We grow up with a set of specified rules. We're told what to do, how to behave, and who to listen to. We're supposed to bow to authority, whether they are kindergarten teachers, law-enforcement agents, or politicians who tell us what to believe and how to serve the nation, and we internalize this. Extremely simplified, the idea is that authority is not just external, but that people are conditioned by the markers of hegemony and continue to reproduce it from within; for example, we automatically become alert when approached by police officers, even if we have done nothing wrong. Authority is everywhere, and people don't even question it. People are likely to believe anyone with a badge or a uniform without asking further questions. Why? We are trained to believe that uniforms are a marker of authenticity and authority, and that we must defer to authority. When institution building is so strong, the visual and symbolic markers of those institutions become ingrained in our consciousness. A documentary on British TV showed set up situations in which uniformed "officers" intercepted people near customs checkpoints or on highways, asking for documents, fines, and seizure of cargo. In almost all cases, people were all too willing to provide whatever they were asked for, blindly trusting that the uniformed men were genuine law-enforcers. It was kind of shocking, and made me think about how I react to things like that too. My undergraduate institution really pushed the idea of questioning everything that we take for granted in society, and I feel that this is the cornerstone of liberty and human rights. Question everything. It's not a crime.
Luckily for me I'm a little wary of badges and uniforms, and this served me well last week. We boarded a train from Belgrade to Budapest - a 9 hour journey. 2 hours out of Belgrade, a guy came to our cabin, saying he was "Passport control." He wore a police badge around his neck, but had no uniform on. I was immediately slightly suspicious, since the previous border officers at the Serbia/Croatia border had been uniformed. Plus, we were nowhere near the border. We were told that we needed to pay a 300 Euro fine for not registering with the Serbian police within 24 hours of arrival, even though we had only overstayed this period by about 6 hours. In perfect English they explained that they would accompany us to the border, take us to court there, and fine us 300 EU. I was even more suspicious, since during my research and trip planning I'd heard of no such rule. While they walked around and checked other people's documents, P and I discussed whether they were fake, or actual, bribe chasing police. Eventually they told us that we could pay them a 50 Euro fee, and they would write up a form saying we lost our police permission. Since it was highly unlikely that they'd travel 4 more hours to the border to take us to court, I figured they were probably scamming us, or just wanted a bribe. They took me to a separate cabin to discuss fines. I really wanted to ask for proper identification, but not being in my country of citizenship or knowing who these guys were, I just kept insisting that we had no cash, and eventually they left us alone. Later on we double checked and it turned out that registration is required only after 3 months. I felt bad for the two other British guys we saw fork over the "reduced fine." So, don't always assume that a uniform/badge is fo realz.
Watch out for my next post on how to assert your rights with the REAL po-po!
May 25, 2011
May 20, 2011
Small Steps
For 15 months we've been moving non-stop. It was an excellent lesson in paring down, giving up material goods, and learning that I could live with even less than I thought. When you go to new places, the impact of environmental destruction, pollution, overpopulation, and overconsumption is shockingly obvious. Seeing parts of the ocean completely fished out, garbage dumps on pristine islands, and poverty right next to shiny capitalism, it became harder to accept that I was doing my part to be the change I wanted to see in the world. Of course, I'm guilty of not being super eco friendly what with flying everywhere - though I love trains and try to travel by them if possible (This one month trip was completely overland) - and I am far from perfect but I felt like it was finally time for me to do a little more. These aren't huge things, but just tiny ways in which I feel that a little effort adds up, is better for the environment, for my health, and probably for other people.
- This month marks one year of being anti-perspirant/deodorant free. And no, I don't smell bad. In fact, I smell better than I ever have. I found an awesome pump-spray that contains only alum (a type of mineral salt) and water. It kills bacteria, sprays without ozone layer destruction, and is also free of carcinogens and environmentally toxic chemicals. It's also insanely cheap.
