revolutionary gardening
By shag carpet bomb • Feb 27th, 2009 • Category: Class, Economics, Identity Politics, Labor Struggles, Politicsjust one teensy weensy thought on the revolutionary gardening crapliotta.
did any of those workers picking green beans and apples ask you to stop buying the apples and beans they picked. in other words, do *they* think that supporting them in their struggles would be best accomplished by boycotting their products.
hmmm?
srsly. using concern about migrant workers as a rationale for growing a garden: total horseshit.
there’s a really important principle about solidarity that seems to be understood when it comes to third word women and colonialism. but it seems to be forgotten when we talk much more specifically about the role of consumers and producers within the context of capitalism.
the solution is pretty simple and is not based on racial or ethnic identity or even location in a hiearchy of social status. Rather, it is solidarity in terms of radical political practice. In this case, there is absolutely NO consumption behavior that is worthy of the concept of solidarity with workers unless it is specifically requested by those workers, as part of their demands for economic justice. Thus, to be liberatory, anything having to do with a consumer lifestyle — like growing a garden, shopping at whole foods or shopping locally — is an act of political solidarity when there is an organized movement calling for a boycott. otherwise, it is an independent, individualistic act of personal preference, an act of your own personally defined liberation — to grow a garden, or shop at an indie health food store, whatever. justifying it as being down with the workers is disingenuous crap.
shag carpet bomb is
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Thank. You. Ms. Shag.
Besides all that…this whole bullshit of “let’s show our support for migrant workers by growing our own gardens to grow our own food” ignores the basic fact that, well, it would threaten the already tenuous position of said migrant workers. If people are raising their own food, then what need is there for migrants to begin with?? Just hop their asses back across the border, seal them shut, and shoot anyone crossing!!!” Yup….another “progressive” idea morphed into right-wing fascist/racist populism.
Just like the “we must move our transportation system forward to the 19th century…ban the automobiles, smash the freeways, bring back rail!!!” nonsense that totally misses why cars got to be popular in the first place: they provide the best point-to-point means of transporting people and goods of any resource. Not that I’m necessarily opposed to more rail-based and public transportation as a supplement to cars and trucks (more alternatives to the car would help, and our national and regional bus transport system absolutely SUCKS)..but you get the feeling that none of these folks who most riff about TEH EVIL CAHRS and THOSE NASTY FREEWAYS have never had to walk 2 miles to work, or have never had their pay docked for being late to work. And I don’t see any of them dumping their cars and trucks into the ocean, either.
Make cars more fuel efficient and self substainable, yes. Provide alternatives such as buses and, when feasible, light rail, absolutely. Change land use patterns so that urban sprawl doesn’t eat up too much land….yes, indeed. Smack down people who want to use their cars and who want to actually improve their roads to 21st century standards…Hell to the no.
I can say this and still be a rad lefty socialist. So sue me.
Anthony
Yep, Anthony, that was my basic point. I kind of got a punch in the face once awhile back when I wrote something about maids — and disparaged feminists who hired them mostly because the particular feminist in question was bragging about hiring a team of three maids to clean her house for $10/hr. Then, I happened to read a history of feminism in which Gloria Steinem wrote about the debate over whether feminists should hire maids. Well, it turned out that Carolyn Reed, the leader of a feminist maid’s organization, had something to say about *that*. She didn’t want feminists to not hire maids, she just wanted to see more dignity accorded to their labor!
d’oh!
So, I hadn’t even thought it through. I was obviously not on about the notion that feminists should not ever hire maids. I was, rather, disgusted with the way this particular woman failed to see how she’d exploited their labor by paying them so little.
Anyway, yeah.