The Lockout

I have a bag of Crystal Sugar powdered sugar in my cabinet as we speak. I need it for icing a king cake more than anything else. Who knows, my granulated sugar may also be Crystal Sugar, but I don't have the original bag it was in. Anyway, to be honest, when I buy my sugar, I usually just buy the cheapest one.

In some ways, you'd think I would care a lot about sugar. After all, a ton of it is produced and refined in Thibodaux, and the American Sugar Cane League is based in Thibodaux. I grew up with the smell of bagasse as one of the primary smells I associate with home along with magnolias, burning sugar cane, and some blooming flower (the name of which I actually still don't know, but I associate it with caterpillars).... Oftentimes I just don't see Domino sugar or Dixie Crystals in the store, and I don't end up supporting my home state because I'm not going out to support it by finding it elsewhere.

So, I'm thinking about sugar today because of the news on the current lockout at American Crystal Sugar in North Dakota, which has been earning record profits and yet, claims it can't pay its employees more. Ridiculous. And the government allows them to hire replacement workers as long as the lockout isn't for "unfair labor practices," which seems like arbitrary terminology to me since whether you can prove it or not, a lockout usually has something to do with labor unions and the company refusing to bargain with the union despite the rhetoric the company uses saying that they are indeed trying to bargain.

In the midst of the 2012 presidential campaign ramping up and the amazing disconnect between words and actions that town hall meetings and debates display rampantly combined with the lack of any real connection between these candidates' supposed values and real decisions, it is interesting to me that the more comfortable we are as a nation residing in a constant state of false meaning, the more we see it deployed in the service of the greedy and the privileged. And sadly, the more we see those people getting away with it.

"compared to New York, this isn't even a city"

I enjoyed this :

I totally forgot about mumbo sauce!  I used to get it at Cluck U Chicken, but I haven't been there in forever...and in fact, all of the locations of Cluck U that I knew are no longer in those places.  What happened?

And that reminds me, as much as people think DC is southern, one thing that indicates it most definitely is not is the lack of decent fried chicken in this town.  Seriously, the one place that had awesome fried chicken was Reeves Restaurant and Bakery where you could get the best fried chicken, mac and cheese, green beans, and strawberry shortcake.  Where can you get that anywhere in this town now?  The Hitching Post?  Maybe, but it's nothing like Reeves.  That makes me so sad.

The New Jim Crow?

I'm a little late to the party here, but I recently heard a repeated episode of a show that originally aired last year with Michelle Alexander talking about her then-new book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.  Michelle Alexander's ideas engage me and make me think about things either more deeply or differently, so I am very interested in this book.  She has appeared on CNN and MSNBC and other news shows frequently addressing issues in a way that I think challenges the status quo while offering reasonable ways of addressing systemic injustice.  I'm also interested because I am inclined to believe that institutional racism is ubiquitous, and I do see that mass incarceration is one way in which white privilege operates in our society, so I'd like to learn more about how that works in detail.

Even as I write these statements, I realize that for many people, using language like "institutional racism" and "white privilege" is taboo and/or seems extreme.  I am always thinking of how powerful rhetoric is in school, but I often also wonder how this affects our most intimate conversations and how it threatens our ability to talk candidly about important issues, like mass incarceration and contemporary racism, precisely because we don't have adequate words to share our views without them being enveloped in the politics that is ingrained in language. 

The book is ranked #275 in the Amazon bestsellers list, which certainly indicates it is being read by loads of people.  However, it does make me wonder how many people come to this book to explore a new way of understanding the social dynamics of American society and how many come to be confirmed in the ideas that they bring in favor of or against this study.  Before reading it, this book already has me thinking a lot from the title alone!  I look forward to adding this to my post-graduation May 2012 reading list.

I'm Back!

I haven't been blogging because I've been on vacation, and now I'm back.  Ready for 2012 and happy that 2011 is finito.  Good riddens!  I was so tightly wound by the end of last semester that I thought I might spontaneously combust on the long flight overseas.  Luckily, that didn't happen, and I came back relaxed, rejuvenated, and ready for real life again.

Today is MLK Jr. Day, and it seems like an appropriate day to rekindle my connection with people through the written word.  I wasn't able to participate in a service opportunity today, but I'm pleased that I have been able to make time for a short (um, VERY short) jog, yoga, and reconnecting with several friends that I haven't seen in over a month...if not longer.  Self-care and community were important values to Dr. King, and I've been keeping his words with me in all I'm doing today.   In a sermon from 1967, Dr. King talked about the "Three Dimensions of a Complete Life":  

And there are three dimensions of any complete life to which we can fitly give the words of this text: length, breadth, and height.  Now the length of life as we shall use it here is the inward concern for one's own welfare.  In other words, it is that inward concern that causes one to push forward, to achieve his own goals and ambitions.  The breadth of life as we shall use it here is the outward concern for the welfare of others.  And the height of life is the upward reach for God.  Now you got to have all three of these to have a complete life.

Completeness is increasingly hard in our schizophrenic world that values multi-tasking more than disciplined concentration and singular focus.  That's certainly not news.  But one thing I think sets Dr. King apart from a singular agenda of nonviolent social change is his consistent attention to pro-people ethics that drive his radical call for change.  I continue to think about what it means to truly be pro-people when it is all too easy--and encouraged and rewarded--to be more goal-oriented than people-oriented, as just one example.

