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Lately

Fanks Sabine. You being there meant a lot.

Oh the bus tour. They didn’t get a shuttle bus they got a giant charter bus. Here is the introduction to EsSpringdale:

I know most of you, if not all of you, have worked in the global south and are familiar with the use of landscape—especially in indigenous movements—as a way to create community identity and then use this identity to empower people to work for change.
In southern Mexico, where you fund micro credit initiatives and lead experiential learning tours, the landscape is beautiful and the sacredness of it is evident. Mayan leader Subcomandante Marcos illustrates this point perfectly when he says, “patient companion was the night. Lover and accomplice the mountain.” The EZLN army moved through the darkness and was protected by the mountain. The landscape was their cohort. The sacredness or potential for powerful rebellion against injustice was evident in the beauty of the mountains and its ability to shelter them.
I am saying all of this because today you are not going to see a beautiful landscape. Today you will see plain brick buildings, sheet metal plants and run down ranch houses. The landscape here is ugly.
I struggled to figure out a way to show a place that you could connect with. It’s so hard because how does a soul connect to a suburban landscape? How can I prove that the community is connected to this place in a deep way, despite a lack of the visible evidence that would speak to this truth?
To show you the beauty here you have to know the stories of the economic refugees aka the workers in Northwest Arkansas that come to The Center. Many workers have been forced—by trade agreements and by the policies of corporations that are headquartered here—to leave their homes just to sustain themselves and their families. To quote another indigenous leader, this time from Oklahoma, N Scott Mamaday said “places are important, because they’ve been made sacred by sacrifice, by the investment of blood and experience and story. In the telling of our stories we are speaking into being the sacred” So today you will hear about the struggles of workers. You will hear their stories, which are full of sacrifice. Hopefully you will connect with the work we are doing at the Workers’ Center and I can make it real to you.

And then I took everybody to look at a giant statue of a turkey. They thought that was pretty funny. So did I.

It was a little bit risky to quote a revolutionary movement that is current and uses violence in response to violence. Especially since this movement began in 1994 in response to NAFTA and there was a member of the World Bank on the bus. But I figured what the holy hell. I am never going to have their ears again so I am going to say whatever I want. Well not whatever I want exactly but whatever is true. Which means the internal mediator was off. I wont tell you about the whole morning session, needless to say I did not allow the fact that they could defund us stop me from saying anything. It was hard. I always struggle with this in my job. Who do you placate? Who do you push? Who can help you? Who can hurt you?

The workers in the morning session who spoke were unfucking believable, articulate and fearless.

One man was run over by a tractor at a turkey processing plant. He had half of one of his lower legs skin grafted using skin from his upper leg in a series of something like 8 surgeries. The plant is contesting his workers compensation claim. Assholes.

Another guy spoke who I just absolutely love. He is older, grandpa age. He wears a hat and takes it off when he comes into the office. He tucks in his perfectly pressed t-shirts. He calls me senorita Raquel. He decided today to go back to Mexico. He is going to leave on Saturday. He may not ever get the money he is owed. There is potential here though. I really believe that.

Now I will commence my vacationing. Watch out highway I am about to drive all over you.

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