Looking From Above

AN OLD POST FROM TWO YEARS AGO I DID NOT PUBLISH UNTIL TODAY... SO, A BIT OF CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER. 

I have the privilege of working in an internship this semester within an academic setting. Despite many years of education in the social sciences, community organizing, and international volunteer work with women's rights, I have been called on my privilege. And it can be hard and it can hurt. But to move forward to a just society, this is needed.

Yet, there are times that I wonder if some of our ideas about social justice are just, well to theoretical, and make sense from a structural view. And ironically, my past education was in a social science that does see inequality as structural...which it is, but a right critique is that what about daily life? And now studying in a field where I assume from my studies that the structural and everyday life are important, I have been part of discussions where I question where these structural change arguments stem from.

I am not saying that structures should not change. And I think it's fair to say most doing social justice work see gender, class, race, and the so forth are related intertwined structures. And they are. But here's the thing I push myself, fellow social scientists, social justice seekers, and activists to think about. If we dismantle the structure, what happens? Will it all be good right away? And I hope you can see how this is already becoming a tough question.

Here's an example, I have always have had friends who are vegetarian and in the past decade have met more and more vegans. While I've had my time in the veggie camp, I won't go vegan. And that's another story. But it doesn't mean that I haven't thought about the meat industry. It's bad. My family has a personal history with it... and yes, it's always had issues, but my middle class self is also thankful to the jobs it provided my grandparents and grandparents. As a woman, I'm proud of the job my grandmother had in the past- one a women in this time period would not have been able to have. But I have regressed a bit.

I live in a Midwestern state- albeit in a urban area. And having read and been raised in this area of the country, one gets to know the history of the meat packing industry. And many of the workers are immigrants to this country. Immigration raids in this country have torn apart these towns and left immigrants scared. Is this is the best job for anyone? Probably not. Yet, there are personal accounts by those who work in the industry for and against it. What's wrong is the corporations that control everything.

But here's my point and something that leaves me frustrated. We shouldn't eat meat because it is tied to all the other oppressions in society. Well, I can see this argument to an extent, but here's my thing. If we all just stop eating meat and shut down the factories, where do the people who work in the jobs go? Is it fair for me as a white, middle class person to say your job is wrong? Is it fair for me to try to dismantle the system without thinking about what you will have to do? I don't think it is. Of course the industry is screwed up and labor practices are wrong. But I have huge issues when we work for social justice without talking to the people most affected by this industry... those who work in it. Those who feed their families through this wage. Everyone needs to be included in the conversation. It's easy as a White, English speaking, citizen , and who is middle class to say what's wrong and it should be different. And it's easy from my position as an educator and a student again to take this position. How easy is it to say this and research it from the outside without having this as our daily lives? Of course some people have documented different aspects of this. But if here's my moral to this... if we are social justice seekers and activists, let's think critically about all aspects of things. What can be done? Who wants it done? How does this affect not only society as a whole, but the daily lives of people, especially people who are not White, middle class, and the related privilege statuses. Do we try to do to much by trying to dismantle the system at once? How can we dismantle the system to make it better and while doing so pay attention to people's lives in the here and now?