Interconnectedness

Each quarter, a group of students, faculty, and staff at WWU convene an environmental justice reading group to read and discuss recent texts. This quarter (Spring 2019) the group is reading Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower and adrienne maree brown’s Emergent Strategy. The following entry reflects the group’s discussion last week.

 

Interconnectedness

By: Adelle and Grace

 

People often feel they are alone. That their accomplishments should be celebrated alone. That their struggles should be dealt with alone. And in a world that is more connected than it’s ever been why do we feel like this? The success stories we often hear in western culture are of one man putting it all on the line, using only hard work and determination to achieve a goal, and then accumulate some sort of massive wealth in their success. Men like Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs, all created their companies “on their own”, and are fully responsible for the genius and success of their businesses. In nature that story is far from common. A single animal’s (or man’s) success is usually not single but achieved as a group. It is our natural desire to work, protect, and live in groups. For some reason, these stories are always presented as one man alone.

 

A local example of this natural desire to work in groups is the Northern American Loon. We see them migrating in Bellingham, coming up from the southern coasts all the way to places like Alaska and Canada. They can travel hundreds of miles in groups naturally relying on each other to make their journey. Adrienne Brown explained, “birds don’t make plans to migrate… they feel a call in their bodies that they must go” (Brown 13). Humans will follow that same pattern. We naturally follow the leader of our groups, we want to be involved, to be loved. But it is so frowned upon to admit that you want these things, to admit that you need help or can not do it alone, and why is that?

 

 

 

 

The United States uses natural systems to foster a competitive nature between individuals. We often utilize phrases in competitive settings which reference the natural systems of food chains and animal dynamics. We use Darwin’s idea of natural selection a way to separate our accomplishments and to be ruthless with one another. Top dog refers to the alpha wolf in a pack, and we compare ourselves to predatory animals such as lions, tigers, wolves. In reality these systems are not as individualistic and competitive as they seem. In Emergent strategy, Brown enlightens that “natural selection isn’t individual, but mutual”(Brown 14). Those who group together, have a greater chance of succeeding. So the U.S. perpetuating this system of “alphaness” or extreme competition keeps us from grouping together, it keeps humans from sharing their ideas. In the past uprisings against oppressive governments have started with humans grouping together, putting their own agendas aside, and working together to make change. If though, we have this ideal in our society that things have to be done alone, and we have resentment against one another we will never group together, never be able to make systematic change because we are alone. It is beneficial for a government that benefits off the backs of the oppressed to make sure they never feel the ability to share their struggles, to openly talk to others about their lives and experiences, and to make them feel isolated. The act of simply talking openly about your life is a radical act in itself.