Un-incorporating

Recently I had to keep my mouth shut about something political. It was the bridal shower of a co-worker, thrown by her manager, and it felt like it would be wildly inappropriate to make waves, no matter how stupid a thing her coworker said.

(I am very political, but also courteous.)

It happened while Greenpeace was trying to keep the ice breaker from getting through. The one guest started saying how their kayaks and supplies were completely petroleum free, which initially sounded like she was being admiring but then it shifted into being really sarcastic about how hypocritical, "and they didn't use any petroleum to get here."

It turns out she stole that from Lars Larson, which explains a lot. Aside from the rather obvious point that you can support some use of petroleum while still objecting to various extraction areas and methods, I bring this story up because it would in fact be very difficult to completely get petroleum out of your life. There can still be plenty of positives in working toward divestment.

Therefore, when I say one really big way to make the world a better place is shaking off corporate shackles, I say that knowing that it will not be completely possible.

Boycotting the Koch brothers is hard; they make multiple brands of commonly used products. They don't make every brand though, so that's a start. They also have so much money that even if everyone stopped using all of their products now, it would take them a while to run out. There is an election coming up, so they will be spending at a higher rate now, so it is still worth looking at; it just may not be as effective as you would hope.

http://boycottkochbrothers.com/

If you look at which brands are connected, getting away from corporate hegemony in general can seem even harder:

http://twentytwowords.com/chart-showing-the-10-companies-that-own-most-of-the-food-products-we-buy/

Still, there are things we can do. I know Wal-Mart gluts itself on corporate welfare while mistreating its workers and not paying a living wage. I know people who feel they need to shop there because of the low prices, and in fact, the last time I bought pants I ordered from there because I couldn't afford anything better. However, my weekly shopping is at Fred Meyer, which has an employee union. Winco and Costco are known for treating their employees well, and they still have good prices. Some better choices can be made and still be affordable.

I can support local businesses that are not franchises or parts of chains. I can go to farmers' markets or participate in community-supported agriculture. That gives me more environmentally friendly options, as well as economically friendly options. It's not always a money saver, but you make choices, and thinking about the choices can help you make more meaningful ones.

This is one way gardening can be revolutionary. Gardening can help you reject the overly processed, corporate subsidy foods and get something better for you on multiple levels.

This is not available to everyone, and I know that. Not everyone has land, and several areas have poisoned soil and water, which again is often a corporate thing. We should be working on that. Safe soil and water, and access to it, will save lives.

I have been thinking about that, and about how bad processed foods can be, and food deserts, and if there are ways to get around that. I had this image of an apartment building where one person shops and makes everyone's dinner, like a take-out service but healthier. Maybe there is someone else in the building who provides day care. There is a coming together to get around the things that society makes so hard.

It would be hard for my vision to happen. For people to give up part of their food budget to another person, and trust that the meals will be ready, and that the person can do a good job, and getting all of that coordinated, would be hard. Business licenses and commercial kitchen requirements would make it harder. Those are laws that frequently work to protect, but they could get in the way here.

Then that reminded me of a special I watched. I think it was The House I Live In, and David Simon speaking:

http://www.thehouseilivein.org/

If I remember correctly, they were talking about when you marginalize a people, and push them to the edges, and one of the phases is that a black market springs up. They drew comparisons between how Germany treated the Jews before the Holocaust, and how the US treats black people now.

(And much of what you will see affects poor people of multiple races, so this is not strictly racial, but race is a factor.)

It's an area where ACORN probably could have been helpful. Too bad they were sabotaged. But of course, community organizing is more likely to go against corporate power than support it.

Even though corporations don't operate as a complete monolith, they have so much power it can feel impossible to break free. Simply trading corporations is probably not much of a goal either. Still, diminishing their power will be very valuable.

It will take creativity. It can involve some boycotting, some active supporting, some letter writing and protesting, and yes, it might even involve going around normal channels instead of through them.

It can even start with something as simple as gardening.

Just planting a garden can be an act of revolution.