Quarantine Diary #657 What we’re up against

12/30/2021

I know a fair amount about the planet-killing toxicity of western culture’s “fast fashion” so I was impressed by what I read this morning in “The Day the World Stops Shopping.” (I wrote about this book yesterday in case you missed class. Hah.)

You need to read Chapter 12 to get the bigger scenario, but here’s my fast explanation. Yes, manufacturers make way too many clothes which harms the planet and exploits the poorest people on earth. Example: A Bangladeshi garment factory owner says if consumers would pay $.02 more per T-shirt, conditions and pay for workers would upgrade dramatically. Wow.

But then also this: Many upscale brands understand that increasing consumerism is destroying the planet. They would like to opt out of that without going bankrupt.

Companies such as Patagonia, Eileen Fisher, REI (and more) manufacture expensive, well-made garments. They are experimenting with marketing to their customers that after a person no longer wants their item – they can easily return it for credit. The amount of the credit is determined by a go-between business where the garment is cleaned, mended, and then relisted at the manufacturer’s site as used. This system keeps clothing out of a landfill as well as returning future profits to the company. Patagonia is aiming to make this a significant part of their company’s profit.

That might have seemed a bit dry but this is my context.

Have you noticed people on social media saying how crappy 2021 was and how crappy 2022 will be? I will grant that anyone who lost a loved one this year has the right to call this an awful year. Likewise, to people who ended long relationships or their homes were devastated by disasters. Parents who took care of underfoot kids while working from home and medical caregivers can say anything they want.

But really? The rest of us get to say this past year was awful because it was hard to socialize? Because we couldn’t travel as much as our hearts desire? Because concerts and restaurants, churches, sports, and bars were iffy?

Just want to remind us that in this past year we were GIVEN life-saving vaccines. Do we understand that polio appeared in 1930 but the vaccine didn’t arrive until 1953? Back in “the good ole days” that pundits tell us were more wholesome than now - people waited 23 years for a vaccine.

We had to wait a year and half of us are still fussing about it.

This pandemic time is tough, yes. This is tougher for some than for others, yes. But let’s remember to claim what’s changing and true.

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Like these moments.

He is respected worldwide.

He’s in prison.

I was out walking when I saw this. These are jeeps from the war in Afghanistan being returning to military bases. Peace on a flatcar.

We are getting clearer and stronger in our understanding of what assault is. A 14-, 15-, 16-, or 17-year-old girl or boy is a child. This is so different from the culture many of us grew up in where we were responsible for our own safety before we even knew what that meant.

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This year I used my cellphone to record an arrest on my street. The video wasn’t needed because the arrest, though alarming, was reasonable.

This year I was mostly comfortable in my own body because Medicare paid for physical therapy.

Len had cutting edge surgery that saved his life.

We now both own Apple watches that can check oxygenation, A-Fib status, and heart rate any old time at all. (Can’t tell a heart attack or do blood pressure.) Pricey yes, but nothing compared to 17 days in two hospitals.

And just now I was about to drive to the liquor store to buy a bottle of wine and a six-pack of Lakefront IPA. I texted Len who texted back that he ordered these delights in the grocery order. I didn’t even know this was legal! (We show our DL at the pickup.)

What a world!