KEVIN RICH

When I first heard about these awards, and began to read all of the responses, I came in to the argument on the side of supporting the awards. It seemed to me that their intention is to support the community and that we, in turn, should support them. However, after reading some very good points made on both sides, it is nonetheless apparent that a vast majority is opposed to the awards, and if the majority of a community finds something divisive, then it will be divisive. So now I guess I’m against them, because even if they happen with the best of intentions, they simply won’t have the effect on the community their organizers want them to have, because the community isn’t going to let it.

But that’s an important thing to consider, I think: that perhaps divisiveness happens in the interpretation of a thing, rather than in the action of the thing itself.

Let’s say I went to the expense of throwing a guacamole party, and I asked all of you to bring your own guacamole. And then I asked my mom to pick her three favorites and I gave those three guacamole chefs a wooden avocado that I carved all by myself.

If you were one of the three recipients of my Wooden Avocado, would you:

A. Throw the avocado at me and leave in a rage because I was clearly trying to divide the community

B. Laugh but privately feel good about yourself and sort of want to go make more guacamole

If you were not one of the recipients of my Wooden Avocado, would you:

A. Raise hell and punch me and never make guacamole again

B. Sort of wish you got an avocado, but get on with your life because really, it was just my mom.



I don’t know. I just think that a group of people wanting to spend a lot of time, effort and personal expense to see as much local theatre as possible, weigh in on what they found particularly powerful and important, and lift up members of the community for their artistic contributions sounds really kind, and really supportive. And conversely, people who say they will refuse to let their personal or company’s artistic contributions be considered by said group for said recognitions in the name of Milwaukee being a supportive community – but only in the way they want it to be supportive – sounds, well, less supportive.

I’m reminded of something that is happening on a broader scale in this current economic climate: state and federal funding for gifted programming is being either significantly reduced or completely eliminated in educational systems all across the nation. The argument: it’s not necessary. And further, who are we to say who is “gifted” and who isn’t? Isn’t singling out students for state-funded three-week summer academies for gifted students divisive? But as someone who (God knows why), in high school, was given the one of those opportunities – something I never could have afforded if it wasn’t state funded – I can tell you those three weeks of recognition, of affirmation, of being introduced to and challenged by a truly inspiring community of people, is a privilege I will never forget and a responsibility I will never shirk.

I read an article in Newsweek a few months back about this very issue; it was in the Opinion section, written by the mother of an autistic son and a gifted daughter. In a nutshell, she wrote that while she certainly wouldn’t want any of the specialized care and attention that is given to her son taken away from him, she couldn’t help but feel that if her daughter had the same level of attention- a teacher sitting next to her all day long in a one-on-one situation, constantly inspiring and challenging her, what could she accomplish? What would be her limit? Hell, maybe one say she’d find a cure for autism.

Obviously, arguments on both sides here. But interesting food for thought. Singling people out is always going to be subjective, because other human beings are doing the singling, be they educators, arts organizations, or my mom. But do we give no one an avocado simply because we don’t have enough to give everyone?

Just a thought: if these recognitions were to happen, what if we made them a responsibility? What if the money that the voters spend on tickets were put into a fund that was to be spent by the recipients on some sort of creative contribution to benefit the entire community? Isn’t that really the point of all of this anyway? My mom gave you the avocado because she wants you to make more guacamole!

Okay, I’ve seriously run my metaphor into the ground. I’m going to go get some Mexican food. I love you people. I moved here to be a part of conversations like this. Thanks,

Kevin Rich