Entering the Capital

Katniss Everdeen is a spunky, stubborn, and determined sixteen year old who has been taking care of her family since her father's death. Since then, she has braved punishment at the hands of the so called 'peacekeepers' who hold all twelve districts in a choke-hold of fear by escaping her district's limits and foraging in the woods to feed her family. This perilous existence has remained unchanged; until now. When her frail younger sister's name is drawn in the annual 'Hunger Games', a tradition devised by the ruthless capital to hold districts in fear, Katniss volunteers herself as tribute. Taking the place of her sister, she and a boy she knows only vaguely, Peeta, are taken to the capital to 'be trained in the art of survival' and to undergo frivolous makeovers to entertain the capital audience. And while Peeta genuinely seems to care about Katniss, she knows that only one tribute will leave alive. And she is determined for the sake of her mother and sister that that person will be her.
There are many commendable character traits to admire in Collin's cast of characters. Katniss is fiercely devoted to her family and will stop at nothing to protect them, even risking her own life to do so. Her alliance and friendship with Gale, a boy from her district is also to her credit; they meet while foraging for food and decide to look after one another and their families.
This story, with all of its rampant injustice reminds me of Rigoberta Menchu's testimony. I remember being struck with the strength and beauty of her spirit and the characters from this book are no different. Sometimes in the midst of the greatest evil, light is most visible.

Jurgis: A 20th century migrant worker

Chapters 21 through 26 fulfill all of the foreshadowing of gloom present in the first five chapters. Many things have changed since the innocent, naïve, Jurgis, Ona, and their family arrived in Chicago. Jurgis has lost his job at the slaughterhouse because an injury prevented him from working for three months and his employers won’t take him back. Ona died during the premature labor of their second child and Jurgis is weary and embittered. After his child drowns in the street, Jurgis deserts Teta  Elzbieta and the family, becoming a tramp. Even after everything Jurgis has suffered physically and emotionally, he is still a fine worker and the farms where he pays for meals all offer him seasonal work. Jurgis, now no stranger to the ways of the system, refuses, knowing he will be out of work as soon as the winter comes.

While Jurgis is traversing the countryside, he meets many tramps some who work, but many of whom beg or steal. Jurgis has reached the point where he knows that as an honest man and worker he will never get ahead. This point reached, he does whatever he can to survive.

The necessity of winter forces Jurgis back to Chicago where he finds work digging freight tunnels. After another injury and a hospital stay, he again loses his job and becomes a beggar. When a rich and very drunk young man gives Jurgis one hundred dollars, Jurgis can’t believe that something actually worked out. This feeling quickly dissolves when in the attempt to get change; Jurgis is swindled by a bartender. After a fine and a short jail stay, Jurgis encounters Jack Duanne again, and the two partner in a life of burglary and crime.

This leads to working for a corrupt political boss, and enables him to earn eleven dollars a week, go to music halls, saloons and to ‘wear a linen collar’. His life settles into a routine until he happens upon Phil Conner, the man who raped his wife. Attacking the man and beating him lands Jurgis into trouble again, losing his job, and all meager political connections.

In the earlier section of this reading, Jurgis’s travels through the country, encountering farms that will turn him off the minute the harvest is in is so reminiscent of migrant workers today and our class discussions. After our discussions and this reading, I think one of the greatest crimes against humanity is withholding the fruits of a person's labor and not giving them what they have rightfully earned. How horrible that this continues today.

Entering the Jungle

Jurgis and Ona, recently arrived in Chicago from Lithuania, have high hopes for a better life. Both are young, strong, and hardworking, and Jurgis is sure his strength and work ethic will support a decent life for them and Ona’s family. At their wedding reception, Jurgis and Ona discover that they are short of funds to pay the saloonkeeper, as many of their guests have not contributed to the festivities, as is the custom. The first chapter closes with Jurgis’s determined declaration that he will work harder to make up the money.

Because of his youth and physical strength, Jurgis lands a job at a local slaughterhouse, and initially is thrilled to be part of the ‘marvelous machine’ as he terms the innovations of the enterprise. Indeed, the activities of the slaughterhouse, hundreds of animals slaughtered every day with each worker doing the same task over and over until the workers themselves operate like so many cogs in a great machine seem like a miracle of nature to Jurgis.  He does not understand his neighbor Jokubas’s cynicism about the slaughterhouse, Jurgis is still caught up in the innovation and his quick hire. 

