Another question the YARs are focusing on right now is the definition of evil. My knee jerk, immediate reaction to the question "what is evil" is "WALMART".
I have said in the past that I believe Walmart is the epitome of modern evil.
There are a lot of reasons to dislike this corporation- they don't pay their workers a fair wage or treat them well, they're homophobic, their stores are huge and terrifyingly seductive, they drive nice American businesses out of business, they're about as environmentally destructive as it's possible for a retail operation to be... I could go on and on. Perhaps the thing that bothers me the most is that all Walmart exists for is to create profit- the organization just doesn't care about anything else. It worries me to see so much economic power in the hands of people who will do anything, no matter how destructive to our interconnected world, to make money. And I feel like no one wants to stand up to them because... well, they sell things for cheap. My libertarian friends believe that if Walmart was really doing anything bad people would stop shopping there. My non-libertarian friends think that if Walmart was really doing anything bad the government would stop them. When I say I boycott Walmart, most everyone looks at me like I'm nuts.
Every time I buy something from Walmart, every time I step through that door, I feel like I've given up a piece of my soul. I feel dirty, and used, and ashamed.
I want to say Walmart is a subtle evil, since labeling a retail chain evil seems a bit extreme, but it doesn't seem particularly subtle to me.
I have a very Quaker idea of the nature of good and evil, after all. Good is listening to our inner light- doing what's right even when it's difficult or uncomfortable or unpopular. Good is about thinking deeply about the effects of what we do, paying attention to how things are connected and who benefits from any particular course of action... respecting the earth, honoring our fellow human beings, creating justice. Evil is giving in to what's easy, to power structures and economic pressures and what's socially acceptable. I don't think wealth is necessarily evil, but I don't think it's particularly noble... or worth giving up my values for.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Guilt
Something we've been grappling with (by "we" I mean the Young Adult Residents at the Mountain) is the question of guilt. My first reaction to the question of whether or not there is a place for guilt is "NO!". It's negative and manipulative and dis-empowering and generally not helpful, right? The idea that I'd ever try to make someone else feel guilty is horrific- I'm not particularly keen on the idea of making people feel crappy. Even if feeling guilt can move people to action, I'm not entirely certain that the end justifies the means.
Yet I wonder. What are we saying when we accuse people of trying to make us feel guilty? Are we sometimes denying responsibility because we don't want to have to face up to something? Specifically, the YARs have been talking a lot about privilege- white privilege, gendered privilege, class privilege, etc. We agree that some things are privileges that should be rights- like marriage, and access to decent healthcare and education.
Because of my background in anti-racism training I believe that what defines an ally is the willingness to question and give up privilege. I don't think being an ally has anything to do with being safe or comfortable or "politically correct" (gods I hate that term), but about doing what's right and facing the consequences.
You can only feel guilty, after all, if you aren't willing or able to DO anything. I don't want anyone to feel guilty, I want people to acknowledge responsibility. We are ALL responsible for systems of structural violence, like racism, and the right thing to do is to help dismantle those systems. Part of white privilege is the fact that as pale skinned people we don't see how much racism benefits us- we don't see the flip side of it, don't see that the things we take for granted aren't rights but privileges that can be taken away. Homophobia and racism and all the rest hurt ALL of us because when something that should be a right becomes a privilege it becomes something that can be used to threaten us.
That quote about no one being able to make you feel inferior without your consent can be expanded. Guilt is something you do to YOURSELF. Don't feel guilty, DO something. Take responsibility. Acknowledge injustice. Be a hero- don't let that right become a privilege. Don't deny unfairness just because it makes you uncomfortable or because it's easier just to let your privilege work for you. Be brave, for positive change takes courage. Give up being defensive, because that isn't helping anyone.
Yet I wonder. What are we saying when we accuse people of trying to make us feel guilty? Are we sometimes denying responsibility because we don't want to have to face up to something? Specifically, the YARs have been talking a lot about privilege- white privilege, gendered privilege, class privilege, etc. We agree that some things are privileges that should be rights- like marriage, and access to decent healthcare and education.
Because of my background in anti-racism training I believe that what defines an ally is the willingness to question and give up privilege. I don't think being an ally has anything to do with being safe or comfortable or "politically correct" (gods I hate that term), but about doing what's right and facing the consequences.
You can only feel guilty, after all, if you aren't willing or able to DO anything. I don't want anyone to feel guilty, I want people to acknowledge responsibility. We are ALL responsible for systems of structural violence, like racism, and the right thing to do is to help dismantle those systems. Part of white privilege is the fact that as pale skinned people we don't see how much racism benefits us- we don't see the flip side of it, don't see that the things we take for granted aren't rights but privileges that can be taken away. Homophobia and racism and all the rest hurt ALL of us because when something that should be a right becomes a privilege it becomes something that can be used to threaten us.
That quote about no one being able to make you feel inferior without your consent can be expanded. Guilt is something you do to YOURSELF. Don't feel guilty, DO something. Take responsibility. Acknowledge injustice. Be a hero- don't let that right become a privilege. Don't deny unfairness just because it makes you uncomfortable or because it's easier just to let your privilege work for you. Be brave, for positive change takes courage. Give up being defensive, because that isn't helping anyone.
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