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In this episode, Dani discusses how Human Animals use Beings at their disposal and who we need to listen to in order to end the cycle of abuse.
See full episode notes for recommendations & links.
Dani is honest and refreshing in her takes on the world and society. Listen as she explains how she’s come to understand the world through kindness, both towards ourselves and everything else.
[0:00] Hello friends! Welcome to Understanding Kindness, a podcast hosted by me, Dani! I’m someone who approaches life by learning from everyone around me, and I’ve decided to write it all down and talk about it here with you. I’ve learned that in order to create change in this world, we need to understand ourselves and the world around us, all while infusing kindness into everything we do. If I can do it, you can do it, and we can do it together. Welcome to Understanding Kindness.
[0:30] Hey there! Today I want to discuss something that recently popped into my head and I thought would make an interesting episode…that’s usually how this goes. This topic was sparked from something said last episode and I worked it all out in just a week to try and create this episode for you. So it may seem tossy-turny since I was really working these ideas out as I wrote; nevertheless I hope it comes out into coherent ideas that get us thinking. None of us want to feel used and I thought I would work from that inherent desire to create this episode and explain this idea. Hopefully you enjoy…
[1:07] In today’s Native segment I want to highlight an episode of Indigenous Action that recently came out titled, “Abolishing the Non-Profit Industrial Complex”. In the episode, Klee Benally hosts some guests who have experience working within and outside of non-profits and who share their experiences with the audience. Throughout the episode, each guest and Klee discuss how non-profits, even the Indigenous ones, work to funnel money away from mutual aid projects and collect wealth in the hands of a few. Mutual aid is when People come together to help one another with the understanding that the systems we live under will not provide this help for us and we are the ones who help us; its roots are in Indigenous and Black organizing.
Klee brings up the example of the Navajo/Hopi Family Mutual Aid COVID-19 Relief Fund, which they worked on, that was started during the beginning of the pandemic to assist Navajo and Hopi families feeling the brunt of the pandemic with no support from the government. When it was created, all the funds were given to these families and used in whatever way they needed. No amount of money was redirected into the pockets of the organizers. As more and more funds began coming in, the organizers decided to pay themselves and began making salaries from the funds that People were donating to help these families survive. This is when Klee decided to leave the organizing efforts. Many of these non-profits started as organizing that was intended to provide mutual aid to one another outside of the system of capitalism, but somewhere along the line became corrupted by the sweet whisperings of money, power, and capital. Non-profits divert funds intended for Communities into the hands of a few, and on top of it all they receive tax write-offs to encourage them to play into this co-opting capitalism.
Klee describes the difference between non-profits and true mutual aid organizing in the following way, “…the powerful ways that mutual aid is not a transactional relationship. It’s one of reciprocity, it’s one of restoring our ancestral ways outside of these matrix of economic exploitation that we call capitalism. It’s outside of the colonial logic of extraction and expecting something and privatizing everything, commodifying everything and taking it for whatever we want for our own benefit and extracting things to benefit ourselves because [of] this sort of [sic] weird hyper-individualistic reward system that we exist and try to survive and navigate in.”
There is a dichotomy and co-optation at play here. The Non-Profit Industrial Complex (or NPIC) attempts to undermine and capitalize on the efforts of mutual aid organizing that does not benefit a few organizers and instead directs its entire efforts to those who need the aid. The NPIC uses the hard work and the hard workers themselves to divert funds away from those in need and continue the legacy of capitalism and resource extraction. If you’d like more information than what I was just able to discuss here, and would like to hear first-hand from organizers with experience definitely give this episode of Indigenous Action a listen. It’s linked in the episode notes.
[4:22] {Singing} *Shooouuuuut-Ooooouuuutttttsssssss*
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[4:49] Well we’re on to the main topic now. Let’s talk about resources and extraction. For quite a few centuries Human Beings have used Beings that we’ve found here on Earth for our own use. And by Beings I mean anyone who is naturally occurring here without us having to do anything. Many times, these Beings are referred to as resources. Some of the more common ones many of us think of when thinking about resources are elements that we find deep within our Mother Earth: Iron, Aluminum, crude oil, Lithium, the list goes on.
The processes to extract and/or mine these elements from within Earth are extremely labor intensive and difficult to do - impossible without certain technology. The process of mining these elements goes against a pretty basic law of Nature that everyone else follows but us Human Animals: find the easiest way. Everything in Nature will always take the easiest way, going with the flow. Water is the best example of this method. You’ll never find Water struggling to push through something when there is a simpler way right in front of her. Life takes the easiest course. We can learn a lot from our oldest Relative, Water.
