March Against Monsanto

/// So I'm re-blogging this post from James Wesley Nichols. I hope that all of you U.S. readers are participating in this march in your own city! ///

This Saturday there is a March Against Monsanto planned in the city of Greenville, SC.

It's part of an international movement that calls into question Monsanto's use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the food products they sell all over the world, a movement to hold corporations accountable for their placement of short-term profits ahead of the long-term good of the people.

Greenville is a quintessential conservative community, with a power structure favoring religion and capitalism. To conduct any protest to the status quo here is to open ourselves to ridicule, retaliation, infiltration, subterfuge, arrest, violence. Our march will be small. But movements begin this way, and only solidarity and fearless dedication to fighting injustice will make it grow. If nothing more, marching through Greenville will build awareness about what Monsanto and other corporations are doing. And raising consciousness must be the first step in building movements.

There is some debate about whether or not using GMOs for food is safe. In my opinion, this is actually a secondary issue. A deeper concern is "who is deciding our fate?" When it comes to what we eat, we have some choice, but with the trend in market economies to consolidation, and the fact that buying non-corporate food is increasingly expensive and difficult, the answer is "an increasingly small number of rich people." When you think of Chef Boyardee, Hunts, Orville Redenbacher's, La Choy, Libby's, Van Camp's or Peter Pan peanut butter, you think of individual brands. But the fact remains that all are under the umbrella of ConAgra foods, one of Monsanto's prime competitors in the global food market, another conglomerate that cares less about public health than their own profits.

Corporations are, by law, required to place the profits of their shareholders above all other considerations. Real issues that affect entire populations (environmental degradation, working conditions and so on and so forth) are "externalities" or secondary considerations. If GMOs (and growth hormones and antibiotics and preservatives and pesticides and high fructose corn syrup) serve to sicken millions of people and contribute to an overall decline in health, it doesn't matter from the corporate perspective.

So let's make our voices heard. Let's march against Monsanto (and every other corporation we depend on that places their cash flows ahead of our interests) and hold them accountable for their greed. 

Coo-Coo Bananas

So I heard that in Venezuela stay-at-home moms are supposed to get a salary now or something. Like you can put a price tag on this. I mean, this is like the most demanding, frustrating, hair-pulling-out-est job of my experience! I love my kids, but they drive me totally crazy and being without a car makes me feel hemmed in.

At least there are some sweet photo-ops.

Yesterday we went out for groceries and had a cooperation disconnect as I'll call it. It happened in the cereal isle. When will I learn not to even go down that road with my kids? The compromise was Ramen with lunch. Not bad, right? Not terrible?

watching / listening / reading

Project Update

So I've cleaned up my lettering and added some color. You can see what it might look like on a t-shirt or as a bumper sticker. But I think the best application is as a poster, which will be available in our "at cost" info shop when the band plays shows.

What do you think? Want one?

Wardrobe

I'm totally obsessed (this is not in any way true, I just like it is all) with this etsy shop! The clothes are amazing and I've always wanted to dress like an extra in a Hayao Miyazaki film. I would wear almost anything in this shop, but only stuff in more or less gray scale. Better yet, I shall make myself some new baggy, frumpy clothes. And in fact, I made myself one of these skirts the other day when I found the shop. So there.

Am I crazy or is this awesome?

Also, as a minor note, today is my birthday. :)

Hand Lettering

I'm taking a Skillshare class on hand lettering and I'm two lessons in. It's really great stuff and I'm totally inspired. Well, today I got our scanner working so I can show you what I'm doing.

My project is a poster/t-shirt design to raise awareness and create dialogue about the School of the Americas, a combat training school for Latin American soldiers located at Fort Benning, GA. Please read more about this "School of Assassins" here.

This is my design so far. Got a long way to go, but I am happy with my progress. Feedback?

Gardening With Kids

We are first timers here so our garden is tiny and barely legit, but it's already a wonderful experience! Look at Beatrice go! 

We have red bell pepper, jalapenos, tomatoes (including cherry!) and watermelon. I think we are going to add some squash. Hopefully, it will all grow and feed us and next year we'll have three times as much! We have one bed now, but plan on a total of four. 

Cooperation Bootcamp Part III :: A Few Tactics

1. What do we do when we don't get our way? Say "OK" and walk away!

Bea's main behavioral issue is responding with anger when she doesn't get her way. She is four years old, so her mouth never, ever stops. I get about 5,000 question hurdled at me every hour. At least. And a lot of those are outrageous requests. She wants to take the orange juice in the bath, for example. Or take the sofa cushions in the backyard to make a boat in the garden. Stuff like that. And she gets really mad, like screaming and turning red mad when I say no. 

So this tactic included a little incentive the first few days. We don't have to use the incentive very much now, but I always keep some goldfish on hand just in case. When I say no, she says "ok" and she walks away. I made up the sing-songy rhyme above and made a game of it. By the second day, she got the idea. (The great thing about 4 year olds is that they really do have something else to walk away to at any given moment.)

2. Control yourself and try again.

The kids have this terrible way of screaming what they want instead of asking politely. They'll scream it over and over waiting to get whatever it is they want. Do all kids go through this? Where do they get it? Not from their parents.

Anyway, I don't respond to screamed or yelled demands. I respond to polite, reasonable requests. So when they do the yelling thing, I quietly say, "Control yourself and try again." And they do.

3. The next tactic is turning around a negative situation by using humour. This is my number one, go-to tactic. I think my main talent in this life is making children laugh. Mine especially. I can make them go from crying in anger and frustration to tears of excited joy in seconds. I love it! This only works if it is done respectfully. I don't want my kids to feel mocked when they are down! After all, I'm on their team!

*helpful hint if you try this at home: know where they keep their tickles.* 

4. Listen.

9 times out of 10 when my kids are fighting or tantrum-ing, it is because of a misunderstanding or miscommunication. The easiest way to solve it is to get down there at eye level and get them to talk through it, be an active listener, repeat it back. Then I explain to them or show them how to solve the issue. 

4. Safe places.

Bea and Am each have places they hide on our house (and yard when we're outside) when they need a quick escape. I like to encourage this. If they didn't run off and cool down, I'd have to put them in "time out" or a "naughty chair" as Supernanny says. I prefer a self-imposed get-away to a safe place. They'll rejoin the group when they are ready to participate. Of course, if I can tell there are issues we need to discuss, I go to them. But I do not disrespect the sanctity of their safe place. I talk to them from a reasonable distance. (If this feels too new-agey or politically correct, don't use it. But it works for us. So.)

5. Picking Battles.

This means that I have to really examine myself and see if what I am expecting or requiring is necessary. Sometimes, I have to just be real with myself and check my expectations at the door baby gate. I read a helpful blog post about dividing your activities between stuff you can reasonably do when the kids are up and stuff you have to save for naps. When I actually do this, things go a lot smoother.

6. Hugging.

Sometimes when the kids lose it, I lose it too. Nothing can push me over the edge like the incessant screams of my own children. And when I feel my blood rising, it is so much better to just stop whatever we are doing and cuddle on the couch until we all cool down. It works really, really well.

When not to use this: If the child does not want to be touched, I respect that.

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These are the main things I use. But I also use a lot of the stuff on this list. It's better to link you to it than be redundant. I recommend bookmarking that. 

So there is another parent in our house and he has his own set of useful tactics. I'll try to get him to do a post here. 

If you have more tips to recommend, PLEASE SHARE!