Poor or Rich Isn't What Makes Someone Deserving of Help
I was passed this link today and it is difficult to read.
I've had difficult bosses and difficult work situations. But some of the hardest situations to come to terms with are when I've witnessed the very poorest of the poor treat fellow poor people like garbage. It was moments like that (and my story about how I worked with an "A" student as college junior and discovered that one can be an "A" student and a shitty worker) that show me that labels on the outside do not match what is going on on the inside.
Twice I've watched this really, really, really dirt poor family farm treat people with such low respect, it's just awful.
Here's my first story.
I was bartering for a box of tomatoes that I could use to make tomato soup. This particular farm was Certified Organic but really, I didn't care about that. What made me use them was that they were close by my house. So I had agreed to trade 1 day working on their farm for a box of tomatoes. (I was a previous CSA [Community Supported Agriculture] member.
But I didn't know what I was in for. I showed up at 8 a.m. with my own bottle of water and was ready to "work outside". I had only stipulated that I wasn't too cool on working with animals but anything in the garden, I was fine with.
There were 2 owners, both there that day, and they set about taking turns giving me jobs to do. There was so much to do (as there always is with outdoor work) but they constantly strategized "You do this first, then we'll do this, then this..." etc. The problem was...they just kept passing me between them...with no breaks. AT. ALL.
I managed to grab my water bottle once and get a sip, I remember feeling embarrassed to do so, but I was so thirsty and I'd been out in the fields for hours, in the wind, constantly on the move. As soon as I got one job done with one owner, the other owner would show up and take me to the next job. It didn't stop. Even at one point, I was tasked with polishing the tomatoes that I was going to take home.
I make a point to talk about this because the owners insisted that polished tomatoes 'last longer' but my plan was to immediately make soup the next day, so I really could have taken straight plain tomatoes, even partially bad ones.
Finally, the day ended around 5 p.m. and they regretfully let me go. There were still jobs they hadn't finished.
I don't think it even remotely occurred to them that I:
- never had a break
- never used the bathroom
- never had lunch
in 9 straight hours of farm work. On one sip of water.
They've since made pleas for farm help on their Facebook account and I've ignored them.
This is a family that's made it clear that they exist on about $9,000 a year plus anything they grow on the farm. They are poor.
But I will NOT go back and work for them.
Times are tough. This past February, I was feeling low (as I do) and I received a one-liner Facebook Messenger message from the farm:
Hey, I've been thinking about you lately and wondering how you've been doing.
No other messages.
I let my phone go, I didn't even give the message a read receipt. I just paused...
I thought "Really? You've been thinking of me. How so?"
Silence.
"Evidence?"
Silence.
"How are you reaching out to me to check on me, particularly in February?"
Silence.
I just sat on my hands, so to speak. Something said "wait this out", so I did.
Then just a few days later, up pops a post tagged to their Facebook page:
Oh, I just LOVE the new offerings by the farm for this year's CSA! It's such a great deal!!
Uh-huh. February. Just when the CSA is ordering seeds and paying for them to plan their CSA for the summer.
My one message outreach was one message to see if I wanted to join their CSA this year. They were looking for money.
Oh and don't worry, if I can't afford it (I can't), they have a trade-work-for-food option.
Ha. As if.
Let's look at all of this one more time, from a higher level.
This farm has the ability to CHOSE how they treat others, of any status, rich or poor. But they chose to treat the poor (their fellow poor) with contempt.
- Poor people can be worked like dogs, apparently.
- Poor people can be disrespected.
- Poor people can have their emotions twisted, just to make a buck.
That is the contempt I have for this situation. And it is NOT because they are poor that I'm mad. It makes me extra mad, sure. But I certainly know a longer list of rich folks that have contempt for the poor.
It's about your choices, people. How do you chose to treat people?
God is watching. Watching your very heart.