Both Jurgis and Marija settle into their respective jobs enthusiastically, bringing strong work ethics and eternal optimism to their grim surroundings. When they visit a house that they are considering purchasing, the agent talks incessantly and glosses over the house’s defects, leading the family to purchase the house. The family is elated with their purchase, also buying furnishings and utensils for their new home.  During all of this, Jurgis is making new friends and finding differing opinions. He doesn’t understand yet why the other men hate their work and wish to work at a slower pace. Jurgis is convinced he can rise and become a skilled worker, that the quality of his work will facilitate a promotion. Unfortunately, this is just the first of his errors; for ‘nobody rose in Packingtown by doing good work’. For indeed, good work is not valued in Packingtown; meat from a pregnant cow or ‘slunk’ meat is still used even though it violates government regulation. 

When reading this account, several things came to mind. First, the incredible optimism and strength of these immigrants. Just imagine how different our history could have been if we had embraced these people, made honest work available, work that utilized the intelligence, goodness, and spirit of these people. How much better, both for us and them.

I know more heartbreak is in store for Jurgis and Ona and their story was not an isolated one.

http://www.pagebypagebooks.com/Upton_Sinclair/The_Jungle/index.html

http://www.capitalcentury.com/1906.html

http://www.scholarsstrategynetwork.org/sites/default/files/ssn_key_findings_sheingate_on_food_safety.pdf

Through the eyes of children: the plight of migrant workers

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Both portions of assigned reading for this week were told through the eyes of children. As adults, it is easy to be caught up in the technical, economical, practical side of things, but these accounts have to be the most accurate, truthful, and poignant of all. Cajas de Carton is told from the eyes of a migrant working family's young son. Working over nine hours a day in the fields, along with his father, this young boy has to miss school until November, when the harvest has been reaped. He goes through an agonizing morning, signing up for school and realizing that his English has become rusty in the last few months. During lunch, a kindly teacher offers to give him trumpet lessons, sensing the boy's interest in music. Elated with his new friend and exciting opportunities, the boy comes home only to discover that his family once again has to uproot and leave in search of work. 
And the Earth did not devour him is a similar account, also told from the perspective of a young boy, filled with helplessness and rage in the face of his family's illnesses and struggle. Seeing the futility of his arduous labors, watching the work literally suck the life out of his family, this little boy's passionate rejection of his brutal reality is so powerful. 
This reminded me of all the challenging jobs I have had in the past few years in the effort to pay for my education; I have worked eleven hour days in an 100 degree kitchen and I have worked in a factory wiring the insides of slot machines; nothing I have ever had to do for a living as a healthy adult compares to what these children did before reaching adolescence. 

http://www.migrantclinician.org/issues/migrant-info/migrant.html
http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/treaties/migrant.asp
http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/migrants.html

'Let them eat bananas': A modest proposal

Bananas are the best food on the planet: they have all of the protein, vitamins, and carbohydrates that a person could ever need. Who needs black beans, whole grains, and vegetables anyways? I mean, do you think the United Fruit company (aka, Chiquita) would have allowed the Banana Massacre to occur (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_massacre#Massacre) just for their own profits and control?! Of course not! They really had our best interest at heart! They were really concerned that we should be eating as many bananas as possible and we were paying  as little as possible for these bananas. Using military forces to open fire on men, women and children who were protesting laborers, hoping for a fair wage was for the worthy cause of bananas! Likewise the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état was also further concern for our fruit consumption! Of course, it is out of the question for local Guatemalan people to have control of farmland in their country and make a decent living, the United Fruit Company obviously should be able to own large amounts of farmland and then neglect it, who are we to criticize?

As you can see, bananas are the only food we should be eating. All of these destroyed economies and even lives have been for this one sole cause: for us to eat bananas. The most frequently purchased item at Walmart is bananas: go buy some today and support your banana republic!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_republic

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uneven_and_combined_development

Guatemala's Story

Rigoberta Menchu was doing the work of an adult before she was ten years old. Taking care of her younger siblings and helping her mother pick coffee was an everyday experience for this hardworking and persevering young lady. Her family toiled for years, scrimping measly wages together until they could afford their own farm, but even with their own land, the only way for the family to survive was to work at a finca, a coffee plantation owned by a rich landowner who more often than not was a politician as well. This meant that everyone who worked on the plantation had to vote for the owner (this was accomplished with armed soldiers and a public ballot, the workers were not told they were voting, just ordered to mark the ballot as directed). As disgusting and unfathomable is this situation is,  a greater atrocity was that many times, Rigoberta’s family and community members, were not paid their monthly salary, because the overseers could report field workers received wages and keep the salaries for themselves. As if this wasn't enough, two of Rigoberta’s brothers lost their lives in these fields; one brother died due to toxic fumes that were dusted over crops while the workers were in the fields and the other brother died because in order for his mother to retain her job, she had to keep working, even while her son was convulsing and suffering a slow death.