[6:11] We not only refuse to learn the lesson that everyone around us continually shows us everyday when we extract and mine from our Mother Earth, we do so while we strip her bare of her Beings living on her surface and beneath her Oceans. Have you heard of deforestation? Deforestation happens with bulldozers and chainsaws on the Land, cutting down thousands and thousands of Trees, leaving the Land barren and in desperate conditions. Deforestation happens under Water as well while we continue to pollute her with our Human-made trash and filth. The deforestation on Land happens, yes because we see Trees themselves as resources to be used at our disposal, but also because we see the Land herself as a resource to be used whenever we so please. We’ll clear huge sections of Land of all of her Beings all so we can use her for our own purposes. Nowadays those purposes are usually for cattle grazing.
[7:14] Cattle grazing is becoming more and more common as the Human Animal consumption of meat becomes more and more common. Stripping Land for the use of cattle grazing causes an immense amount of harm. First off, the clearing of Land itself is extremely harmful to the diverse ecosystems within the Forests. Deforestation wipes out, not just Trees, but all other Plants growing under the Forest’s canopy, the Mosses and Fungi growing and regenerating on the decaying, restorative matter, the Insects and Bugs helping to break down one Life to create another, and the Animals calling these Forests home and participating in the circle of Life.
The unique ecosystem of each Forest is incredibly important, and not just to each specific Forest. The overall functioning of one Forest, or ecosystem in general, improves the health and wellbeing of every other ecosystem on Mother Earth. Whether through the intricate root systems underneath the ground that allow Plants to communicate with each other, or the Pollen that passes through Air and Water signaling to and fertilizing other Plants, or the creation of Oxygen for all breathing Beings by Plants these ecosystems support Life far beyond the reach of their Limbs.
[8:31] To many of us Human Animals in the US, these things don’t seem important, don’t seem to have direct implications in our Lives. But let’s think about it for just a moment, shall we? Of course there’s the obvious one of Oxygen. If Plants weren’t around sucking up all the lovely CO2 swirling around the Air and creating some of that fresh, fresh Oxygen, we wouldn’t be able to breathe and therefore live. Then we’ve got the whole food thing. If we continue to tear down Plants and wipe out entire species of them, not only will we be creating less diversity which allows ecosystems to thrive, but we also begin wiping out food for ourselves.
We must eat Plants in one way or another. Whether that’s directly from the source by eating Plants themselves or by eating other Animals who eat Plants themselves. We mustn’t forget that the only reason we’re able to eat other Animals is because they have something to eat themselves. And if we continue to wipe out Animals’ sources of food by wiping out Plants, we will in turn wipe ourselves out, maybe just not as quickly.
[9:41] Let’s look at why we might be causing all this destruction and death. Well if we look at Cows, we create flat open pastures for them to graze. You may ask, but why do we need so many Cows? Well, for money of course! In general, our use of Animals is becoming more and more common. As global meat consumption rises because it is profitable, we need more space to house all these Animals. I’m sure all of us are aware of the horrid conditions that captive, “profitable” Beings are kept in in order for us to consume their flesh cheaply. Many of us turn a blind eye. Many of us say that god put them here for us to consume so that we’re able to turn a blind eye, or that we are at the top of the food chain so it is our right to turn a blind eye. And still many of us cannot afford less harmful options because the harmful ones are subsidized by the government, pushing their prices down to continue the cycle of abuse. Personally, I do not believe that Beings are here to suffer and die so we can have a burger or a steak at our convenience. Suffering is my main point here, and you cannot convince me otherwise that Beings being held captive for slaughter, unable to live their natural Life are not suffering. Many of us are willingly participating in this cycle of abuse. And it goes much further than the food that ends up on your plate.
[11:12] Plants, Earthly elements, and other Animals are not the only Beings that us Human Animals use at our disposal. We use other Human Beings at our disposal as well. Do you ever wonder why you must work to live? Of course we need to have money to afford food, and shelter, and clothing, and healthcare, but do you ever wonder how our species, or any other species for that matter, got along without money for thousands of years before this? Like, how were they able to live if they didn’t have money to afford food and shelter and clothing and healthcare? How do other species now get along without having to work to afford food and shelter?
We are in a place where we Human Animals have made it so other Non-Human Animals are dependent on us for many of these things, which in itself is disgusting, but if that weren’t so they would be able to live their Lives fully. And we would be able to live our Lives fully without money because we have before!
If we were able to get along without money as a species before money was around, why do we need it now? Because we are being used at other Human Beings’ disposal. Could the company you work for run without you and the other employees working for it? What is it you do that allows the company to continue on? Would you agree that you are working in order for the company to function? Aren’t you working for someone else, to make them more money than the money you’re making for yourself?
