Birth of a protester: Aidan Crane is human

I think it’s safe to say that I have a contentious relationship with the readership of the IDS Opinion Page.

My articles regularly climb into the top 10 most commented articles on the IDS website, and I receive more hate mail than I have time to read.

Some of this is no doubt due to my extreme views. Few other writers for this page have endorsed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad or waxed nostalgic for the execution of the Russian Tsar.

I also think that the current political climate contributes to the negative attention my writing receives.

A year ago, there was little protest culture at IU. There were no sit-ins, mic checks or occupations. I’ve repeatedly endorsed these actions or outed myself as a participant in various protests.

Though I would never claim to speak for anyone else in the movement, I think many reactionary readers have treated me as a convenient stand-in for the wider culture of resistance.

I would like to put a human face on my politics. Some feminist theorists argue that all political perspectives are shaped by the subjective experiences and sociopolitical standpoint of individuals. Let me share my standpoint.

I was born in Indianapolis. My mother was, and is, a nurse at the poorest hospital in the city. My father was a rape crisis counselor at the same hospital.

The example set by my parents still inspires me — two exceedingly bright and driven people who chose to spend their lives helping others, even if it meant making far less money than others.

My father was killed by a brain tumor when I was 6 years old. After his death, my mother raised her two sons on her own.

Growing up, I saw the strain put on my mother by the pressure to work full-time while also raising two children.

There was no government-funded day care to which she could send us, and all childcare expenses came out of her own pocket until we were old enough to be alone while she worked.

Of course, I recognize that my mother had a college education and that we lived in a majority white suburb.

How much harder would our lives have been if we lived in a racial ghetto or if my mother had no education? How could I look at those in similar or worse situations and not be filled with rage that those better off than us do nothing to help?

Yet there are people on this campus who grew up in better situations than mine and feel contempt when they look at those worse off than themselves.

I think I learned better from my parents. When I was very young, my mother explained to me that intelligence and talent are not gifts, but responsibilities. I doubt she even remembers saying so, but her words stayed with me.

That’s why I feel so proud to be a part of the movement for justice on our campus. I’m surrounded by fiercely intelligent and incredibly talented people, students and non-students, all working to make this University and the wider world a better place.

I can’t think of a better tribute to my parents.

­— atcrane@indiana.edu