Dick Gregory
Grftfforv. Mack ■
Dick Gregory, black
comedian, spoke last night to
a capacity-plus audience of
the Big Job-the task of
rebuilding this country. "And
that job is left to the youth,
the strongest moral force in
this society, bar none, to get
done."
The two hour talk arranged
around the t repression, in and
moral bankruptcy of the
American society, drew a
generally enthusiastic, often
vehement response. The
audience, however, was not of
one mind on many specific
issues; nor was it of one
overall attitude: it was noted
that Gregory's remarks which
brought, from, the majority
the loudest agreement,
brought also the stiffest and
most uncomforatable silences.
Gregory urged, after a run
of Nixon-Agnew jokes (better
than most) that "We cannot
blame the president or Agnew
(who is so dumb that he
can't walk straight and chew
gum at the same time) or
Attonery General Mitchell for
the repression in our country.
We can only blame our
selve
like
"Repression works
teakettle left boiling ii
room kitchenette after the
thin
hot it
warning that it will blow up
before too long-according to
universal law. But we are so
stupid, we send in National
Guard troops to plug up the
spout-to stop the irratating
noise. Well that means we
have stoped the warning not
the fire. And I can tell you
one thing: this country's
going to blow it and
everybody, everybody is going
to get burned."
"Revolution, you see, is
not controled by man, but by
nature." In Gregory's eyes,
"revolution is an extension of
evolution." He stressed that
opression is more detrimental
to the oppression than to the
opressed.
"In this country we have
human rights and property
rights all mixed up, very
confused. Say I wear a pair._
I
Walton
of shoes that is too tight-let
those shoes be property right,
my feet are part of me,
they're human rights. So the
shoes, because they are too
tight-and property rights are
always too tight-these shoes
rub blisters. But, those blisters
turn to corns then callouses
and finally to bunions. Those
bunions eventually wear out
the shoes."
Morality is something form
within tne individual. He
stressed that "it has nothing
to do-as so many would have
you believe-with short hair, a
ihave or a Brooks
suit. This country,
because we look at morality
in those terms, actually finds
daily
Brother
itself bankrupt of real
"The killings at Kent State
University in Ohio and at
Jackson state in Mississippi
should not have surprised
anyone. We are talking about
the same place where people
threw dynamite through a
church window where black
children were praying." No it
shouldn't surprise anyone
because this country is
operating still on the cowboy,
Mat Dillon mentality: the
white man has to have
Indians to kill and beat
around to feel like a man."
The white man has had
plenty of Indians: Jews,
Italians, Irishmen and Blacks
(who were Niggers AND
Indians) have all quit being
the Indian in their turn.
Since May 4, 1970, the date
of the shootings at Kent
State, students, all young
people have become the new
Indians and the new Niggers.
For the first time the cowboy
is the Indians' daddy. So
maybe it won't be so bad;
the big duties are getting
blamed for everything and
looking alike. I can tell you
one thing though, if it were
the family dog being sent to
war, being the Indian running
towards the hills, daddy
wouldn't stand for it. No sir,
there would be a shoot out
on the front lawn."
It is said that history
repeats itself. "In 1776 four
people were shot by British
troops for throwing sticks and
rocks: history books term
that the Boston Massacre.
Look what happened six years
later, now what can you
expect in 1976?"
"The prescription for the
sickness of America, the help
for her insanity is found right
there in the Declaration of
Independence: the duty of
the citizens to revolt against
bad government." For Gregory
the dignity of the
Constitutuion is worth
ittaining through the same
kind of str
country
blow
sicker.
th.
"If
those who
the hospital are
must keep the
ral courage and digniity to
that Big Job."