[12:48] Let’s say you work in a factory making pens. Sure, People use pens all the time and it seems like we really need pens. Someone within your pen-making company, maybe the founder or CEO or other big shot at the top, employed you to make these pens because they didn’t want to do it themselves. They cut you a deal saying that if you work for them (*whispered* at their disposal) they’ll give you a cut of the profits. Great! You need to make money to keep a roof over yours and your family’s heads and for food and for clothing and for healthcare, so of course you take the job. Of course, if you don’t do the job exactly as they wanted or maybe took a little too much time for yourself, they’ll be taking away your livelihood and you can no longer work for them (*whispered* because you are working for them at their disposal).
[13:39] How about this: let’s say you work for an internet search engine in operations. You’re there constantly making sure things run properly for the search engine. If you and your fellow employees weren’t there to keep things running properly, would People be able to continue using said search engine? Do you think the CEO or founder or whoever would be able to run everything without the work you all put in everyday? Probably not, and that’s why they hired you. Again, they cut you a deal saying that if you do xyz for them for x amount of hours they’ll give you some fraction of the money they make in a day. And they need you because 1) they can’t do it all themselves and 2) because they don’t want to do the work they’re asking you to do. However, when you agree there’s the underlying component that if you do not perform in the ways they’d like or, again, maybe you just need a little too much time to yourself, they’ll take away your livelihood and you may no longer work for them (*whispered* because you are working for them at their disposal).
[14:43] It does not matter to them that you need the income they provide for you in order to literally stay alive in this society. The bottom line is that if you’re not functioning exactly as they expect you will no longer get to have a job that you need to live. And the way that they uphold this is that everyone else continues to play into the game of doing exactly as expected because we all need that money to stay alive and keep our families alive. When one of us needs to take a little extra time for ourselves, but it’s more than we’re “allowed”, your employers can look to its other employees and say, “But look, Kyle and Amir and Sunny and Filippa don’t need ~extra~ time off, they’re working like little busy Bees for their money.”
Don’t they realize we’re not all the same? Don’t they realize we’re not all machines? That our lives depend on keeping this job? But don’t they also realize that we’re Human Beings who literally cannot perform exactly as expected at all times and be healthy and live Lives fully? Don’t they realize that we want to live Life just as much as they do? That we don’t want to spend our Lives working for someone else just as much as they don’t, that we don’t want to live our Lives at someone else’s disposal?
[15:58] I believe a big part of the reason that our species can turn a blind eye to the suffering of others of our own species is the same reason we can use other Beings at our disposal and turn a blind eye. We’re very selfish and short-sighted Beings. It’s important to admit that because it’s the truth. Many of the things I’ve talked about so far don’t seem important to us Human Animals in the so-called US, and that’s because we tend to work in immediacy. What can I see now? What will happen now? How does this affect me now? Individually we do not live very long, relatively speaking, and we all want to preserve our own Life and happiness. These truths are not good things or bad things, they just are. It is important to acknowledge them so we can understand our shortcomings and live with them in mind.
How will my stripping of Land affect other Beings calling her home? How will my wiping out of entire ecosystems affect my grandchildren? My grandchildren’s grandchildren? There are People who have been thinking about these questions for millennia, and maybe you know who they are if you’ve been an avid listener of this podcast. Indigenous People have been living in ways that protect our Mother Earth and create a sustainable future for us all.
[17:18] We find ourselves in a unique position in history where we are facing our end and the fault is ours. We’ve treated Earth’s Beings as resources to be used at our disposal, to be used to make us happy now. In my opinion, we, and by “we” I mean settlers like myself, do not get to keep making choices about how to Live on and with our Mother Earth. We’ve done enough killing and stripping and mining and torturing. It’s time to give the decision-making back to those who will care for us all, instead of just a small, hoarding few. That’s the only way we will find ourselves in a more hopeful situation.
[18:00] None of us want to be used at someone else’s disposal. When I say none of us I mean none of us. Not one of us Human Animals, not one Non-Human Animal, not one Plant, not one ounce of Earth’s metals, not the Earth herself. We are all living Beings participating in the extraordinary cycle of Life. None of us chose to be here, yet here we are. Us Human Animals in the so-called US have been going around, doing as we please at everyone else’s disposal. Whether we’ve been seeing it or not, it has been happening. We’ve been taking what we want when we want it and we do not care who’s affected or how difficult it is to obtain. We’ve been going against fundamental laws of Nature. As I mentioned earlier, our Relatives here on Earth have much to teach us about how to live here.
