove his truck onto the sidewalk use this same logic to justify their actions. My response is that there is no logic that supports racism. I don’t have a lot of power but I can use my own right to free speech to say this, here, now. I’m speaking from my conscience, and I believe that in this case, I can oppose political violence and stand up for Spider Man at the same time. And still see myself as moderate.

Valerie Fitzgerald is a clinical counselor who has worked in mental health care since 2011. She resides in Howe.