by Natalie “Lee” Arneson
Acclaimed actor, activist, and all-around cultural icon George Takei was this year’s guest speaker for Evergreen State College’s Cal Anderson Memorial Lecture Series on November 10, 2020. George Takei and Evergreen’s Library Dean Greg Mullins had a live-stream zoom call to discuss democracy and where our country may be heading through the perspective of Takei’s own lived experiences.
Greg Mullins started off the evening by giving a warm welcome to all and introducing the much-anticipated speaker. George Takei appeared on screen with a large smile and shared how glad he was to be with us all that evening, commenting “I’ve also learned about the whimsy and wit of the students [of Evergreen]” and hoped that he would be able to visit Evergreen’s campus soon.
Mullins and Takei first conversed about the present circumstances of our country and how the horrors of the past, specifically the Japanese internment camps, still haunt the U.S. to this day. Takei reflected on the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the intense racism and xenophobia that promptly consumed America.
“We American citizens of Japanese ancestry were looked at with suspicion and fear, and outright hatred simply because of our faces. Every legislative body in the country, from the local level city counsels to state legislatures to Congress in Washington D.C., thundered with racist hate against us. The mayor of Los Angeles, Fletcher Bowron, said ‘No matter how many generations the Japanese are here, they’re always going to be Japanese, they’re unassimilable. In Sacramento, the attorney general said, ‘We have no reports of spy, or sabotage, or fifth column activities by Japanese Americans and that is ominous… Because we can’t tell what they’re thinking, it would be prudent to lock them up before they do anything. For this attorney general, the absence of evidence was the evidence.”
Takei further spoke on the outrageousness and hysteria that engulfed America when he was a child, and just how quickly our justice system was turned against our own citizens.
“I, as a five year old child at the time, too was categorized as an ‘enemy alien.’ I wasn’t an enemy, I was a five year old kid… And I wasn’t an alien, I was born right here in Los Angeles… In this country the pillar of our justice system is called ‘due process’; when you’re arrested, you have a right to know what the charges are and then you have the right to challenge those charges in a court of law. And if the evidence is there that you did do what the charges say you did then you are punished. In our case the punishment came without any due process.”
Just as the American justice system failed Japanese American citizens in the 1940s, the same is happening with the people who come from Central and South America, seeking asylum at our borders, only to be locked in cages. Further addressing what is happening at our Mexico border in present time, Takei said, “Asylum is a human right… We’ve stooped to a new low with what we’re doing to the children.”
The conversation later turned to Takei’s experience with Trump. Takei described Trump as “a narcissist, a neurotic, and an autocrat.” Takei went on to describe his time as a contestant on Trump’s show Celebrity Apprentice in 2012. “I was the third one fired,” he recalled with a chuckle. During this time New York did not have marriage equality, and on the show Takei tried to pin down Trump’s opinion on the topic. In the end, Takei got his answer in a dinner meeting between the two.
“It took a long time, I think about three or four months before we found a mutually workable engagement. And I was there first, waiting for him, and when he arrived the first thing he told me, he said, “You know what George, last week I went to a beautiful gay wedding.”
“I said, “Well, there you are! You’ll go to a friend’s wedding, why don’t you take a stand supporting it? It’d be a great boon for you.”
Takei and Trump’s conversation continued on, Trump avoiding Takei’s urgences to answer the question of whether or not he supports gay marriage. Eventually, Trump told Takei he believed in “traditional marriage.”
Takei, with laughter and amused disbelief in his voice said, “He was on his third marriage and he was famously unfaithful through all three marriages, his current marriage included. I said, “I believe in traditional marriage; a traditional marriage is two people who love each other and commit to each other and they want to spend the rest of their lives together in security and in love. That’s what I call ‘traditional marriage.’ As a marriage vow says, ‘in sickness [and] in health, we’re together’ and that’s important–those words are important.”
“And he says, “Yeah, that’s true but I believe in a man and a woman; that’s traditional marriage.”’
Takei’s recounting was met with loud laughter, no one surprised by Trump’s homophobia. Takei then steered the conversation to the 2020 election and Trump’s refusal to admit defeat.
“He hates to be a loser, and it’s that label that he’s most terrified of… He’s going to go down in history as the worst, sourest loser in American history.”
Takei continued on with the night, sharing his gained wisdom and provoking many laughs from the audience. He reminded us that no man is infallible and that we cannot shy away from our history’s colonizing, imperialistic, and racist history. We must be candid in our conversations and work towards righting the wrongs of our pasts. Progress will not be achieved by turning a blind eye, as Takei said, “There are lessons to be learned through history…Together we are going to build a better tomorrow.”
Near the end of the evening, Greg Mullins asked Takei if he had any parting advice for the students listening in. Takei shared, “I get my inspiration from the young people. Ideas come from them, their unique ideas. That’s why I love Evergreen College, because you have a Red Square and you call yourselves Geoducks!” George Takei ended the night by signing off in true Star Trek fashion, “Live long and prosper.”
