On Resolutions and the Future

“The garbage reached across the state,

From New York to the Golden Gate.”

A garbage patch floats in the Pacific Ocean three times the size of France (Boone 2018). Mississippi lawmakers pass bill prohibiting local governments from passing ordinances regulating the use of food containers (Gates 2018). Texas Supreme Court hears case while could repeal local single-use bag ordinances (Winkle 2018). Not fake news! Scientists take measurements on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) periodically, but this week released data provide a more accurate estimate of GPGP size than ever before - “1.6 million square kilometers, weighs 80,000 metric tons, and is three times the size of continental France” (Boone 2018). Just the week before, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant signed Senate Bill 2570 into law prohibiting local governments from passing ordinances to regulate the use of food containers (i.e. single-use and reusable bags, cups, to-go boxes) (Parks 2018). The law goes into effect July 1, 2018. And, the environmental leadership and stewardship of Austin is called into question in the media and Texas Supreme Court (Richards 2015; Winkle 2018) So, why do I care? Because: I’m a human who lives on this planet?! Eighteen months ago, I made a resolution - a commitment to myself, my husband, my community, and my planet - that I would no longer bring single-use plastic bags into my home. My husband, who spent most of his teaching career in a science classroom, thought my idea was a good one. Living in the county, we make a monthly trip to the community recycling drop-off station. Our community only recycles plastics 1 and 2, steel and aluminum, paper, newspaper, and cardboard. No glass, no other plastics, no styrofoam. And, NO plastic bags - even though they are plastic 2. Being a household of two who recycle, we probably produce less real “garbage” than average - only putting our trash out for county collection every two weeks instead of weekly (as is indeed available for our location). The immediate issue - what to do with the closet FULL of bags? Solution: Recycle fully one-half of the “collection” and move the other half to a space in the garage and save for trash bags in the bathrooms and kitty litter disposal. Second, what do we do instead of the bags? As teachers, we already possessed an extensive collection of conference bags. As a multiple sclerosis patient who receives her monthly medication shipment in a styrofoam box, I had a collection of those as well. We kept two styrofoam boxes: One to place inside a reusable tote for grocery shopping, and the other in another reusable tote for quick evacuation of chilled medications during tornado warnings. I placed ten other styrofoam boxes in the trash over the next two weeks. It hurt my heart, but the boxes threatened to take over an entire half of the garage. And, I get a new box once a month! Now, I set out collecting fun, reusable grocery bags - a grizzly bear bag from Cenage/National Geographic Press, a tiger bag from Birmingham Zoo. Store bags from Bóksala Stúdenta Books - Coffee - Gifts and the Camp Verde General Store. Bags from concerts: Slaid Cleaves, Robert Earl Keene, a travel bags from the Grand Teton Association, and conference bags from the National Conference on Geography Education We keep the “bag of bags” in the car. I offer to bag my own groceries, adding the caveat that I will probably be slower. I take the bag into places to shop. I get frustrated by stores that require products to leave the store in their own plastic bag - Belk and Dick’s. My next feat is to abandon the single-use straw. I recently learned they were not recyclable. How can they not be? Seriously? And, why do you have to give me one whether I want it, or not. If you put it on the table, without my requesting it, it will inevitably be thrown away. I like a straw, but I can live without one. A good friend has a set of reusable metal straws, but she carries a much larger bag/purse with her than I do. For now, I plan to decline the straw. I plan to keep doing my part reducing, reusing, and recycling. I hope I can make a difference. References. Boone, A. 27 March 2018. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is Growing. CityLab. Accessed on 28 March 2018. https://www.citylab.com/environment/2018/03/the-great-pacific-garbage-patch-is-growing/556562/ Gates, J.E. 20 March 2018. New law will prohibit local government from banning plastic bags or other type containers. Clarion Ledger.com Accessed on 28 March 2018. https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/politics/2018/03/20/new-law-prohibit-local-government-banning-plastic-bags-other-type-containers/442256002/ Parks, R. 2018. Senate Bill No. 2570: Local entities; prohibit ordinances regulating the use of certain containers. State of Mississippi Regular Session 2018. Accessed on 28 March 2018. http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2018/pdf/SB/2500-2599/SB2570SG.pdf Richards, E. 15, June 2015. Austin’s Plastic Bag Ban Worse for Environment Than Bags It Outlaws. CNSNews.com. Accessed on 28 March 2018. https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/emily-richards/austins-plastic-bag-ban-worse-environment-bags-it-outlaws Shel Silverstein - Topic. 2015/1984. Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out · Shel Silverstein from Where The Sidewalk Ends. Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. https://youtu.be/-104x-t85G4 Silverstein, S. 1974. Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out. Where the Sidewalk Ends. New York: Harper Collins. pp70-71. Winkle, K. 11 January 2018. Could plastic bag ban be lifted? Texas Supreme Court hears case. KXAN.com. Accessed on 28 March 2018. http://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/could-plastic-bag-ban-be-lifted-texas-supreme-court-hears-case/1031510397

