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OPINION
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Saturday, December 15, 2018
Shannon Casas Editor in Chief | 770-718-3417 | scasas@gainesvilletimes.com
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The First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right
of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Pelosi-Trump
exchange shows
the rudeness of
‘talking over’
Tribune News Service
If you’re a woman who talks, you’ve been talked
over.
Run over in meetings, primarily by men, whose
culture perpetuates mutual interruption as a
form of nonverbal communication. Ignored, only
to have your comment repeated moments later
by someone else, to immediate response and
recognition.
Tuesday, the whole country was treated to this
scenario in full glaring color, live from the White
House on national television. Nancy Pelosi, minor
ity leader of the House of Representatives and
arguably the most powerful woman in the coun
try, had to fight Male-Pattern Balderdash.
With the weariness of the parents of an un-toi-
let-trained 4-year-old, we, as a nation, expect this
from President Donald Trump.
But where were Vice President Mike Pence
and Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.? They were in
the room, and they are each, in their own way,
champions of women. Pence styles himself as a
throwback to the chivalrous, mythical past. As a
progressive, Schumer presumably considers him
self a standard-bearer for gender equality.
Each had an opportunity to say, “Let Ms. Pelosi
finish,” or “Excuse me, Ms. Pelosi needs to com
plete her thought.”
Neither stepped in.
But that’s all it takes to talk back at talking over.
One person sticking up for another. One person
unwilling to let a colleague be run over by some
one who’s louder, more determined, who’s relent
lessly, recklessly rude.
Ten years ago, I had my own Pelosi moment.
In the midst of the real estate market melt
down of 2008,1 was the real estate editor of the
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Local brokers of
property and loans were upset as their livelihoods
imploded. They demanded a meeting with the
paper’s editors, as though our coverage had pre
cipitated the crisis, or could stop it.
Of the 19 people seated in that circle of misery
were only two women: me and an executive with
a local real estate brokerage.
The agents and brokers took turns hammering
our coverage. The two editors accompanying me
tried to explain the role of factual reporting even
in a period of economic distress. The men of the
industry were not having it.
At some point, I spoke up. I don’t recall exactly
what I said, only that I tried to make a neutral com
ment about the type of coverage that would add
nuance to our ongoing coverage of the meltdown.
Nobody acknowledged what I said. Not the
industry guys and not my two bosses.
A minute later, one of the industry guys
pounded the table and repeated what I’d just said,
word for word, as his own insight. This was imme
diately cheered. My bosses perked up. A point of
agreement, at last!
“No,” said the only other woman in the room.
“No. Joanne just said that. If you agree, give her
the credit.”
They all looked at me as though I’d just arrived.
Until she backed me up, I was invisible.
That’s when I got it. Thanks to her example, I
now advocate for others who are anonymized in
real time, both women and men. It would have
been a moment of national relief and respect had
Pence, Schumer or both done the same for Pelosi.
It’s not hard. You can do it too. Stop the conver
sation and redirect the credit to whom it’s due.
That’s all it takes to stop talking over from taking
over.
Joanne Cleaver is a communication consultant
who lives near Traverse City, Mich. She wrote this
for the Chicago Tribune.
Gov. Nathan Deal reflects on
the past as he looks to the future
My recent conversation
with Gov. Nathan Deal cov
ered a lot of ground. In last
week’s column, we talked
about some of his accom
plishments over the past eight
years of which he is most
proud, including criminal
justice reform that is a model
for the nation. We talked
about the HOPE Grant, a
scholarship that pays 100
percent of tuition for students
to attend technical colleges to learn skills
that are in high demand for Georgia’s
workforce in 17 programs of study from
automotive technology to computer tech
nology, welding, practical nursing and
even movie production set design.
To say the program has been a rousing
success is an understatement. 88.4 per
cent of students who receive the HOPE
Career Grant find job placement in their
fields upon graduation, and 99.2 percent
overall find job placement of some kind
upon completion of the certificate.
