Local world champion surfer talks about anti-Semitism in ‘Waves Apart’
Shaun Tomson, a world champion surfer and Santa Barbara resident, talks about the importance of standing up to anti-Semitism in “Waves Apart,” a documentary screening today at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
You can’t let bigotry win.
Shaun Tomson, who’s Jewish, knew that. He was 17 when he faced a bully who cracked anti-Semitic remarks to intimidate him to give up his seat.
Mr. Tomson was sitting on the coveted seat closest to the entrance to a canvas-covered truck carrying him and his fellow South African soldiers.
“I was faced with, ‘Do I give up my seat, or do I say something?’” said Mr. Tomson, a South African native who went on to become a world champion surfer.
In a split-second decision, Mr. Tomson stood up — not to give up his seat, but to make it clear that he wasn’t going to budge an inch.
“The worst thing you can do is to do nothing,” Mr. Tomson told the News-Press.
Mr. Tomson, a longtime Santa Barbara resident, tells the entire story of how he dealt with the anti-Semitic bully — it won’t be spoiled here — in “Waves Apart.”
Directed by Jewish surfer Josh Greene, the documentary about surfers and the anti-Semitism they’ve faced screens at 7:40 p.m. today at Fiesta 5, 618 State St., as part of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
Mr. Greene tells the story of how he encountered anti-Semitism during his youth in San Clemente, but found an escape from it in surfing. But later, anti-Semitism found a home in surfing, and Mr. Greene saw swastikas carved into surfboards at a surf museum.
Mr. Tomson told the News-Press he has never encountered anti-Semitism from fellow surfers. He said his experience has been that those involved with surfing and other sports tend to be accepting of diverse races and religious groups.
But Mr. Tomson applauded Mr. Greene’s efforts to shine light on anti-Semitism, which Mr. Tomson said is contrary to surfing’s spiritual philosophy.
Mr. Tomson appears twice in Mr. Greene’s film. In another segment, Mr. Tomson talks about how surfing helped him to heal after he and his wife Carla lost their son Matthew in 2006. Matthew died when he was 15.
“When I went surfing, I saw the sun rising,” Mr. Tomson said about the first time he surfed after Matthew’s death. That moment took Mr. Tomson back to a beautiful essay his son had written about surfing. As he thought about his son’s words, Mr. Tomson found a path to healing.
Mr. Tomson writes about overcoming life’s obstacles in “The Surfer and the Sage: A Guide to Survive & Ride Life’s Waves” (Familius Publishing).
He told the News-Press that his book, which is designed to help readers suffering from anxiety or depression, is selling well at Chaucer’s in Santa Barbara and Tecolote Book Shop in Montecito. (The book is not intended to be a clinical book, but is designed to be an inspirational guidebook.)
Mr. Tomson, who today has a 13-year-old son, Luke, said many people have told him the book has helped them. “It’s very gratifying to hear that.”
email: dmason@newspress.com
FYI
For today’s schedule at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, see sbiff.org.
