Living With a Conscience

I've been living with a conscience for about a year now.

Its name is Jaime, and it sucks.

I prefer to choose a few of my own causes and make believe that other travesties and human rights violations don't exist so that I have time to get on Facebook and Buzzfeed and read disreputable "news" stories.

It's kind of like saying, "I'm okay with pillaging so long as you promise no raping." Or, "I mean, in this case, I think the guy deserved to be feathered but certainly not tarred. Or, "How dare you loiter while I'm trespassing!?"

Next to me, Jaime is taking notes from Democracy Now and imploring me to watch a documentary with him about the United States' involvement with The Killing Fields in Cambodia at 11 o'clock at night.

Jaime's against bad things, so he doesn't support bad things. I'm against bad things, too, but sometimes I need stuff or YOLO. 

I was telling my coworkers that Jaime is really upset that all the produce at Costco is from Mexico, so he doesn't want us to buy it even though we spent $50 on a membership. Another teacher who studied abroad in Alicante for a semester chimed in that yeah, Spaniards really hate Mexicans.

Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?

I had to explain to her that my husband isn't a racist, but he is concerned about exploited laborers in Mexico meaning, I guess, that he loves Mexicans.

I just love guacamole made with avocados bought cheaper in bulk.

I never went shopping in Barcelona, and if I did, I went to second hand markets. Therefore, the most appropriate work clothes I had were hot pants, skirts missing one or more buttons and torn jeans. Mom and I ran to J.C. Penney during a super sale the week before my first day, and I got an entire work wardrobe for under $50. The manic high I got from "robbing" J.C. Penney quickly wore off in the car, as I thought about Jaime's disappointment and the lives of the men, women and children who made the clothing for far less than I paid for my super deals. I look really good, but I feel really bad.

We just bought Jaime some shirts and shoes at a thrift store, and he was just giddy about them the whole way home. See what a guilt-free conscience can do? He looks sorta good but feels awesome.

But I think the thing that hurts the most is when he disses my girl, Obama. He isn't some ignorant, racist redneck who doesn't have a clue what he's talking about. He has lots of clues about what he's talking about, and it's because he doesn't refuse to read foreign printed articles criticizing the behavior and *gasp* politics of the man who has the worst job on Earth...like I do. 

Living with someone who has such a strong moral compass really does make me want to be a better person no matter how much I complain about it.

It also helps me to ignore him when he says nonsensical things like, "Comparisons are hateful," and "Spain has much higher safety standards than the U.S.," and "Society is very accepting of fat women, but is really tough on overweight men."

Because we could all stand to be a little more Jaime and a little less Walmart, Gap, Apple and Monsanto.

Fuck these guys and not in the good way.

Here's some light reading:

http://www.laborrights.org/in-the-news/14-worst-corporate-evildoers

http://www.globalexchange.org/corporateHRviolators