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Living with our parents and saving up has finally paid off. Christina stumbled upon this relatively cheap bank-owned property that had everything we wanted: 5 acres, development potential for permaculture/living off the land, near her work, and backing up to preserved land (the 172,000 acre Withlacoochee State Forest). It was a whirlwind dealing with the bank owner, middle men/women, lenders, inspectors, closing costs, false alarms, document errors, bleh. But with some gracious help from Christina’s mom (not to mention letting us stay at her home) and an agent staying on top of it, we were able to pull it off in the knick of a time right before the credit crunch came in full swing this late September. Also thanks to the family for all the hand me downs and being there for us once again to help us move.
A very interesting thread on the forums of the Permaculture Research Institute prompted me to think about profiting off others. Echoing some of the “leaders” in the permaculture movement, most posters saw nothing inherently wrong with profit, as long as it was used for doing good like “ethical investing” and “giving back.” Besides, many of them said, it’s impossible to live without profit. I thought it was curious that people who claimed it’s possible on a societal level to actually live sustainably with nature suddenly became fatalistic and considered other changes too far a stretch of the imagination.
I’m still struggling with the question I stumbled upon 5 years ago. How can I engage in social change? Meaning, how can I support the proliferation of love, autonomy, and well-being rather than the proliferation of hatred, mass destruction, and inequality? How can I ultimately live with rather than at the expense of others, both people and planet?
For the past 3 or so years, I pursued traditional political activism as the way to positive social change. I was involved in many organizations and actions that I thought would lead to this end. I feel like I did accomplish a lot: feeding some of those who were hungry, providing some shelter to the homeless, creating dialogue/awareness about a lot of issues, connecting with many different people from a wide range of backgrounds, and causing some good ol’ ruckus.
After spending the summer in Portland, Christina and I have decided to return to Florida. We experienced some interesting things: a week of communal living and invaluable workshops at the west coast the convergence for climate action, the beautiful Oregon coast, amazing Columbian gorge, inspiring Mount Hood, the stream of bikers commuting in Portland as well as the widespread gardens in the city.
I have decided to quit the sociology graduate program at the University of Florida after my first year. I have definitely learned many invaluable lessons and grown immensely, but most of these were gained from my experiences outside the classroom. It seems many in academia are primarily in it just for the money, status, and cushy privileges. The classes were monotonous and far from challenging; the politics in the department absurdly immature and even down right nasty (there are still many ongoing repercussions of these articles). The students and faculty who I previously held some respect for their ability to critique, proved themselves to be hypocritical when some of us attempted to turn the gaze of sociology back on itself and stand up for the rights of all students to be treated with respect and dignity within the department.
