[June 4, 1965] Below the Ramparts


by Victoria Lucas

On Class and Murder

This review is late. The performance of "The Exception and the Rule" happened on May 7, 1965, produced by Bill Graham at the Gate Theater. However, I was too stunned to write earlier. Not only did the San Francisco Mime Troupe appear in one of Bertolt Brecht's Lehrstücke or dramatic exercises, but journalist and publisher Robert Scheer was featured after intermission. Also, as you can see from the program, Pauline Oliveros of the San Francisco Tape Music Center provided the music, so that was an attraction for me.

program for Brecht play
Program for "The Exception and the Rule"

In the play, the "exception" was a "coolie" who tried to give his master a drink of water. The rule was the master's fear of his abused underling that led him to see the flask as a "stone" and believe the coolie was trying to kill him. The results were the death of the coolie, shot by his master, the absolution by a judge of the master's actions (which were underlain by his need for "self defense"), and the protest of those who saw things otherwise.

No Exceptions to the Rule of White Masters

In the Mime Troupe's version, of course, the actors wore masks (in the tradition of the commedia del' arte in which they place themselves) and updated the 1929 work by Brecht, whom they outed as a "Communist." Whereas the results could be expected, the conclusions were disturbingly thought provoking. Here are some bits of dialog I wrote down: "The police fire out of pure fear." "One must go by the rule [the master's fear], not the exception [the coolie acts on fear of his master's dying of thirst while he was dehydrated]." "Dehumanized humanity" is a description of the coolie-master relationship that creates fear on both sides. "Sick men die but strong men fight" is the war cry of social Darwinism (not invented by Darwin). "He [the coolie] can't make us believe that he'll put up with it all," therefore he is "dangerous."

Scheer Opinion

After this disturbing performance with its comments on "class" and murder, Robert Scheer gave what the program called "a morality talk" on "The U.S. War in Vietnam." Scheer is now managing editor and editor-in-chief of Ramparts Magazine, a new left voice since 1962, produced here in San Francisco. He is also their Vietnam War correspondent.

Report from the Front

So how is the war going, you ask? Badly, my friend, badly, for both sides. It's like reporting on a journey that is uphill both ways. While that is a common trajectory in San Diego, which is all mesas and canyons, it's usually thought that if a war is going badly for one side it's going well for the other. Not so this war.


Violation of Geneva Accords

Scheer points out that the Geneva Accords of 1954 that ended the French war in Indochina mandated elections within 2 years to reunite Vietnam, with the present border meant to be temporary until elections could be held. In Vietnam, though, political battles have been fought on a literal battlefield rather than via the ballot box, and the US has been obstructing holding such elections precisely because the belief among US government officials is that Ho Chi Minh would win. Scheer compares and contrasts the situation of Negros in the South, whose voting rights have been interfered with, to the "n*gg*rs" of Southeast Asia, who are not allowed to vote at all in the present conflict.

Voting Rights and Human Rights

Deeper than that political comment, Scheer calls President Johnson's "voting rights" bill window dressing, and the lack of elections in Vietnam an avoidance of obstructing what he calls the "colonial ambitions" of the US in Asia. Scheer does not share the fear of Communist takeover as a form of political suppression of democracy, defining American "democracy" as suppressive in itself. According to him, in the US "white makes right," and in Vietnam "might makes right." He makes the point that as we slowly wake up to Negro rights in the US, we should also wake up to human rights in other parts of the world, particularly now in Vietnam, where both sides are clearly losing.

Suppressed Reporting

I've been listening to National Public Radio (NPR), reporting mainly by Christian Science Monitor correspondents, since NPR has little to no foreign-correspondent budget. They actually visit American troops and talk with the leaders, and their home editorial desks do not suppress their stories. So instead of publishing the US government press releases as the mainstream press does, the Monitor and NPR report what they see to the public. Scheer's commentary is in line with what I've been hearing. In March the US began systematic bombing of North Vietnam and the so-called Ho Chi Minh Trail–the supply route from North to South Vietnam. This began with the first landing of US Marines at Da Nang. Stories of atrocities persist but are not reported by the mainstream news.

As the World Turns

In short, I think I hear the noise of the world whizzing by, but I'm usually too scared or tired to lift my head, get up, and look over the ramparts of our middle-class consciousness. The Mime Troupe always provides such a view (while being raucous and funny), but what I saw this time was uncommonly scary. If you want to take a peek over the ramparts, buy the June edition of Scheer's magazine, at newsstands in the larger urban environments.

If it hasn't been suppressed.






2 thoughts on “[June 4, 1965] Below the Ramparts”

  1. Hello Vicki, I was looking for someone who knew about the paper called Rampart and came across your headline. My father who was George Baskett, a truck driver, was killed on September 28, 1968 by a police officer named Michael O'Brien . I learned at the age of 49 that George was in fact my biological father, I am now 60.  Before my mom passed away she gave me a picture of him. I did some research about him because no one wanted to tell me the whole story, she said she didnt know.  So I found out a few things and it all can to a halt when I ran out of options on the web. A long story short, I had to take a test and as I was looking for the information on my flash drive, I came across the research I had done years ago. I read it all to my husband and he said I should sue the police department. I said it sbeen over 50 years. Then I got on the computer one last time to see if I could find anything, maybe something that I had over looked before, thats when I came across the Ramparts which shared the whole story.

    Then to my surprise In this paper I see the same photo of my father as my mother had given me years ago, also I learned of 6 children I didnt know about before.

    I'm reaching out to you because I would love to find my half sisters and brothers and meet them, if they would have me. I figured this could be a great story for you as a follow up on a story that happened years ago. My name is Shirley Coleman which is my mom maiden name. For years I asked my mom and my dad did they have something to tell me because I had several dreams. I also questioned my mom about my birth certificate having no Father name. Later my sister met what we though was a friend but she contested that my present father was not my real dad but hers, and that's when my heart was broken. I remember it as it was yesterday. It hurt me finding out all those years that my real father was dead. I was told that I did meet my father once which I do remember. I spoke to my real father sister but she is old and couldnt remember much herself. So I'm left in the dark about sisters, brothers, cousins, and the others. I am reaching out hoping you Can please me find my family?

    My name is now Shirley Henderson-Bernard. But my sister has referred to me as Shirley Louise Baskett Coleman Henderson-Bernard. Lol. I'm the woman with many names and really didnt know who I really was.  My older brother used to call me a white girl. We all use to laugh because he use to say I was different. I really still dont know anything about that side of the family and hoping you can make the difference.
    Thank you for listening to my story.

    My email is victoryicon49@aol.com.
    My phone number is 609 424 8468
    Please text me because I dont answer calls I dont know.

    Yours truly,
    Shirley Bernard of New Jersey

    1. In case you read this after such a long time, I ask you to look at your email, because I finally did answer.
      Vicki

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