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| My addition to the cause |
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| I grew the squash, I handpainted the 2 signs, I added the sun and Voila'. DIY all the way This article tells the story of how the 99% are Family Farmers and I would add gardeners to the list also because what is a gardener, but a little farmer. The title of the article is HOW OCCUPY WALL STREET IS BRIDGING THE RURAL/URBAN DIVIDE and it is well worth reading. Just when you think you are the only ONE, Lo and Behold, the others come out of the woodwork to be heard. |
As a rule, I don’t do protests. I don’t occupy anything, except my home and the farm. I am a country girl, and the key to living a happy agrarian existence lies in having a certain personality type – I’m a recluse at heart. I can stay home for weeks on end and never crave to see a soul. Living in the sticks, that’s a good thing. It is this personality trait that enables farmers to do what they do.
…Which is not to say that I disagree with protests, political uprisings, or the like. But rather than join demonstrations and marches, I choose to make my voice heard in a different way. I live my opposition. I don’t like the consumer culture, so I live a life that largely excludes it. I don’t like the rapacious nature of industrial agriculture, so I live and work to steward the land in a way that honors Mother Earth. Rather than protest for a day, a few weeks or a few months, I protest with my life energy that there is a different and better way.
But I do support protesting. In fact, I support it wholeheartedly, and I am grateful for those who have the courage to do it. But my personality type leaves me utterly petrified at the idea of joining a crowd and adding my physical presence to the masses. I am nervous in cities, skittish in crowds, wary of large organized gatherings. And that’s the reason I haven’t joined Occupy Wall Street. I have other excuses, too. I’ve got little kids at home, food to cook, sausages to make, turkeys to sell, farmers’ markets to attend…I am so busy living my life of protest that I really don’t have time to protest.
But those organizers have figured out that I’m hiding. And they’ve figured out my excuses. They are asking farmers, community gardeners, food activists, and food workers to come down and Occupy Wall Street on Sunday. I know it is last minute, but they figured out things are slowing down on the farm right about now. They’re not asking us to camp out or commit our lives, they only want 4 hours of our time, from 2pm to 6pm. I hear that call not only as a third generation farmer, but also as a mother, a home cook, and rural citizen who’s life is tied to the flow of seasons, the health of the land, and the vitality and diversity of a locally-sourced food supply. Mom and Dad are watching the kids, and Bob and I are heading down. We should be back home in time for bed.
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