Alberta has been in the news in the past few weeks because of an E-coli outbreak in a meat-packing plant in the southern regions of the province. Millions of tons of beef have been recalled and dumped in landfills. Workers laid off. Children, mothers, fathers, have become ill across the nation.
And Danielle Smith, leader of the official opposition in the province suggests giving it to the homeless under the premise — if you cook it right, you can kill the e-coli so why not give it to the hungry?
Let’ not worry about killing people on the margins. Heck, they’re poor anyway. Let’s give them tainted beef. It’s better than nothing.
Now, I don’t blame Danielle Smith for her ill-advised remarks. She wasn’t thinking beyond the margins of her limited view of poverty. She was trapped in her perception that if you have nothing, then even tainted beef is better than the nothing you’ve got.
And, sad to say, she was possibly echoing the thoughts of other’s who see those who walk our streets and crowd our homeless shelters as second class citizens who should be grateful for whatever they are given.
There is no us and them.
Yesterday, I gave a workshop on homelessness. As I do in all my workshops, I asked the group to say a word that they would like to be known as in the world — honest, passionate, dedicated, loyal — were the responses I got.
Now, what words would you use to describe those experiencing homelessness, I asked. Addicts. Bums. Mentally ill. Lazy…. none of the words on the first list appeared on the second.
It is always the same. When we think of those on the margins we do not first think of the words that describe their humanity. We see only their condition.
Like Danielle Smith, we see their condition and filter our thoughts through the measurement of their lack.
What most individuals experiencing homelessness and poverty don’t lack is gratitude. It never ceased to flow at the shelter where I worked for almost six years. Groups came in to serve and clients applauded them as they left. A volunteer gives a man a jacket from the clothing room and ‘thank-you’ is the first response.
Gratitude is a human response to kindness. And when you have nothing, you encounter a lot of opportunities for gratitude.
You also encounter a lot of places for anger. And outrage. And disgust.
But mostly, you don’t encounter opportunities to express them for fear you might be cutting off the hand that feeds you — even when it’s tainted beef.
How do you say thank-you to the notion feeding you tainted beef is okay? How do you feel gratitude to a society where someone in a position of power not only thinks it but is willing to say it out loud — even if they later publicly apologize, how do you rid yourself of the foul taste clinging to your every thought about what you know they think you’re worth?
As outsiders looking in, we can feel outrage, disgust, anger, as righteous responses to Danielle Smith’s comment. And then we can carry on to the grocery store to buy an alternative source of protein. We don’t have to eat the beef. As the butcher told me last night at the grocery store, sales of pork and poultry are far exceeding beef these days.
In a shelter, you don’t have the choice to eat something else. You eat what you’re given. And when someone publicly suggests you eat tainted beef, a collective sigh of despair rises up from the huddled bodies crowded into the dining hall.
Shoulders shrug. Heads shake side to side.
Why bother to speak up? Nobody’s listening. And anyway, there’s nothing new in what Danielle Smith said. She’s only voicing what everyone knows — we’re second class citizens with little voice in public discourse. Heck, people don’t see us as human beings first anyway. There is no equality in our social condition. There’s only us in here, struggling to figure out what happened to our lives and how do we rise above this abject poverty driving us down, and them out there who think it’s okay to feed us tainted beef.
It’s not.
Because, if it’s not fit for me to eat, why should it be good enough for someone else?
Charity isn’t about feeding someone tainted beef. It’s about feeding their humanity dignity, respect, compassion.
Suggesting we feed someone tainted beef is a measurement of the smallness of our thinking of what it means to be homeless, immersed in poverty, trapped in the margins.
We have the power to change our views on how we serve our fellow human beings experiencing homelessness and poverty.
We have the capacity to evolve beyond the belief feeding someone who is down and out tainted beef is better than feeding them nothing.
Dare Boldly 
As a not-homeless, retired person trying to make do with a fixed income, I would have been happy to receive some of that tainted beef which is a perfectly fine source of protein IF COOKED PROPERLY. The only people in any danger were people who wanted a rare steak. I don’t have steak at all. It would have made a great stew . What a horrendous waste of food in a world where too many are starving. We are waaay too fixated on germs these days.
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Hi Peggy, I appreciate your perspective — I hear you on the cooking properly — my challenge is my fear of ecoli outweighs the perceived risk/benefits for me! Thanks for commenting.
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It never ceases to amaze me how people in that level of government have no understanding of the issues involved.
It is a bit like the famous Marie Antoinette’s answer to poverty ‘let them eat cake’.
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actually … I think it is more like saying ‘the cake is spoiled, possibly poisoned, so let them eat it ..’
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Point taken. Yes there is a difference.
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LG,
in the broader context – and scary for Albertans – is that Ms. Smith will likely not change her view but, like most politician miss-steps, she’ll get better at hiding them
hip-hip-hooray for you pointing out what you pointed out
Unlike Walkerton’s experience … I doubt the Nilson brothers will ever be brought to task for their sloppily run operation. Perhaps their loss of millions of dollars for failing to keep the food supply safe is penalty enough. But I think not. Fortunately, no deaths yet from XL’s e-coli …. but long term health damage for some people. They can’t get that back no matter how much they win a lawsuit.
Kudos to the meat inspectors at the border who caught it. Boo to Ms. Smith, boo to the Nilson brothers who can’t seem to own up to their culpability.
Clean safe food is something most of us take for granted – like clean water, safe air and freedom of choice – but recent lessons prove we can’t take that for granted and we can’t assume how our leaders feel matches what they say
Keep writing ….
Mark
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Thanks Ty!
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Reblogged this on A Robin Hood's Musing.
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What a silly thing for Danielle Smith to say the silly misguided woman……….
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I agree Joanne — unfortunately, I think it was said without thinking — which in itself is not good!
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A powerful post Louise and well said – man I could share 100’s of these stories myself! Thank you for writing this post and I agree, an opportunity exists to educate.
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I think we need to write them Diana — if we are to reeducate, we need to inform 🙂
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Amazing, amazing post (as usual!) Louise. ‘There is no us and them’ – something that we forget too quickly if we ever knew it at all.
Can’t help but think how our political landscape might look if more individuals living in poverty we given the time and recourses to get out and cast an educated vote when elections roll around – this group is sadly underrepresented when it comes to those who choose out political leaders, and often not due to choice or apathy.
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So true Katie — unfortunately, living in poverty also drives out the will and the belief in the power of -speaking up. Hugs
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I just can’t imagine authorities sanctioning this kind of action but politics does work in strange ways everywhere. It should be the kind of thing that motivates people to go into the streets and agitate. Not one bit of that recalled meat should be “donated” to the shelters.
I’m also surprised the product is being buried in landfills where animals surely would come in contact with it. How is that right, either?
A wonderful opportunity here to re-educate.
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The news reported that it was being buried and then covered with sawdust to prevent animals digging it up…
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Don’t be sorry! 🙂 I love your attitude and your comment 🙂
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Sorry but I think that Danielle person is an idiot.
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