These adversities would be enough to make many persons give up, but Rigoberta persevered through all of this. After working all day picking coffee, she would go home, complete chores, care for the livestock her parents entrusted her, and then weave cloth to pay for food for her animals.  This strong and hopeful spirit enabled her to become a leader in a workers movement that actively opposed both the government and brutal landowners. Her efforts were joined by other women, who together led and fought for justice.

What is so striking to me is the beauty and strength of Rigoberta’s spirit; instead of being bitter or hating her people’s oppressors, she seeks change for her people through demonstrations and her eloquence. Early in her narrative, Rigoberta talks of how she loves the earth and the animals she takes care of. What a gift, to see and appreciate good in the midst of such trials.

Perhaps the harshest reality of Rigoberta’s testimony is the fact that her story is the story of the Guatemalan people.  Because of the land and produce monopolies owned by ruthless corporations (such as the United Fruit Company), this story is a common one. With some background research, CIA involvement comes to light in these unjust dealings; a U.S. enacted covert operation that deposed Guatemala’s president because he strove to reduce the United State’s economic sway over his country.  As can be seen from this narrative, the actions of our government have destroyed communities and lives. 

After reading this powerful narrative, I think the most powerful message that we can take away is that in order for this madness to desist, we must keep an active interest and demand accountability from our leaders and companies. If we don’t, the generations of ten year old Rigobertas, picking 40 pounds of coffee a day, will not only be the happenings of the past, but the reality of the future. 

http://homepages.wmich.edu/~acareywe/menchu.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rigoberta_Mench%C3%BA
http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/guatemala.htm

Swift’s Modest Proposal: his underlying message

So many times in life, society is blind to the huge inconsistencies evident in every day; people are either so burdened or indifferent that the truth no longer holds the power to provoke action. This phenomenon can certainly be seen in many aspects of our culture, such as prevailing wage inconsistencies between men and women, the huge divides between those in poverty and the very rich, and the rapid disintegration of small American farms when the need for whole foods has never been greater. These issues are right before our eyes every day and most of us seem indifferent to them, so understanding how the Irish population took such a passive approach to England’s tyranny is better understood in light of our own passivity.

That being said however, passive as the Irish population was to England, nothing prepared me for the extent of Swift’s mockery of the situation. His anger seems directed in both directions: the abusers and the abused. Sarcasm is often used as a means to communicate real concerns, and this piece is no exception. Through the absurdity of Swift’s solution, infant cannibalism, we begin to fathom the desperation of the poverty dilemma. In fact, cannibalism is the most logical parallel Swift could have made to the real situation.

That might sound strange, but it is true; consider England’s treatment of the Irish. All of Ireland’s valuable land was under the thumb of disconnected English landowners who had no interest whatsoever in their tenants. Trade was not lucrative for any Irish person, the English made sure they dominated the market. In other words, the English owned every facet of power, including the ability to produce food. Most of Ireland’s population was in desperate poverty and this was a direct result of England’s selfish occupation.

What Swift was trying so hard to convey in his sarcastic diatribe was very simple; Wake up, the English are literally starving you already; denying land and trade rights. They are sucking the life out of communities and families and to sell infants to English gentry as a food source is no less an accurate portrayal of the situation than what is literally happening.

Swift was right; the English might not have made an overt market out of the Irish population, but they sure created a system where they withheld basic human rights of dignity, the right to an honest living, and readily available food sources. Swift’s comparison is not strange at all; it was a very literal interpretation of what was happening and an honest reaction to a horrible situation.