One of the biggest lessons is to take the easiest way, the simplest way. And going against this fundamental law of Nature puts Human Beings in a unique spot. It’s almost as if we believe we can defy Nature, outsmart her. We seem to believe, based on our actions anyway, that everything and everyone here on Earth has been created for us. We’ve placed ourselves at the top of the “food chain” and every chain really in Life. And where has it gotten us? We’ve wiped out entire species of Plants and Animals, we’ve stripped our Mother Earth of her resources, we’ve used and abused each other for our own selfish desires, we’re killing the planet and ourselves…and we don’t seem to care! We continually decide that what’s more important than sustaining our planet and Life on Earth is the immediacy of things we want now, things that go against Nature as if we weren’t Nature ourselves.
[19:54] For centuries, Human Animals have been taking what they want at the disposal of others. And I don’t mean all Humans when I saw this either. Colonizers and settlers are the ones at fault here. Taking and taking and taking from the Earth and any and all of her Beings as if they were all here for us. Throughout this time and long, long before it Indigenous Peoples all over the world have been living with our Mother Earth, making sure that she will be around and able to provide for their grandchildren’s grandchildren’s grandchildren. And not just their grandchildren, but all species for generations.
Natives have an inherent understanding of their place on this Earth and how to pass on that understanding to each new generation to ensure that the wisdom continues. Colonizers came around with their manifest destiny to get what they want when they want it and use anyone in their path to enact this destiny - that’s literally in the definition of the term. This is how this wisdom has been lost to so many of us for so long. Settlers and colonizers came into inhabited Indigenous Lands and took what they wanted, used whoever they so pleased, and continue to do that to this day.
The systems they’ve created are clever and keep us all working to live and keep us all in constant competition with one another instead of working together. All of the elements buried within our Mother Earth, all of her Plants growing up from her, all of her Beings walking and swimming among her are not here for us. You are not here for any other Human Being’s use and disposal. You, and all of us, are here simply to live Life, to participate in the wonderful circle of Life.
None of us chose to be here. None of us chose to be used and eventually killed at the hand of someone else and/or of capital. We find ourselves in a very unique and sticky situation currently. We are far, far into late-stage capitalism and it seems inevitable that Life is like this. It’s not, though. For millennia before this, and currently for every other species on Earth, we have not lived under capitalism and many have strived! Of course we do not hear these histories because they undermine the system we currently live under, but they are there! Indigenous People are still here and they have the knowledge and wisdom to restore our Mother Earth so we can all continue to live for generations to come. We need to listen, or we will all continue to be used at someone else’s disposal.
[22:40] {Singing} *Recommendaaaationsssss*
For our recommendations today, since there was nothing I mentioned within the episode, I’d like to mention a few resources that helped me collect my thoughts and work through these ideas. First there’s “Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants” by Robin Wall Kimmerer for a glimpse into sustainable ways of many Native Communities and how they relate to the science that many of us grew up learning. Then, the Indigenous Action website and podcast. The podcast hosts many discussions about topics affecting Indigenous Communities and the breaking down of concepts that rule our Lives, while the website has a whole library of articles on a variety of theories that help deepen understanding of ideas that form the societies we live under.
Next, “An Indigenous People’s History of the United States” by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz goes through the histories that those of us who grew up in the so-called US were blinded to because it shows the true colors of the US and colonizers in general. We’ve also got an episode of Total Liberation called “Do You Know Where Your Taxes Are Going? Big Ag VS. Supply & Demand with Connie Spence” where you can listen to learn more about how the government subsidizes big ag, making supply and demand obsolete. Finally, the It’s Going Down podcast is a resource for analysis in the current happenings in the US political arena that dictate many of our Lives, as well as interviews with individuals experiencing some of the horrid consequences of settler-colonialism and capitalism.
And if you’d like to listen for yourself how the Non-Profit Industrial Complex co-opts from mutual aid organizing efforts, listen to the Indigenous Action episode called, “Abolishing the Non-Profit Industrial Complex”. All of these will be linked in the episode notes.
[24:34] If you enjoyed this episode, help support the podcast! All this content is free and I’d love to make it my job one day, so if you’re financially able join our patreon or send a one-time or recurring donation through paypal! You can also share an episode with family or friends, and give UK a kind rating and review!
Check out UnderstandingKindness.com for all episodes, transcripts, and blog posts. And why not take a listen to my other podcast, Better When Awkward, co-hosted by my childhood best friend Jasmine!
Get in touch with me by emailing UnderstandingKindness@protonmail.com, or through social media. You can find all links in the episode notes.
For now, be kind, be compassionate, be understanding, and question everything. I’ll be here. Thank you for listening to this episode of Understanding Kindness. [End transcript]