Here is a picture from my outing to the Houston Galleria yesterday.
While I know I should take any trip to the Galleria as a chance to comment on our low-wage economy, allegiance to consumerism over all else and the poor conditions of working people all around the globe, the truth is that the atmosphere of apathy and self-concern at the Galleria serves as a kind of mental rest for myself so long as I don't visit the place very often.
Also, people working in the Galleria need jobs just like anybody else.
One thing I needed to do at the Galleria was buy a piece of luggage. To do accomplish this task, I went to the luggage section of a department store.
The man working the luggage area knew what he was doing and I bought the luggage I needed.
However, while making the purchase I noticed the salesperson had a small "Don't Tread On Me." flag pin on his necktie. As a general rule in our current political climate, this might well mean that the salesperson was far to the right.
While we do not and should not ask people who are helping us at stores who they voted for, it is quite another thing when somebody who wants you to help them by making a big purchase makes a point of telling you they have values far different from your own values.
I've got to tell you that I kept on with the purchase even after I saw the pin. I thought about what to do, and came to the view that it was better to let some things go than to have a conflict on a peaceful day.
I don't know if I made the right call. I do always object when I walk into a restaurant that has Fox News showing on a hanging wall TV. But it just seemed to me that this was a battle not worth fighting. All I really wanted at that moment was my luggage and my shopping-induced apathy.
In any case however, we do have the right to object when we see something don't like at what should be neutral location. If you are in the same situation, you might choose a different course than what I did not do yesterday.
Just because you don't fight every battle does not mean you will ignore every frustrating thing you see.
The work of everyday resistance is up to each of us. Maybe it is just such an idea from the other side of the ideological aisle that motivates the man I saw to wear that flag pin.
Please read all of NeilAquino.com
While I know I should take any trip to the Galleria as a chance to comment on our low-wage economy, allegiance to consumerism over all else and the poor conditions of working people all around the globe, the truth is that the atmosphere of apathy and self-concern at the Galleria serves as a kind of mental rest for myself so long as I don't visit the place very often.
Also, people working in the Galleria need jobs just like anybody else.
One thing I needed to do at the Galleria was buy a piece of luggage. To do accomplish this task, I went to the luggage section of a department store.
The man working the luggage area knew what he was doing and I bought the luggage I needed.
However, while making the purchase I noticed the salesperson had a small "Don't Tread On Me." flag pin on his necktie. As a general rule in our current political climate, this might well mean that the salesperson was far to the right.
While we do not and should not ask people who are helping us at stores who they voted for, it is quite another thing when somebody who wants you to help them by making a big purchase makes a point of telling you they have values far different from your own values.
I've got to tell you that I kept on with the purchase even after I saw the pin. I thought about what to do, and came to the view that it was better to let some things go than to have a conflict on a peaceful day.
I don't know if I made the right call. I do always object when I walk into a restaurant that has Fox News showing on a hanging wall TV. But it just seemed to me that this was a battle not worth fighting. All I really wanted at that moment was my luggage and my shopping-induced apathy.
In any case however, we do have the right to object when we see something don't like at what should be neutral location. If you are in the same situation, you might choose a different course than what I did not do yesterday.
Just because you don't fight every battle does not mean you will ignore every frustrating thing you see.
The work of everyday resistance is up to each of us. Maybe it is just such an idea from the other side of the ideological aisle that motivates the man I saw to wear that flag pin.
Please read all of NeilAquino.com
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