The Emblem on the Wall

On the wall of the FFA classroom at Placer High School hangs an FFA emblem, made entirely of vegetable seeds. It’s a remarkable piece of work - every detail is captured, from the eagle grasping the shield and arrows to the owl perching on the plow. The work was completed by Placer CountyJapanese farm families who had been sent to concentration camps during World War II, in appreciation for the Placer High agricultural teacher during the war. He cared for these Japanese farms during their imprisonment, ensuring the families had a home - and a business - to return to. Every time I think of the seed mosaic, I think of my friend, the late Howard Nakae. Like the rest of the Japanese Americans who lived on the West Coast at the outset of the war, Howard was imprisoned. He once told me that the Portuguese neighbor who cared for his farm made sure his refrigerator was stocked with beer and steaks on the day he returned - Howard said he never tasted a better meal the rest of his life. I carry those stories with me - empathy, respect, and gratitude are part of the rural history of my community. To be honest, these stories often move me to tears.

These stories made the images and reports from the recent FFA National Convention all the more disturbing. I saw photographs of FFA members flashing white supremacist hand signals in their official photographs. I read reports of the general assembly chanting code words for “F*** Joe Biden.” I saw images of kids covering their FFA jackets with Trump flags. I read comments from adults that excused the behavior - “just kids being kids.” Maybe it’s time for adults to be adults.

I suppose some may say this is just an FFA problem, but it’s not. It’s an agriculture problem. Too often, I’ve allowed bigoted and mysogenistic comments from my agricultural friends go unchallenged. Too often, I’ve walked away. The stories from this year’s FFA convention require my - and our - attention. We can’t let this kind of behavior stand.

We don’t have to accept this as the norm. I grew up white, rural, and privileged. I also grew up understanding that empathy, respect, and gratitude were human values - not political correctness. I’m not sure when this changed - when did it become more important to protect a kid’s right to flash a racist symbol that it is to call that kid out for his or her ignorance and insensitivity?

Both of my daughters were Placer FFA members when they were in high school, and both benefited tremendously from the program. I suppose it’s possible that the Placer High kids who attended this year’s national convention didn’t see the behavior that so disgusts me - it’s a huge event, after all. But if they did, I hope they remembered the emblem on the wall back here at Placer High School. I hope they remembered the empathy that one agricultural teacher had for others in his community, and the gratitude that the families he helped expressed in the seed mosaic. I hope we in agriculture do better, too.