Tulsa: A Description from a Coordinator of the Meeting

Originally Posted by pelathais

I suppose time will tell what the truth is. There are many men of "this crowd" who have already pulled out of the UPC over the last few years. And when they are not speaking in front of an Assistant GS, some of the coordinators have expressed a great deal of antipathy for the UPC as a whole.

My impression is that they would love to see a huge ground swell at Tulsa that will sweep these men into the national offices that "they deserve;" but they don't know for certain that they'll see such support so they're hedging their bets by being respectful whenever a UPC official shows up.

There are men on the flyer who have complained for years that they've been elbowed out of the positions that their talents have made them worthy of (and they may even have a point!). There are a lot of different agendas at work here.

What I have seen is a bunch of guys who were raised and trained to really despise some of their brethren. While some of the "coordinators" have a kinder spirit than that, there is something of a groundswell to be finally rid of "the compromisers" one way or another.

So much here that I disagree with. Oh well... I know most of them and consider them personal friends. I know for a fact that the man did NOT 'water it down' for an Assistant Superintendant. They ribbed each other all week long about many things but this conversation was open and honest.

As for any ulterior motives: I'm personal FRIENDS with most of these men and NOT one of them (I've talked to most before the vote and many after the vote) have EVER tried to persuade me to drop the UPC.

Some of them have dropped. NEVER asked me to.
Some of them will drop. NEVER suggested I do the same.
Some will stay in the UPC. NEVER tried to persuade me either way.

In fact, when I brought up the fact that there were so many from other groups saying they were coming who would 'rejoice over any exodus' the reply was stern and to the point: "That spirit won't be allowed to find a spotlight".

Of all the men I've talked to who are planning on leaving I've yet to find an 'in your face, liberals!' spirit among them. Most are just sad and resigned to the fact that they have to make a choice.