Authentic and Unaffected

GOTV has always been fond of John Fetterman, even when bemoaning his hoodies and tattoos.  Far more weighty than those, for us at least, was the fact that Mr Fetterman embodies every praiseworthy quality GOTV grew up with in (North) Braddock.

Multi-culturalism became something of a cliche for us while we were still active in the classroom.  We'd tell  students repeatedly about:

• the number of languages other than English (five: German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, and Ruthenian) we heard daily on the 1300 block of Bell Avenue (where we spent our first 13 years)
• politically active, and in many cases highly educated (one MSW in social work, another an ABD in physics), family members who were also, demographically, working class
  
• growing up in an environment largely free of racial prejudice (viz  Porky Chedwick and his playlist)

These and more were the foundation for what we most enjoyed about our efforts in higher education:

• working with students from all over the world
• helping people gain confidence in their ability to engender positive social change
  

Taken together, these points embody what we find most admirable about John Fetterman.  He's authentic, straightforward, unaffected, and unpretentious.  That will serve Pennsylvania, and the country as a whole, well.