The other day I was reading a discussion about sexism in the
way presidential candidates are described by the press, and one person
commented that he didn’t like “identity politics,” and he wanted someone who
could “represent everyone.” I found this extremely patronizing because it
implies that a white man can represent everyone fairly but, say, a black woman
can’t. Also, I would say that looking around at our world, the white men in
power have in fact made decisions that most benefit white men, and if there
were more variety in the people in government, while each person might be
advocating for people most like themselves, at least we would have a variety of
advocates. It reminds me of a science cartoon I saw once that said: “This is
proven to cause cancer in rats and white males.” Exactly. Why is “white male”
always the default? If you were basing it on reality, the default should
probably be “Asian female” worldwide, and “white female” in this country since
there are more women than men. How about we make the default “human” and then
elect a wide variety of people to cover the spectrum?
Last night I went to the community garden, and it was like a
paradise on earth: people had planted tall flowers along their borders, and
birds flew back and forth and landed on the fences in front of me while
butterflies flitted past. I found my own plot was quite weedy in the short
space of time I had neglected it. In fact, it was so weedy that only after
pulling out a bunch of weeds did I realize a flame-colored calla lily was
blooming. Here’s a rundown of what is working and what isn’t, if this helps
anyone with future gardening attempts:
Seeds: Pumpkin, oregano, and chives never even sprouted.
Squash is too small to produce anything yet. Radishes were incredible but are
all done now, so I just planted turnip seeds in their place. Carrots and beets
look happy, but I can’t tell if they are ready for harvest yet. Swiss chard and
two kinds of lettuce have been productive. Corn and green beans are going nuts
but aren’t ready for harvest. The pepper plants I started inside are like
bonsai plants; they are very happy, but very small. I can’t see them producing
peppers any time soon. I do have a zucchini that may be ready to harvest.
Starter plants: Eggplants and tomatoes are hopeless. Broccoli
and Brussel sprouts are very happy but haven’t produced anything yet. Last
night I got a ton of ground cherries and several strawberries, and there
appears to be a new baby ground cherry plant. I have gotten so much kale from
my two kale plants! The collard and cauliflower are still too small to say how
they will do, but to be fair I planted them later in the season. The onions I
got from Rich’s garden do not seem as happy in my plot. So far I have had one
patty pan squash, and another looks close to ready. There are a couple of
spaghetti squashes not quite ready for harvest yet.
House plants: The black and white calla lilies are done
blooming. The flame one just started. The pineapple lily has never sprouted,
but maybe the bulb was dead. The plant that was some unusual kind of amaryllis
apparently rotted because of all the rain, but the two regular amaryllis have
leaves and appear happy. Hopefully nobody complains about my planting
houseplants in my plot…
Famous Hat
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