THIS
As much as they might wish it were so in Tigert Hall, Emmitt Smith isn’t going to go quietly into that good night. The Gator football legend was one of the first to object when UF gutted its DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness) staff. And over time he’s only grown more discontent about what he sees as his alma mater’s betrayal.
In a recent pull no punches interview with USA Today Sports, Smith said:
“When I see them destroying DEI for the sake of politics…it’s not even common sense,” Smith said. “This is just sheer out of spite and sheer power.”
“At the end of the day, this country was built on people fighting for what is right for everybody, not just a select few. And with that fight, and with the University of Florida being as visible as it is, it irked me. To the fullest.”
“Because I remember the time when our president at the university would stand up and say, ‘Nah, we’re the University of Florida. We’re going to be here a lot longer than you, (Gov.) Ron DeSantis; a lot longer than you, Jeb Bush; we’re going to be here a lot longer than any other governor that tries to push something of this magnitude down the throats of so many Americans and so many Florida citizens.’ To me, that’s a problem.”
Oh, and Smith feels like UF owes him big time.
Bro, I want my reparations right now from the University of Florida. I want to send their (expletive) a bill. I want interest on mine. Because I know one thing: When I was in that stadium – and I hate to talk about myself, but the system has forced me to talk about it because we couldn’t get NIL (payments) – running up and down that field with Cedric Smith leading the way with my great offensive linemen blocking for me, when you looked up in those stands you saw a whole lot of E. Smith jerseys up there. E. Smith 22s. You can look at the old videos and see how many jerseys were walking around. And I didn’t receive one red cent.
Emmitt Smith to Tigert Hall: I’ll take a check!
THAT
UF Prez Ben Sasser and other UF powers that be went out of their way to portray UF students who demonstrated on behalf of Palestinians as naive and uninformed. But a UF prof who was in constant contact with the demonstrators begs to differ.
“If you went there you saw students hovering over laptops,” said Paul Ortiz, director of the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program. “Some were actually trying to incorporated elements of what’s been happening” into their class work.
“I’m impressed by high level of organization, solidarity and concern about the suffering in Gaza,” said Ortiz, who recalls demonstrating against the U.S. invasion of Panama back in the late 1980s.
“Back then it was hard to get information. These students are TikToking in real time with folks in Gaza. This is what makes these mobilizations so different. They do not have to rely on rumor or misinformation. Basically people get live feeds and they even know what neighborhoods are under siege.”
“I have mixed feelings about social media, but this is where it’s actually effective. People can know first hand what it’s like to be in Gaza right now.”
Oh, and you will be stunned to learn that after a quarter century at UF, Ortiz is leaving for a, um, less oppressive academic environment.
THE OTHER
Ortiz isn’t the only veteran anti-war activist who’s impressed by the astuteness of this new generation of demonstrators. Fifty years ago the Nixon Administration tried to put Scott Camil and eight, um, co-conspirators in prison on trumped up charges. It took a home town jury almost no time at all to acquit The Gainesville Eight on all counts.
“In my anti-war days, people of military age could be drafted and sent into war,” said Camil, who had been a combat marine in Vietnam before turning against the war. “Today is totally different. These students are out there demonstrating not because they are personally at risk, but because they believe in what they’re doing. And because they believe that genocide is wrong.”
And, like Ortiz, Camil is impressed, perhaps even a little bit envious of this latest generation’s ability to organize in real time via social media.
“We didn’t have the internet. When I was planning a demonstration I would have to send out snail mail to people. Phone banking is how we got things done. I’m not surprised that our president and congress want to get rid of TikTok. They want to control the narrative.”
And that’s This, That and the Other.
Our faithful FreeGNV blogger is filing from Orlando International Airport, where he is awaiting a flight to London (Next plane to London
Leavin’ on runway number five) there to do gawd only knows what.
But you will find out in due course.
FreeGNV 