The Switch Back

Just finished watching the recently released movie about Bobby Riggs and his challenges against all women in general, and the women's pro tennis tour during the 1970's in specific. 

Of course, it was a movie so there is not any real way to know how factual and how fictional was the depiction.  Still, after seeing the recent Kavanaugh hearings and the rally-around-the-male attitude of the GOP Senators, it was a bit disturbing that gender equality had not progressed as much as we would like, not to mention LGBTQ rights, and the ability to love who you love without government interference and societal judgement.

Towards that idea, and because I forgot to refer to this story in my post about the recent Kavanaugh hearings, here is a story I wrote a few years back.

                                         The Switch Back


The day before was like any other day. People went to work, got married, had babies. Athletes and actors performed on TV, the mail was delivered, school was in session. Trains and planes ran on time, dogs were walked in the parks, children played in schoolyards and in the streets. Armies waged war, politicians did, whatever it is they do.

Then came The Switch.

Although as a percentage of the world’s population, it effected just 10%, for those who experienced it, the shock was devastating. And, as if it was controlled by a purposeful hand, it effected the rich and powerful at an alarming rate.

The Switch barely touched Africa. The Polar Regions and most of Indonesia were spared. Few people in South and Central America were changed, but many in North America, especially the United States experienced it. Europeans were also inordinately altered. Oddly, every United Nations representative, every head of state, every religious leader (excepting the Dali Lama), almost every person of influence was switched overnight.

But this wasn’t a science fiction inspired alien body snatching plot. This Switch involved individual race and gender. Those that were white became black and vice versa. Those that were male became female, and again, vice versa. Overnight, the make-up of the world’s movers and shakers changed from white male to black female. 

On the outside. 

Internally, those who were changed were the same person as before. The same experiences, the same background, the same ambition and intelligence, just a new exterior.

The first few days after The Switch, the world paused. What did this mean? Was it a message from God? Explanations were offered, everything from an end of the world precursor to an environmental cause to an alien plan to disrupt the fabric of humanity. But, as the days became weeks, then months, it became clear that there was no explanation that would suffice; it was time to take stock, adjust and move on.

Then, slowly, proposals for change began to emerge. The hidden biases of the financial world were brought to light. The income gap between genders was addressed. The percentage of poverty among minorities and women was prioritized. The dominance of history that had been justified as resulting from the natural superiority of the white male was redefined as the consequence of better education, better opportunity, better resources.

As time passed, the world settled into a new paradigm. Certainly, there were some who merely exchanged the belief in their new appearance’s supremacy for their old. 

Why were they picked for The Switch, they argued, except due to the fact that they were more loved, more special in the eyes of the Creator. But for most, the new dominance of those decidedly not white, not male, was seen as an opportunity to rise or fall without obstacles, on the merits of their hard work, integrity and perseverance. Skin color, gender, became less important, less cared about.

And then came The Switch Back. Again, it was as sudden as The Switch; overnight. Everything was as it had been. The white male was back in charge, the majority of those in power, those with influence.

Again, the world paused. Had it been a global hallucination? Did it really happen? It quickly became obvious that no pictures, no physical evidence of the Switch existed. It was if the lessons learned in the past nine months were meant to be remembered via faith alone, without tangible proof.

Without hard evidence, there were some who preferred not to remember. They introduced bills and trumpeted calls to reverse some of the changes that had transpired, changes that had almost eliminated the prejudices of race and gender that had plagued the world before The Switch. There were even some religious leaders that claimed The Switch Back should be interpreted as a return to the normal, an admittance that the experiment of The Switch was unsuccessful. As if God tried something, but then reversed His decision and went back to the normal, natural way of things.

Now, a mere 30 days since The Switch Back the debate continues. On one side, the forces of those who choose to ignore the lessons of The Switch. Those who were more comfortable with their age old belief in the preeminence of the white male. On the other side are those that had internalized the changes that The Switch inspired. Those who believe that The Switch was meant to nudge humanity towards a true equality.

Only time will tell which side will prevail. And whether the lessons of The Switch would be maintained or ignored by the those preferring the prejudices of The Switch Back.