Unlikely Allies

Many moons ago, I interviewed for a job. I had two years of work experience but was applying for a position for which I had no experience. I got the job but that’s not the point here. Many years later, the person who hired me told me he’d called a senior colleague at my former workplace before hiring me. He had been advised, “If you don’t hire her, you will regret it.”

This former colleague, Gautam Agarwal and I hadn't interacted very much when we worked together and so, his emphatic recommendation surprised me thoroughly. I couldn’t for the life of me, imagine what made him recommend me so strongly but I was grateful for his behind-the-scenes support. To me, he was an unlikely ally.

There are others like Mahima Sharma who was a colleague at my last workplace. Ours was an equation like many others. We worked together but had no other contact. A few years later, she quit our common workplace and launched her own consulting business and website, The Think Pot.

A few years later, I quit the news media business too and started blogging. I found unwavering support from Mahima in the form of tips and tricks, and sharing my posts on social media and to friends and family. I was and remain very touched by her genuine concern and active cheerleading of my work.

It's a truism that if you want to know who really supports you, start a small business or a blog. It’s certainly proven true in my case. I have seen many ‘friends’ shrink away from ever liking a post even though they view everything at lightning speed. At the same time, there are folks like Mahima, Shruti Pushkarna and Vidisha Pandey whose genuine support and engagement I cherish.

Today, we live in silos—some imposed, some chosen. And often, we mistakenly assume everyone standing within our current bubble is on our side while those we don’t engage with, are not. How wrong we are when we think this way. Sometimes, all it takes to break that illusion is a conversation. I reckon that’s how it began for Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia.

SUPREME BUDDIES

The US Supreme Court is a divided house. Every Supreme Court justice is nominated by the President with due consideration to their political leanings and stands on various hot-potato subjects such as immigration and border security, abortion rights and access, gun control, climate change, etc.

And given how contentious the debates around these and other such topics are, it was surprising to see a friendship like that of Justice Antonin Scalia and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In the 23 years they served together on the Supreme Court, they represented two ends of the political pendulum in the US.

The “Notorious RBG”, so christened by her young fans, anchored the liberal wing of the Supreme Court while Scalia, who had been appointed by President Reagan, led the conservatives. Over the last few decades, the escalating acrimony between the two sides has often spilled from the political realm to the social sphere. Not so for Scalia and Ginsburg.

They struck up a friendship over a shared love of opera, good food and wine while serving on the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in the ‘80s. Over the years, their families often rang in the New Year together over a meal prepared by Marty Ginsburg.

Justice Ginsburg often spoke highly of Scalia, praising his eloquence and how his criticism often helped polish her own arguments. Recalling the first time she heard him speak, Ginsburg said,

"I disagreed with most of what he said, but I loved the way he said it.”

This unusual bipartisan bond is exemplified by an incident narrated by Justice Scalia’s son, Chris. Shortly before Justice Scalia’s death, one of his former clerks, Judge Jeffrey Sutton, visited him. It happened to be Ginsburg's birthday.

Antonin Scalia had purchased two dozen roses "for his friend Ruth," and asked Sutton to deliver them to her. Chris said,

“Judge Sutton started teasing my dad…'When was the last time she sided with you in an important 5-4 decision?' Just kind of poking fun. My dad said something, I think, pretty poignant. He said some things are more important than votes."

Moments like these that trickle into pop-culture leaving it richer. Rich enough to inspire Derrick Wang to compose an opera named Scalia/Ginsburg.

THE SINGER AND HER GUEST

Talking of the performing arts, there’s a story about the jazz legend, Ella Fitzgerald before she hit the big-time. This was a time when black musicians, regardless of popularity, were often limited to small nightclubs and not allowed to use the front entrance of the venue.

Photo Courtesy: Wikipedia

Mocambo was one of the most popular nightclubs in Hollywood in the 1950s, frequented by stars like Clark Gable, Charlie Chaplin, Lana Turner, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. The club’s owner didn’t want to book Fitzgerald. A call from Marilyn Monroe changed his mind. Speaking about the incident, Ella Fitzgerald said,

“I owe Marilyn Monroe a real debt … she personally called the owner of the Mocambo, and told him she wanted me booked immediately, and if he would do it, she would take a front table every night… The owner said yes, and Marilyn was there, front table, every night. The press went overboard. After that, I never had to play a small jazz club again.”

Marilyn Monroe did what few would have done in that age, except perhaps a man like Luz Long.

OLYMPIC GRACE

During the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Jesse Owens, a black American athlete, fouled his first two attempts in the qualifying round of the long jump. Luz Long, his German competitor, advised Owens to adjust his take-off point to guarantee a safe jump. Owens followed his advice, qualified for the final, and went on to win gold. Long came in second.

Then, in full view of the German Chancellor Adolf Hitler who had hoped to use the Berlin Olympics as a platform to showcase the racial superiority of the Aryan race, the blonde-haired Long was the first to congratulate Owens, before taking a lap of honour around the stadium with him.

Photo Courtesy: Wikipedia

Hitler reportedly stormed out of the stadium and never congratulated Owens on his victory. But more interestingly, Owens, the grandson of former slaves, having won his country four Olympic gold medals in Berlin failed to receive a congratulatory message from his president, Franklin D Roosevelt. I suppose, sometimes, just as one finds allies in unexpected places, those you thought were in your corner, show their true colours.

The two athletes stayed in touch until Long’s death in 1943 during World War II. Owens maintained a close relationship with Long’s family after the war, even acting as the best man at the wedding of Luz’s son, Karl.

Speaking of his friendship with Luz, forged during the Berlin Olympics, Jesse Owens said,

“It took a lot of courage for him to befriend me in front of Hitler… You can melt down all the medals and cups I have and they wouldn’t be a plating for the twenty-four-carat friendship that I felt for Luz Long at that moment.”

Such is life—always surprising us by revealing our unlikely allies. Cheers to them all!