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Sent to you by moya via Google Reader:
Story #2-On Saturday my mother asked me to pick up some food for my stepfather who is diabetic and paralyzed from the waist down. My stomach cringed because I knew he was going to ask me to pick up something from a fast food restaurant.
Story #3-Last night I was reviewing literature for America Recycles Day in preparation for my son's school event which is scheduled for November 15th.
Yes, I'm one of those mothers who don't want to go along and get along. I regulate my son's high fructose corn syrup (chemically processed corn) intake, I do not want to purchase fast food for an advanced stage diabetic, and social marketing campaigns always get the side eye (to borrow from my sisters). Each of these stories raise concerns for me because it is damn difficult to function in this ridiculous culture of consumer capitalism because at every turn you have to suspend common sense to make decisions like purchasing school pictures and selecting the pose before your child actually takes the picture.
Here are the primary issues with each story, I had to have a 45 minute conversation with my son's coach about the inappropriateness of giving children 25g of sugar (HFC) for an afterschool "snack." Food prices are increasing significantly, yet my stepdad's double burger and fries costs $2.36. I can barely get a cup of tea or a half-gallon of milk for $2.36, so how can I pursue a discussion about changing food habits with a family member on a fixed income. $2.36 is not affordable food, that's damn near free in comparison with the costs of slow food.
Finally, I want to be an active parent so I joined the Green and Healthy committee at my son's school. So why is America Recycles Day sponsored by Pepsico, Disney, Nestle Waters, Johnson and Johnson, LG (appliances and electronics), and Glad (plastics)? Their investment in global supply chains that destroy natural resources and people's lives globally is precisely the problem.
When I was young a school fundraiser was a bake sale of homemade goods or chocolates that had actual sugar not HFC. Now a school fundraiser means talking with parents that work for Coca-Cola Inc. and online jewelry and magazine sales. Having a 45 minute conversation every time these situations present themselves would not only usurp all of my time but it would also make me a pariah in my son's school, afterschool, and in my family. So I get screamed at by my son for taking away the 25g of HFC sugar, quietly hand over the bagged $2.36 meal, and hold my nose while planning an America Recycles (for a) Day activity with leading corporate plastic, aluminum cans, and energy polluters. You may think these are minor but this is one week and simply the stories I choose to share. I know I have "choices" and that I need to "choose my battles" but really it's the same limited choice day in and day out—engage or resist, and I'm getting a bit worn out.
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