Consciousness-raising

at a march for ERA

By Jack Hagan

I have the feeling that stock in bus companies soared in the 1960s when demonstrators boarded buses in large numbers to converge on Washington, D.C., to protest the Vietnam War. In fact I'm cynical enough to speculate that, the bus companies hated to see the war end for that very reason.

I had that thought when I boarded a bus last month to participate in yet another demonstration. This one, however, was in Richmond, Va., and the issue was not the war but ratification of the Equal Equal Rights Amendment.

Thirty-five states have ratified the ERA and three more must do so. before March 29, 1979, for it to become the 27th amendment to the Constitution.

The Virginia general assembly is scheduled to vote soon on the amendment, and I figured it was time to get off my liberal haunches and do my part for its passage.

Two buses were chartered in Pittsburgh for the march and a friend persuaded me to go. Being male and politically dormant for the last couple of years, I was a bit apprehensive. But I went anyhow.

After a seven-hour bus ride we arrived in Richmond at dawn. We were greeted by AFL-CIO unionists who led us to hot coffee and dozens of Dunkin doughnuts. After we ate and rested a while, we began to assemble for the march."

It was damp and cool in Richmond, but we had just left an ankle-twisting 25-inch snfall in Pittsburgh, and Virginiass was refreshing to

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The march began, and I tried to mix with the crowd as we moved slowly toward the state capitol. It was heartening to see the conglomeration of people that turned out. The march was organized by Labor for Equal Rights Now, a coalition of Virginia labor unions, and had that union touch, like hundreds of massproduced signs that looked handmade.

One male unionist, who spoke softly through a southern drawl, was telling us to spread out to make the demonstration appear to be a bit more "mass" than it actually was.

"C'mon girls, let's put some space. between ya," he said to a group of women. They didn't seem to mind the sexist reference.

After about a mile we waited for the rest of the 3,500 people to straggle into the park that surrounded the capitol. The speeches began and were all short, each stressing the importance of the ERA and how its passage would help help end sex discrimination.

As blacks and women and union activists rose to call for an end to all discrimination and economic injustice, I realized we were up against the same forces that were our opponents in the anti-war movement. Those same people today would have everyone believe that the ERA would bring about unisex toilets, homosexual marriages and the disintegration of the family.

Regardless of the fate of the ERA, men need a radical attitude change. We must become more sensitive to the feminist issues. These are not frivolous issues; they include rape, wife abuse and the whole idea of. human beings dominating other human beings.

It's becoming more difficult to grin when one of my male friends ogles a passing woman or utters one of the many sexist phrases that have been invented to describe the female. body. While women need the ERA both for its real and symbolic importance, men need it too. It will serve as a specific reminder of our sexist past and, possibly, lead to a future without sex discrimination,

The ride back from Richmond was almost festive as several women sang old rock and roll songs, saving their best harmony for those verses what are especially insulting to women. As I lay there half asleep, I thought about how good, it was to be with women who cared about themselves and about their society.

women

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The bus pulled into the parking lot in Pittsburgh, and my first small step for humankind landed in a twofoot snowdrift. I thought again about the bus companies. I hope their stocks soar and buses are boarded everywhere again..

Hagan is à Plain Dealer editorial clerk.