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1080/1080-h/1080-h.htm

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/02/19/1171343/-My-Favorite-Authors-Jonathan-Swift-and-an-updated-Modest-proposal

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/02/19/1171343/-My-Favorite-Authors-Jonathan-Swift-and-an-updated-Modest-proposal

Kalamazoo Loaves and Fishes: Making an Impact

Already in this course, a huge part of class discussion has been directed towards personal efforts; in others words, how does our new knowledge and concern translate into viable changes?

For Kalamazoo Loaves and Fishes, this question of using food to help others is nothing new. Organized in 1982 by several local churches, this food ministry was founded by concerned persons who wanted to help the community’s needy and struggling. Through the years, these dedicated efforts have grown to include more area involvement and nearly 127,000 persons received food from Loaves and fishes in 2012. Their goal is simple: a hunger free community. This is ambitious in light of the data. In 2009, 40.9% percent of Kalamazoo residents were below the poverty level. That’s double the state percentage. As the data demonstrates, Kalamazoo residents are no stranger to need, and many have felt deprivation keenly.

               Even though Loaves and Fishes was started by a conglomerate of churches, their current values concur with the beliefs of many: inclusion, respect, diversity, and stewardship rank among the most important. Their mission is one that all of us can come and work together on achieving. Their strategy is simple; Loaves and fishes partners with local businesses and runs regular food drives to distribute the food and provide for the needs of the community. A great deal of their efforts goes towards procuring the food and distributing it to other food banks in the community. What is particularly impressive about this food ministry is that they ensure their users get fruits and vegetables. Families can obtain four days’ worth of food, providing for each family member.

What impressed me about this ministry is their focus on providing good quality food to persons on limited income. So many food pantries distribute mostly boxed, premade food that is of the lowest quality, but this ministry has a higher standard. These days, that is rare.

Here is the link to the Kalamazoo Loaves and Fishes website and other resources:

http://www.kzoolf.org/

http://www.city-data.com/poverty/poverty-Kalamazoo-Michigan.html

http://www.kzoogospel.org/

What Trimalchio can teach us

Imagine a dinner table piled high with every  luxury, with hordes of servants bringing a plethora of new dishes every other minute. Imagine a man who is so ridiculously wealthy that he stuffs his cushions with precious scarlet wool and tosses around human life as if it is worth less than his shoe. His dinner guests are disgusted and discomfited by his outrageous behavior and to put the capstone on the nightmarish evening, he enacts his death, having his household and guests grieve as if he is dead and describes the elaborate plans for his monument.

If you can picture this scene, you already have a good understanding of Trimalchio's dinner, part of the scandalous and outrageous Satyricon. This work is considered one of the world’s first novels and this portion of the book is written in menippean satire, which means that the author’s intent is to oppose mental attitudes instead of individuals.  This makes sense in light of the Satyricon’s writing structure; Trimalchio’s character and lifestyle  is the primary focus but the author clearly has another motive in mind when he paints this outrageous picture for us. This was a serious issue in the author, Petronius’s time.  The reign of Nero was well under way, wreaking havoc with the Roman life with his unruly, dangerous behavior. Throwing scholarship aside, Nero was a determined hedonist, whose extravagance is still legendary today.
 Of the many connections this work has to our materialistic culture today, I think the most important one is to each of us. I know that many relate this passage to the modern day privileged few that make billions off corrupt trading practice overseas and the devaluation of employees here. Assuredly, many names come to mind. However, I think it is too easy to read a piece of literature such as this and blame someone else. I think in a real and legitimate sense, we are all Trimalchio in some way and finding his likeness in the people around us is taking the easy way out.  If we could see the food, resources, possessions, time, and materials we have all wasted or used irresponsibly, we would no doubt rival the excess of Trimalchio’s groaning banquet table. The food we waste because of preconceived notions of what we deserve and the shameful way we behave if food or possessions are not what we wanted is just as wrong as Trimalchio’s antics. I appreciate Becky’s comments about this issue in class; the reason why stores and restaurants waste resources so shamelessly is because we told them that in order to keep our business that is what they must do.
If our supermarkets  resemble Trimalchio’s table with the ridiculous excess, then we resemble Trimalchio, banging his fist as he demands more and more. We have to realize that responsibility starts with us; if we change, then the individuals that are the Trimalchios of today will have to change too.



http://www.gutenberg.org/files/5225/5225-h/5225-h.htm#linkVOLUME_II.
http://www.chow.com/food-news/83216/7-shocking-food-waste-stats/
https://utahrecycles.org/get-the-facts/