#MeToo and Me

From an extended FaceBook post last week. I decided it needed to be shared more broadly.

I said ‘God, don’t do this to me.’  And, God laughed. ~Tarana Burke

Sixteen months of being a liberal in a very conservative state has begun to take its toll on me.  I felt

better after a much needed visit with some strong women in my life over spring break. Last night, I

attended the University of Mississippi’s Women’s Empowerment Keynote Address

#UMWomensHistory2018 by Tarana Burke and felt compelled to tell my story.

Last year, I joined the Women’s March in Memphis, Tennessee, with two former students and their

friends.  I called all three of my Congressmen daily until the Senate confirmed the 45th President of

the United States’ nominee for Secretary of Education.  I rallied to support Massachusetts Senator

Elizabeth Warren when she was silenced in the confirmation hearing with what became the Feminists’

rally cry “She persisted.”  (I even replaced my pretty pink Otterbox phone case for a sleek “She

Persisted” watercolor case that didn’t protect my screen from a drop off the nightstand.)

When the allegations against prominent men in the entertainment industry morphed into the social

media #MeToo viral storm last fall, I paused.  I remembered fondly all of my former male supervisors

and colleagues in a myriad of workplaces and didn’t have anything to add. But then, I remembered

the cat-calls from construction workers as I walked home from middle school in the somewhat rural,

suburbs of northeast San Antonio.  I was 11, maybe 12. I reflected on two, very awkward, predatory

relationships in college. I was 21, maybe 22. I had never publicly spoken about these incidents. All

I could add to the conversation was “This happened to me, too!” #MeToo.

That is exactly what Tarana Burke meant when she started the movement.  That #MeToo implies that

YOU are a braver person than I am because you CAN tell the story that I cannot tell (at this time).  

#MeToo means that “I see you. I believe you. I hear you. And, I am you” creating an “exchange of

empathy.”

In addition to sharing statistics about female victims of sexual assault and harassment, Ms. Burke

reminded us that one in six (1 in 6!!) boys are victims of sexual assault and harassment, and that there

are no reliable statistics for gay, lesbian, and transgendered persons.  She asked all of us to think

about sexual assault and harassment as a disease. As such, how would we respond to a survivor?

Would we behave the same way? Thinking of the #MeToo movement this way reframes the

conversation into one that includes both sexes and all genders. Thinking of #MeToo as a “global

community of survivors” gives “power to our collective voices” and helps to “cultivate a culture of joy”,

a yearning for justice, and a decision to survive.

What hearing Ms. Burke speak about her own journey of community activism before and during

#MeToo has done for me is this -- I am empowered, energized, and willing to engage in the “radical

community healing” necessary for us to make it safe for victims to speak their truth.  Did you know --

Sexual assault is the ONLY crime that doesn’t rely solely on the verbal testimony of the victim to initiate

criminal proceedings? Process that for a moment!

So here I sit in my climate-controlled office on a university campus, sheltered by academic freedom

and tenure, pondering my role in #MeToo.  How do we move forward? Well, we do the Good Work,

the hard work, the dirty work of demanding to be part of the conversation and the solution.

If you take nothing else away from my post, take this - #MeToo isn’t just about wealthy, powerful men

in business and entertainment.  It is about everyone. #MeToo starts in preschool to create a culture of

empathy that doesn’t allow the narrative of hatred, bullying, and harassment to continue.  And, as

Ms. Burke explained last night - #MeToo doesn’t equate Bill Cosby and Emmett Till. To make such a

comparison disrespects the memory of Emmett Till - who categorically did not deserve the response

he received for whistling at a woman.  #MeToo isn’t about ending courtesy and compliments in the

workplace, but it should redefine how we think about our colleagues.

“Do Unto Others...” so someone doesn’t have to say #MeToo about you.