I thought about not serving him. I
thought about asking him politely to leave.
I thought about calling in the comrades to disrupt his entire
afternoon. Instead, I provided excellent
service – refilling his diet coke twice and bringing out his fish sandwich with
a smile.
Former interim
President of Michigan State University (MSU), John Engler, came into the restaurant where I worked in the fall
of 2018. I was having a slow-paced and fine
Saturday afternoon when the giant man strolled in and took a table in my
section. My stomach dropped and I began
to see red. I texted my dad because I
knew he could talk me down.
I worked at the kind
of establishment that serves the rich – a haven for those with enough wealth to
segregate themselves from the general public.
I used to tell myself I was researching the lives of the rich or I was a
radical spy gathering intel, but the truth is the paychecks were large and they
fed me great food.
I served Engler and
his two guests, but behind the bar I was writing down a statement, “As a hospitality professional I am obligated
to give you excellent service. As an MSU
student I am obligated to tell you I do not support your treatment of survivors
or your continued presence in the MSU community.” I went into the service area and practiced it
under my breath. If I had had the courage
to go say those words I would’ve been chewed out, possibly fired, or at worst,
endangered my teaching certification if Engler wanted to retaliate.
“Everyone is someone…if
he was a Nazi, then you could tell your boss you can’t serve him on principle.” My dad’s words calmed me down as I expected,
or possibly hoped– they reminded me that Engler is not a Nazi and therefore is
worthy of human dignity. Regardless, I
would be false if I didn’t admit that I wasn’t ready to risk my teaching certification.
I faced riot cops and
Nazis at the MSU Pavilion earlier that year when Richard Spencer tried to speak. I had posted #FireEngler on Twitter and even
hung a few posters on campus, but when I faced Engler in my bar that Saturday I
chose not to resist.
Perhaps I should have
- he certainly has done enough to warrant his afternoon lunches to be disrupted. His slandering of survivors has finally brought
about his firing – the chickens have come home to roost.
Everyone is someone,
but not everyone deserves a quiet meal in public. Nonetheless, I caved under the risk of
confronting the interim president of my university as he ate lunch. I served John Engler better than he served
the MSU community.
So what is the
threshold for confronting evil? To what
extent are we willing to risk our positions and our careers in order to
challenge injustice? What social and
institutional norms enforce complacency, if not corroboration, in an unjust
world? How do we preserve our integrity when
working in these alienating environments?
This past year at MSU
taught me first hand that the rich and powerful serve themselves and those that
can benefit them in the pyramid scheme of American politics. In order to make this world a more just, peaceful,
and equitable place we will need to confront those in power vigilantly and
strategically; but more importantly we must be prepared to take the risks required
of us when acting in solidarity.