The spring semester starts tomorrow, and I'll be thinking about this as I delve into the depths of abstract critical theory and struggle to come out of it sometimes. 

The Trip Home

For the past few years, every time I come home to Louisiana, I am reminded of what a foreigner I am (and really always was).  It's like I have a big sign on me that suggests it would be a good idea to pick on me.  Last year, a lady in the gas station in Thibodaux said "you're not from here, are you?  you're not, um, complete."  I still have no idea what she was telling me by telling me I wasn't complete, but I basically took it as a compliment.  I assume it meant something to the effect of not being a complete coon ass (i.e. cajun).

Today, I was caught off guard because I was called out in the major (um, okay, minor) metropolis of Baton Rouge...and at the Good Year tire place of all places.  I jumped out of the shower and didn't bother drying my hair because I was going to get the oil changed in my sister's car.  I forgot that in south Louisiana that means you have to put on make up, do your hair, and it would be a good idea to get your nails done while your car is being worked on so that you look even better when you pick the car up.  Well, I showed up at Good Year with my hair wet, and all three men working behind the counter started asking me if I got caught in the rain or if this was a new hair style.  And I was like what are you talking about?  And they, pointed to my hair, and I was like, um, "it's called a shower."  They laughed, and I was confused.  I'm thinking, um, I'm pretty sure that the nickname for people who work at Good Year is grease monkey, and since when are you questioning my appearance?!  Only here.  Seriously.

I share this story because it is so absurd, and also because people are always asking me about the differences between Louisiana and everywhere else.  Most of the deep differences are encapsulated in moments like these when the way people communicate with one another in public is fraught with assumptions about gender, class, race, heritage, etc. that are highlighted by people who are just handing you french fries or selling you beer.  It makes the south endearing in a lot of ways because people do take a moment to notice that you are a person and not another number or something like that.  But it is interactions like these that make this area hard to maintain relevancy in a postmodern and pluralistic world we live in today.

Compassion...Empowered?

Today I heard about the new Justice Party that Rocky Anderson formed with plans to run in the 2012 election.  I really like the idea of new parties forming in response to the failure of current politicians, even though I'm generally cynical about politics and doubt that a third party will ever have success in my lifetime.

There doesn't seem to be a Justice Party website up and running yet, but Rocky Anderson is Executive Director of High Road for Human Rights, so I went to that website.  I'll be honest, I haven't yet read beyond the headline because I'm so struck by the tagline "compassion empowered."  What the hell does that mean?  I suppose it is meant to talk about empowering people to translate their compassion into action against social ills.  However, I think compassion is the absolute wrong word for this, and I'm so sick of it being used in politics. 

To see new parties popping up using the same old propaganda of other parties is really frustrating.  I thought that one of the big lessons from fascism was one about language and the effects of language as an instrument of power.  George Orwell says that the English language "becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts."  What foolish thoughts in American culture have made compassion a political term that supposedly marks the higher moral ground of a political candidate or party?  

A lot of people are studying this question in a very interesting, theoretical way, which is very important.  Kathleen Woodward has an EXCELLENT article on this topic called "Calculating Compassion."  But I'm really also interested in the basic sense of compassion and what we can do in an everyday sort of way against politicians hijacking personal emotions and co-opting them so that every feeling translates into a political statement.  

Trust in ourselves and in others is what Kathleen Woodward suggests is powerful enough to redirect these influences.  I guess I've got to figure out who and what I actually trust.

Natural Flavor with Other Natural Flavor

Not plural "natural flavors," just the singular, "Natural Flavor" and "Other Natural Flavor."

It's finals time, and to get through it all, snacks are a necessity.  I'll admit that I am not the most avid label reader.  Sometimes, the grocery trip is just too rushed to take the necessary time to read everything, so I choose the things that I usually eat and go on about things.

Well, today I was surprised at the label on my Triscuits when I got home.  One of the reasons I usually buy them is because they only have three ingredients: whole grain wheat, soybean oil, salt.  Today I picked up a new flavored Triscuit called "Chile Pepper," and when I got home, I was surprised at the front label, which advertises "Natural Flavor with other Natural Flavor."  What?! 

What distinguishes natural flavor from "other natural flavor?"  The list beyond the basic three ingredients are: chili peppers, onion powder, garlic powder, whey, spices, citric acid, natural flavor, yeast extract.  So, there is an actual ingredient called natural flavor.  Apparently, this natural flavor is the same manufactured flavor that Eric Schlosser discusses in his book Fast Food Nation.  I'm not so much interested in the science right now as I am about the flavor of this new "chile pepper triscuit" because as a chili afficionada, I actually don't think these crackers taste anything like chili peppers. 

I have a pretty sharp palette and can taste things in food and drinks that others may not even notice.  I couldn't identify what was so strange at first bite, until my third cracker made me realize that the flavor I was eating wasn't chili pepper at all.  It just tasted salty and slightly spicy, but not at all like a chili pepper.  I got to thinking today after the failure of this new flavor that if I don't succeed in getting into a PhD program, maybe I can become a flavor scientist.  Okay, perhaps not scientist, but flavor consultant.  I know that I can do way better at making chili pepper flavors and for that matter, BBQ-flavored chips.  That's just a start to what I could contribute to this field!  I even found this taste science website: http://www.tastescience.com/aboutus.html.  They have scientists and psychologists, but no folks talking about how labels and words change the way we taste something.  My official plan b is: "taste consultant, studies human gustatory sensitivity and the effects of contradictory word and taste experiences."