Sean Dwyer
5/21
WC: 233
“In late 2011, about 400 workers’ rights advocates marched to Trader Joe’s headquarters outside Los Angeles. They wanted to present management with two letters, one signed by 109 rabbis, the other from more than 80 Southern California pastors. Both letters simply asked Trader Joe’s executives to work with the coalition to address labor abuses in the tomato fields – nothing more.” (Estabrook 196)
“That snub was nothing compared with what happened next. Police arrived and ordered the interfaith leaders to disperse, which they did. But as Rev. Halverson walked away, she saw someone from inside the building open the door, step outside, rip the letters from the glass, and crumple them.” (Estabrook 197)
“It’s hard to believe that a group of rabbis and pastors was threatening” (Estabrook 197)
“No matter how hard I try on Sunday to get ready – Monday mornings are always untogether. I’m saying all this to say that I’ll be writing you later in the week when I’m more together.” (Smart-Grosvenor 160)
“My heart beats heavy every time somebody even mentions his name. If your food is life stuff is true then I ain’t got no lie. I ain’t got nobody to cook for.” (Smart-Grosvenor 171)
“Get a holt of yourself. Spring is coming and there will be new songs to sing… P.S. Thanks to Dr. Christiaan Barnard, we know that the heart that beats for you is not always your own.” (Smart-Grosvenor 171)
“The production of food is based on how much money a farmer or a corporation can make from the food they’re growing. Farmworkers are a liability in their financial statements.” (Guillen 5)
The theme from this week’s text is that you can’t run from unprocessed emotion. The first quote regarding the executives of Trader Joe’s shows how a simple request can be perceived as so much more if the capability to do much more is known. The utilization of corporate power was an immature reaction to remove protestors from the scene because it brought up recognition of an unavoidable change as shown in the frustration of ripping letters posted to the glass and crumpling them. As described by the first quote from Vibration Cooking, Stella’s heart beats heavy every time she is reminded of the projected love she felt through the embodiment of her relationship. She has no one to see herself through. The following quote that says “the heart that beats for you is not always your own” helps outline the importance of your own heartbeat and the beauty of hearts beating in unison as touched upon in the following quote about farmworkers being a liability in their financial statements. A farmworker spends time in the field because there is work to be done. A farmer can become complacent in reflecting on the quality of time spent in the field when financial statements are relied upon to show that time was spent. We all have time to spend, and the clock ticks whether we want it to or not.
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