One of the first things I realized when reading The Idea of a Local Economy are the relationships the film Fresh shares with the writing by Berry. The farmers and Berry truly show a common goal of informing people about the needs of the local economy. Much like Allison stated, I can see the effects of large corporations on our small businesses. I have lived in Marion my entire life and I have watched restaurant after restaurant be shut down because of these large chain corporations. Locals have faced the hard reality that McDonalds will always be the cheapest option and that is how it will stay. It's a scary place. The few local places that have been able to thrive have provided great hope for Marion and the future but we must still work at creating an environment in Marion that allows for local businesses to thrive. Like Berry says "If people begin the effort to take back their own power a significant portion of their inevitable first discovery is that the 'environmental crisis' is no such thing; it is not a crisis of our environs or surroundings; it is a crisis of our lives as individuals, as family members, as community members, as citizens." We must push for growing support of our local businesses if we want to see a change.
Whether we want to face it or not, racism is still prevalent in our world today. Being white, I wouldn't normally think about this seeing I'm not affected by this. But that is where our problem begins. I'm not saying we're telling people that we hate them because of their skin color much anymore, but what we are doing is saying suddle things to tell African Americans that it is better to be white. I see this directly in my life every time I go to visit my grandparents. They are very racist, but I somehow managed to find myself dating an African American boy. They comment things such as "Well don't you want to hang out with white people?" or "Do you think you could ever see yourself with someone who is white?" This is what sparked my realization that racism is still present. I even find myself telling my boyfriend "you're okay because you act white." This stuff is not on purpose, but we need to start asking ourselves why is it better to be white? I believe this can change if people start to realize that skin color means nothing, it is simply just a color. A human is a human.
I think its hilarious that after I wrote my exploration, I looked at yours and our first sentences are almost identical. On a side note, I can't help but agree with you that racism is prevalent throughout our society today and its disgusting. I've never looked at someone and assumed them to be a certain way or categorize them due to their skin color. I don't think enough people wait to learn the content of someones character before actually placing a label onto them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Andrea, racism is very prevalent in today's society. I feel as though for your grandparents they were raised in a time where it was more acceptable to think that way and things aren't going to change that. My grandparents are the exact way. I am friends with a girl who is Mexican and I find myself making those jokes to her well, she doesn't find them offensive and I don't mean them in an offensive either, but you're absolutely right, we do need to ask ourselves that question.
ReplyDeleteI am in the same boat about my grandparents. Although, as Jenny said, they grew up in a time that it was acceptable to say such things regarding someone's race, I don't think it makes it okay to say them. Often times, my grandparents will say something, and then it becomes an argument of whether they should say racist jokes. I hear it in my parents sometimes as well, and I'll slip at times, even thought my parents and I don't think a person's skin color is what they are. Again, Jenny mentioned she had a friend who is Mexican. I find my friends to be all sorts of colors, and we all tend to joke around with each other from time to time, but it is never okay to say something about someone else to purposefully hurt them. People are people, and the color of someone's skin should not mark the rank at which they are.
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