We talked about The REACH (“Real
izing Educational Achievement Can
Happen”) Scholarship Program, a
needs-based mentorship and scholarship
program started in 2012 to encourage
middle school students from low-income
families to graduate from high school
and be prepared for the 21st-century
workforce. Students and their parents/
guardians must sign contracts agreeing
to maintain the minimum GPA, have
regular school attendance and meet with
mentor-coaches.
For those in the program, unexcused
absences have dropped by 30 percent
and disciplinary infractions have
dropped by 60 percent, on average. This
year, the REACH Georgia Program will
serve 134 school systems and nearly
1,800 students.
We talked about the Legislature finally
funding Georgia K-12 Quality Basic
Education Act after its initial
passage more than three
decades ago. We talked about
the fact that the governor has
appointed more judges to the
bench in Georgia that any
governor in the state’s his
tory. We talked about his veto
of the religious freedom bill
and the restoration of the tax
cut to Delta Air Lines and a
bunch of other stuff.
Finally, it was time to talk
about the man, Nathan Deal. For the
first time in over 40 years, he isn’t going
to be in the political spotlight. For the
first time since 2010, he isn’t going to be
the chief executive of the eighth most
populous state in the nation.
What is he going to miss most? “I can
tell you what I won’t miss,” he said, “I
won’t miss the crisis phone calls. I will
enjoy the absence of pressure for a
change.”
How about hobbies? The governor
said, “I don’t play golf and I don’t do
much hunting, but I like being out on the
land. I love to fish.” He said he might
even try his hand at fly-fishing. He
should have plenty of opportunities for
that. North Georgia has some spectacu
lar trout streams and some spectacular
trout to go with them.
Does a boy growing up in Sanders-
ville think that someday he might like
to be governor of Georgia? “Not at all,”
he said, “There was a period of time
that I intended to be a veterinarian.”
That changed when his mother got
him involved in public speaking and he
became so good at it that he and a group
of Baptist teens won the state competi
tion at Mercer University.
Gov. Deal said the environment at
Mercer appealed to him and that led to
his attending school there on a program
which allowed him to fast-track into the
study of law while still completing his
undergraduate work. It was also at Mer
cer where he met fellow student Sandra
Dunagan from Gainesville, whom he
married and where he began his law
practice while she taught school.
He was the county’s first full-time
assistant district attorney, struck a lot
of juries and got to know a lot of folks.
When the opportunity came to run for
state Senate in 1980, he took it and won.
He served that part-time position for 12
years, becoming president pro-tem of
the Senate. “Driving back and forth from
Gainesville to Atlanta over those years
was very wearying,” he recalls, “so when
Congressman Ed Jenkins announced
his retirement, I decided either get in
politics full time or get out.” Deal won
the congressional seat in 1993 and kept it
until resigning to run for governor.
Deal is most enthused when talking
about the role the first lady has played in
his life and his career. As first lady, Ms.
Deal has visited over 1,000 schools in all
180 school systems in Georgia’s 159 coun
ties, promoting early childhood read
ing, as befits a former schoolteacher.
“Sandra is not much for sitting around,”
he said. “She likes to remind me that
she travels the state by car and not by
helicopter like the governor,” he laughs.
“I remind her she could probably run for
governor and win.”
I have known every governor — some
better than others — since Ernest Van
diver in the late 1950s. I have liked some
better than others. I like Nathan Deal.
He is a good man who has been a good
governor and done good things for his
state, quietly and with dignity. May he
enjoy his well-deserved retirement. He
has earned it.
Dick Yarbrough is a North Georgia
resident whose column regularly appears
Saturdays. Contact him at P.0. Box
725373, Atlanta, GA 31139; online at
dickyarbrough.com; or on Facebook.
DICK YARBROUGH
dick®
dickyarbrough.com
ti
Your dad really is an alien! He sounds just like Mars\"
JIM POWELL I For The Times
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fax 770-232-2909; woodall.house.gov
Georgia state government
Gov. Nathan Deal, 203 State Capitol, Atlanta
30334; 404-656-1776; www.gov.georgia.gov
Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, 240 State Capitol, Atlanta
30334, 404-656-5030; www.ltgov.ga.gov
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