1/ Here's what I remember most from Arlie Hochschild's Strangers in Their Own Land: a family who lived on a bayou. It had been gorgeous, and it was also their livelihood: just head out the door and there was dinner.
Then someone poisoned it. And they knew who.
Then someone poisoned it. And they knew who.
2/ Literally: the guy who dumped the barrels of industrial waste that poisoned their bayou confessed. He had been paid by a company, and he told them which company that was.
Their bayou was dead as a result. Dead trees, dead water, certainly no more dinner right out the door.
Their bayou was dead as a result. Dead trees, dead water, certainly no more dinner right out the door.
But they laughed at the idea of taking any kind of action to stop this sort of thing from happening, even though it had literally destroyed their home, which they plainly loved.
Why? Because it wasn't worth it; the system was rigged, and trying to take action was pointless.
Why? Because it wasn't worth it; the system was rigged, and trying to take action was pointless.
This is what the idea that "they're all corrupt" gets you: your home poisoned, levers for holding the people who did it accountable within your grasp, but you doing nothing because you're convinced that democratic accountability is a pipe dream.
