After their capture by the FBI, Wendy's case became a rallying point for thousands of Bay Area Japanese-Americans and other part-Asian peoples; Chinese, Koreans, Filipinos;traditionally the least vocal of California's many ethnic minority groups. These people came up with $150,000 in cash for Wendy's bail, which was later reduced to $25,000 when the judge recognized the extraordinary depth of Wendy's support. One man took the $2,500 he had been saving for his son's law-school education and pledged it to the Yoshimura bail fund because, as he wrote to the judge, . I know that Wendy would never turn around and hurt anyone who helped her. Betrayal brings disgrace to your family.
If the saga of Patty Hearst can be thought of as grand opera, nothing is more appropriate to the California mise-en-scène than this chorus of hitherto-invisible and unheard-of small-time gardeners and truck farmers marching out of the Oakland hills and up from Fresno and Salinas and the San Joaquin Valley waving Wendy's bail money in their work-worn hands. As a result of her chance involvement with Patty Hearst, Wendy became a kind of Joan of Arc and Emma Goldman to these almost-forgotten people; in turn, they became her jealous, vigilant, mistrustful guardians. Few groups in America have so much to be mistrustful about.
Tomorrow at noon I am to meet with Wendy's volunteer defense committee and try to negotiate terms for an interview. They are eager to raise money for her legal expenses, which will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, but are determined to protect her from exploitation by the media. They are looking for the "right" journalist, and I am eager to help. Not only do I like Wendy very much. So far as I can see, she is the single heroic figure in this entire cast of characters, the one person since Patty was kidnapped to have offered her help and companionship without demanding money, love, fealty, attention, respect, or anything else in return. Wendy strikes me as a far more interesting individual than Patty. She is a mysterious figure, but her persona has weight. She may be the rarest fish in the tank, the creature who knows who she is, even if others do not.
