The following post is a supplement to a lager piece on “Aikido & The Culture Wars – Exhibit “A”: The USAF And The Gender Equity Petition.”
Recently, I became aware of a group of senior women instructors in the United States Aikido Federation who were petitioning their organization for greater gender equity in the higher echelons of leadership.
This came to my attention on Oct. 11th, 2019 when I read a public statement on social media by Penny Bernath Sensei, where she was speaking out against the petition and its mistakes.
I have been following Bernath Sensei in social media for some years and have always been impressed by her as a role model for Aikido. She is one of the senior teachers in the USAF and she runs the Florida Aikikai together with her husband Peter Bernath Sensei.
In fairness, I do not get the impression that Bernath Sensei is against the main points of the gender equity petition per se. But rather, her statement was directed to how a “bottom-up” petition is a breach in traditional etiquette, the “disrespectful” way she believed the petition was handled, and the bad feelings it caused in the community.
The Prioritization Of Values
But what caught me by surprise about Bernath Sensei’s public statement was the prioritization of values. She clearly comes down on the side of “loyalty to the hierarchy” over “freedom of speech” and the right to form a petition.
Upon reading her public statement, I felt compelled to write a rebuttal, which I posted in the comments section of her Facebook post. Somewhat suspiciously, Penny Bernath Sensei’s statement was receiving zero negative comments considering the controversy surrounding this issue. In fact, here statement was only thoroughly praised by both men and women in the comments section. It was clear that my rebuttal was the only dissenting opinion on the thread (at least the only one that I saw).
My rebuttal was garnering a lot of positive responses in the form of Facebook “likes”, but what especially struck me was how many people, both women and men, were reaching out to thank me for supporting the petition… all choosing to do so in private messages, none in the public forum.
However, within a few days, without explanation, my rebuttal was deleted from the thread.
I have decided to post my rebuttal here on my blog as an addendum to a larger blog post published on “Aikido & The Culture Wars – Exhibit “A”: The USAF And The Gender Equity Petition.”
I have been in touch with Penny Bernath Sensei informing her of my intentions behind this post. Furthermore, I have offered her equal time here on my blog should she be interested in sharing her perspective.
Here is the link to Penny Bernath Sensei’s official statement that she posted on Facebook:
Thoughts on the Aikido Women’s Coalition Petition to the USAF
The following is my rebuttal:
From facebook, posted Oct.13, 2019Dear Penny Sensei,
We have never met but I have always admired you from afar and am inspired by the space you hold in Aikido’s leadership in the west. But, respectfully, I was a bit taken aback by your statement regarding the gender equity petition circulated by the ‘Independent Coalition of USAF Women.’
First, I must say that even though I am a member of the Aikikai, I am not in the USAF, nor have I ever been. Furthermore, I have no doubt that there is much I’m not aware of regarding the subtleties and collective dynamics of your community. So I ask that you please forgive any ignorance I have of the specifics. In regards to the USAF, I have no dog in this fight.
However, even though this is an internal organizational issue, as you no doubt know, it is also an issue that permeates much of our western culture in general. It is especially relevant to how we ALL organize in Aikido here in the West specifically.
When navigating a thorny issue such as this, reductionist and polarized stands fall unsatisfyingly short. They rarely lead to resolution and usually, perpetuate division and separation. A complex lens is necessary to really evolve this issue.
In your statement regarding the petition, you wrote admirably and eloquently about the value of loyalty in the teacher/student relationship. The praise of your statement here on this facebook thread is pretty unanimous.
As a lineage holder in 2 Asian traditions (Aikido and Vipassana) I have lived and trained for a large part of my life in Asia (Japan and Burma) and I am aligned with you in this traditional value of loyalty. It is a value which I shared with my teachers, and now with my students.
At their best, the hierarchies we are loyal to are benevolent and transmit wisdom from generation to generation. At their worst, these same hierarchies can be rigid and dogmatic, in some cases abusive, and often punitive. Almost all hierarchies are a mix of both. But loyalty to an unhealthy hierarchy should be questioned.
Therein lies the rub, because hierarchies, both healthy and unhealthy, generally do not allow questioning. But questioning with critical reason is the only way to sort out which is worthy of our steadfast loyalty.
On the other hand, as westerners, and specifically as Americans, we also have deeply held democratic values of equality that are often at odds with more hierarchical values like loyalty and respecting of tradition.
There is no greater value embedded in the American consciousness than the freedom of speech. And for centuries this western (American and European) value has been expressed in the basic right of freedom to petition.
In fact, for over 200 years “The right to petition has been granted by the First Amendment Of The Constitution Of The United States.”
In order for a petition to be heard, it must first be circulated publicly to garner the required number of signatures. There is no requirement to tell the authorities beforehand, and doing so is often disastrous. Once the petition has met the required threshold of signatures, it is then, presented to the governing body.
Furthermore, the right to petition “for the redress of grievances is the right to make a complaint to, or seek the assistance, of governing bodies without fear of punishment or reprisals.”
This is worth repeating; “without fear of punishment or reprisals.” This right is enshrined in, and protected by the constitution.
This is where I was taken aback by your statement. I actually have no doubt that you hold both values of loyalty and freedom of speech in equal measures. But if there was ever a situation in the Aikido world where both of these values clash and are in complete conflict, then this seems to be it.
The modern right to petition authority is in complete conflict with the traditional value of loyalty to authority.
Whether it was intended or unintended, it seems in your statement that freedom of speech has been trumped by loyalty to authority.
From afar I do not know how USAF leadership is dealing with this issue. I read the official statement from the USAF and for the most part, think it is an impressive response. Even though the glass ceiling seems to remain intact, as an outsider I really am uninformed and in no position to make a comment towards that.
But I do understand that punitive action was taken towards 2 of the petitioners in that they lost their teaching positions at the NY Aikikai. For the ‘crime’ of exercising their rights and circulating a petition… without permission… which isn’t legally required… and is a constitutional right.
When it comes to a “conflict of values”, surely this is something that Aikidoka should be uniquely situated to deal with.
IMHO Aikido is not about the maintaining of harmony, and not rocking the boat. We don’t need aikido for that. Aikido is about dealing with conflict. Messy, unpleasant, uncomfortable, and inconvenient conflict.
After all, if WE Aikidoka can’t work out highly complex and conflictual issues like this, then what does that say about Aikido? Either the art is falling short of its promise, or we are.
I realize that your statement was written as a USAF representative, to the USAF community, of which I do not belong. However, it is the universality of this issue that compelled me to respond.
I mean no disrespect to you personally, nor to the USAF leadership, nor to the USAF community in general. If you feel I’ve overstepped, then please accept my apologies.
My intention is rather, it to claim the highest respect, to our highest shared values.
Finally, I was very encouraged by your closing words in your statement; “So where do we go from here?” This was my attempt.
Respectfully yours,
Miles Kessler
6th Dan Aikikai
Israel Aikikai – Technical Committee
How this specific gender equity petition within the USAF plays out remains to be seen. Furthermore, how the USAF chooses to prioritize their values as an organization is their business. I see it as an internal organizational issue, involving a complex cast of stakeholders… of which I do not belong.
What compels me to highlight this issue on my blog, is that when viewed from a “values” based perspective, this is a universal issue that is part of a larger “values struggle” that is impacting every aspect of our society and culture in general, and how we all organize in Aikido specifically.
I have written more in-depth on this topic in my blog post entitled “Aikido & The Culture Wars – Exhibit “A”: The USAF And The Gender Equity Petition.”
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.