“But if you won’t speak up because you can’t be bothered, then I don’t even want to know you.”
Mrs. Landingham, The West Wing
Published in
2 min readOct 27, 2018
Context
Mrs. Landingham is lobbying a young Jed Bartlet to talk to the school’s Head Master (Jed’s father) about pay equality for the women. Young Jed keeps coming up with excuses to NOT talk to his father about it but Mrs. Landingham keeps on keeping on.
MRS. LANDINGHAM
Florence Chadwick in the English Department has been here 13 years. She makes $5,900 a year. Mr. Hopkins in the English Department has been here 4 years fewer and makes $7,100....Mrs. Mueller gets paid an additional $200 a year to conduct the choir and band, while Mr. Ryan gets paid an additional $400 a year to coach the rowing team.
JED
Crew.
MRS. LANDINGHAM
What?
JED
It's not rowing, It's crew. And Florence Chadwick is a married woman with no dependants and Mr. Hopkins has a family of four to support.
MRS. LANDINGHAM
If we paid people by according to how many children they have to support then Malcolm Bundy, the groundskeeper, would get triple what the Head Master gets....
JED
What do you want me to do about it?
MRS. LANDINGHAM
I want you to bring it up with your father.JED
See. I'm not a woman and I don't work here.MRS. LANDINGHAM
The women who do are afraid for their jobs. If they bring it up, they're afraid for their jobs. What is it you're afraid of?JED
Why do you talk to me like this?
MRS. LANDINGHAM
'Cause you've never had a big sister and you need one. Look, if you think we're wrong... if you think Mr. Hopkins should honestly get paid more than Mrs. Chadwick, then I respect that.But if you think we're right and you won't speak up because you can't be bothered, then God, Jed, I don't even want to know you.