This past week,
we’ve talked about neoliberalism and the global political economy. And after
reading Jamaica Kincaid’s book, A Small Place and watching the film Life and
Debt, I’ve learned one thing to be true: Power is everything. Before I get too
far into any discussion I want to lay out a few definitions that were new to
me…
Neoliberalism:
The rule of the market- also the heart of capitalism. It has a great deal to do
with Reagan’s theory of “trickle down economics.” It states that the best way
to increase economic growth and to benefit all people is to have a completely
unregulated market- free of government intervention.
Global political
economy: brings together systems of power and basic economics (means of
production, profit and the movement of capital). Basically it looks at the
economy and investigates further the forces driving it and the motives behind
those forces.
In class, Dr.
Shoaff briefly mentioned the idea of metaphorical free zones- this thought
really resonated with me. I like to think that I’ve had some great family
vacations- most of which led us out to beaches out of the country. Our tour
guide through the rain forest of Puerto Rico was great! As was our snorkeling
instructor in Belize and the staff of our resort in the Bahamas. I fell into
the trap of ignoring my privilege. My privilege permits ignorance. “And it will
never occur to you that the people who inhabit this place in which you have
just paused cannot stand you” (Kincaid, 17). It never occurred to me that my
visits to these countries were simply touchdowns to a free zone. The only time
we would leave the resort was on an excursion planned by said resort.
Now lets talk
about free zones…
In the film Life
and Debt that we watched in class, they interviewed individuals that work in
free zones in Jamaica. Nothing seemed fair about their situation to me. (Which
again goes back into the idea that not everyone starts on an even playing field
and that fair does not really exist when it comes to class, but that’s a post
for another day). I felt for them, $30 every two weeks? And their paychecks
aren’t promised to come in on time? How awful. And although it is difficult to
do, we need to force ourselves to think about the politics of it all. Who is
exploited who here, and for what reason? It’s us. My dad wears Brooks Brothers
on special occasion; I’ve shopped at Tommy Hilfiger. Because of my privilege, I
am oblivious to the thought of the labor put into sewing those clothes
together. Its sickening to think about really. And I think Kincaid’s book made
a lot of us feel uncomfortable for the sake of enlightening us- forcing us to
think about the politics behind this global economy that we support.
I think that these past few weeks have hit me the hardest because unlike the other topics where I knew to a small extent of the issues, for this lesson I was completely unaware of the things happening in these countries. It's been a long time since I have visited the Caribbean but I remember being younger and think that it was a magical place, and kind of had a Michael Scott from the Office view where everyone was relaxed and happy all the time and we were there to share in their happiness. Now that I know all of this I'm conflicted because I would love to go back, but then I also know that me being there as a typical tourist continues in their oppression.
ReplyDeleteWhen it came to the "free zones" for labor I was shocked. I had no idea that companies could label their items as "made in America" even though they were technically made in another country for much cheaper. I think that many people are willing to spend the extra money in order to buy something that they think is ethically made, and that the people working there are working for fair wages unlike many companies who export their products, but as it turns out the extra money we are paying for "ethically" made products pays for the fuel to take it to Jamaica and puts more money in the pockets of the executives who treat and pay their employees unfairly.
Overall, the Kincaid book really spoke to me, while I know that I'm not the perfect intersectional feminist I've never had someone else outright tell me to check my privilege and it was definitely a wake up call.
I can definitely relate to the feelings of sadness that dawned over me after reading Jamaica Kincaid’s book, A Small Place and watching the film Life and Debt over the past week in class. When visiting these places, you are just so oblvious to your surroundings and are completely fooled by their welcoming smile. I remember getting on the bus from the airport in Jamaica--it was really run down but the tour guide was very welcoming and full of energy. As we drove through the outskirts on the way to our resort, we passed a lot locals. They all had very worn shacks for houses, most were very skinny--especially the children, and they seemed to just sit around all day. One thing that all the locals had in common was the expression on your face as the bus drove by. The look in their eye was a feeling of resentment and anger.
ReplyDeleteIt's a very harsh reality but what do you do? You visit these places because you want to see other countries but the locals cannot stand you. What can we do, as people with privilege, do to eliminate their feelings of resentment?
Kincaid's book made me completely aware of just how privilaged I am and rid me with guilt. Even the clothes on my back could be provided from someone slaving labor for $30 every two weeks.
All of these notions just make me wonder what do we do from here? How can we help a country that is economically struggling when we cannot get out of our own economic struggles?
The only other country I've traveled to is Mexico. I've spent a trip in Cancun where tourism is high. The resort we stayed at was beautiful. The area surrounding the resort was beautiful. I was told to not leave the resort, but it was a $1 to ride a bus anywhere around the city. I felt safe and enjoyed myself, but little did I know 10 headless corpses were found outside of the city during my stay, and they were assumably related to drug crime. While I enjoyed myself there, I knew that that wasn't what the rest of Mexico looked like. I previously had taken several trips to Tijuana. Similar to what Jamaica Kincaid talked about in "A Small Place," the city had trouble disposing of waste. When you enter the city, there's a long bridge you must pass that wreaks with the sewage underneath. Much of the city is in need of repair and little children cover the streets, begging people to buy their hand-made goods for $1. Tijuana and Cancun were like night and day. I think it's very important to know your privilege, and I appreciate having read "A Small Place" but I don't necessarily think people should feel guilty about helping the economy and providing tourism to an economically disadvantaged country.
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