- I switched to a sulfate and paraben free organic shampoo. P uses baking soda to wash and apple cider vinegar to condition. His hair is no longer falling out, and we are not putting shit into the water supply any more. After seeing what a tub of Sodium Laureth Sulfate looks and smells like, you won't want to use regular shampoo either!
- I skip body lotion and use almond oil instead, with a vanilla pod in it. There's nothing in it but... almond oil, and a vanilla pod :) No chemical additives, refillable glass bottle, totally natural. And it smells amazing.
- I cut out a large part of meat from my diet. Ideally I would be entirely meat free, but I like to keep the option of eating meat in places where it's the only available food or is humanely and healthily produced, like on small farms in Poland. I don't think eating meat is entirely wrong, I think we just eat too much meat. And most meat in the US and UK is industrially produced and highly unhealthy.
- I'm planning to make more of my condiments and foods from scratch. It's easy and fast, you can re-use jars instead of buying new ones, it tastes better, and you're not giving money to big companies.
- I started renting rooms from individuals or small family run hotels over staying in bigger hotels/chains.
- I'm planning to build my own computer instead of buying the apple desktop I wanted. It sucks, because they are so pretty, but after finding out about Apple's hideous labour practices, I can't really feel good about owning a mac. I can avoid HP, Intel components and keep supporting the BDS movement by not buying goods that support Israeli apartheid, and I can also avoid giving my money to Microsoft.
- Couchsurfing. It's been a great way to meet people I'd never meet normally, exchange ideas, and become immersed in different cultures. Everyone I've been has been generous, kind, helpful, and full of warmth. I can't think of a better way to learn about a different country and to act upon ideas I believe in.
I don't want to go all nutty and start wearing burlap sacks, but I feel like if there are little things I can do that are easy enough to incorporate into my life, I should probably do them. I'd love more suggestions! Anything that supports human rights and is environmentally friendly is something we should be doing!
- This month marks one year of being anti-perspirant/deodorant free. And no, I don't smell bad. In fact, I smell better than I ever have. I found an awesome pump-spray that contains only alum (a type of mineral salt) and water. It kills bacteria, sprays without ozone layer destruction, and is also free of carcinogens and environmentally toxic chemicals. It's also insanely cheap.
- I switched to a sulfate and paraben free organic shampoo. P uses baking soda to wash and apple cider vinegar to condition. His hair is no longer falling out, and we are not putting shit into the water supply any more. After seeing what a tub of Sodium Laureth Sulfate looks and smells like, you won't want to use regular shampoo either!
- I skip body lotion and use almond oil instead, with a vanilla pod in it. There's nothing in it but... almond oil, and a vanilla pod :) No chemical additives, refillable glass bottle, totally natural. And it smells amazing.
- I cut out a large part of meat from my diet. Ideally I would be entirely meat free, but I like to keep the option of eating meat in places where it's the only available food or is humanely and healthily produced, like on small farms in Poland. I don't think eating meat is entirely wrong, I think we just eat too much meat. And most meat in the US and UK is industrially produced and highly unhealthy.
- I'm planning to make more of my condiments and foods from scratch. It's easy and fast, you can re-use jars instead of buying new ones, it tastes better, and you're not giving money to big companies.
- I started renting rooms from individuals or small family run hotels over staying in bigger hotels/chains.
- I'm planning to build my own computer instead of buying the apple desktop I wanted. It sucks, because they are so pretty, but after finding out about Apple's hideous labour practices, I can't really feel good about owning a mac. I can avoid HP, Intel components and keep supporting the BDS movement by not buying goods that support Israeli apartheid, and I can also avoid giving my money to Microsoft.
- Couchsurfing. It's been a great way to meet people I'd never meet normally, exchange ideas, and become immersed in different cultures. Everyone I've been has been generous, kind, helpful, and full of warmth. I can't think of a better way to learn about a different country and to act upon ideas I believe in.
I don't want to go all nutty and start wearing burlap sacks, but I feel like if there are little things I can do that are easy enough to incorporate into my life, I should probably do them. I'd love more suggestions! Anything that supports human rights and is environmentally friendly is something we should be doing!
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