Thursday, April 27, 2006
Suburban white middle class guilt
We had a student visit the animal shelter to see if she maybe wanted a career in animal care. My guess is her answer at the end of the day is 'No'. The clincher may have been when she asked if it was ok to pet Mattes, and I said 'Sure, but be careful he has a diarrhea problem and stinks, watch out for his butt, but he's really sweet!' She made a face and decided to mop the floor instead.
Somehow this underscores the distateful contradiction to me working there too. While hosing shit it occured to me: Wait a minute, I don't even clean my OWN house, I pay someone else to do it. Yet here I am hosing cat shit for FREE...
There's a confusing irony in this situation. I feel kind of pathetic volunteering my free time cleaning up after homeless animals, just so I don't feel guilty for being so affluent and lazy. Wouldn't it make more sense if I just cleaned my own damn apartment and paid my cleaning woman to go to the animal shelter-- just cut out the middle man?
But see I feel good about cleaning cat cages, and I feel aversion to cleaning my own mess. I don't have time for that, I have volunteer work to do! (I feel like the rich lady in that Dorothy Parker short story "Song of the Shirt, 1941")
Anyone who's spent an hour with me knows I'm loaded down with "suburban white middle class guilt" which sums up my feelings about my cushy, priviledged, life of sloth. Consider that about half the world's population doesn't have access to clean drinking water, and I shower in it and hose down cat cages with it! This just doesn't seem fair.
But why's everyone else apparently immune to this guilt? Think of the celebrities who go to Africa to volunteer, while at home they have people cleaning their houses, cooking their food and maintenancing their toenails. Do they feel guilty?
So the question is do I continue to work at the animal shelter and feel good about it, or am I being a pathetic (comparatively) rich lady who's just trying to soothe her own conscience?
¶ 8:38 PM
Somehow this underscores the distateful contradiction to me working there too. While hosing shit it occured to me: Wait a minute, I don't even clean my OWN house, I pay someone else to do it. Yet here I am hosing cat shit for FREE...
There's a confusing irony in this situation. I feel kind of pathetic volunteering my free time cleaning up after homeless animals, just so I don't feel guilty for being so affluent and lazy. Wouldn't it make more sense if I just cleaned my own damn apartment and paid my cleaning woman to go to the animal shelter-- just cut out the middle man?
But see I feel good about cleaning cat cages, and I feel aversion to cleaning my own mess. I don't have time for that, I have volunteer work to do! (I feel like the rich lady in that Dorothy Parker short story "Song of the Shirt, 1941")
Anyone who's spent an hour with me knows I'm loaded down with "suburban white middle class guilt" which sums up my feelings about my cushy, priviledged, life of sloth. Consider that about half the world's population doesn't have access to clean drinking water, and I shower in it and hose down cat cages with it! This just doesn't seem fair.
But why's everyone else apparently immune to this guilt? Think of the celebrities who go to Africa to volunteer, while at home they have people cleaning their houses, cooking their food and maintenancing their toenails. Do they feel guilty?
So the question is do I continue to work at the animal shelter and feel good about it, or am I being a pathetic (comparatively) rich lady who's just trying to soothe her own conscience?
¶ 8:38 PM
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"While hosing shit it occured to me: Wait a minute, I don't even clean my OWN house, I pay someone else to do it. Yet here I am hosing cat shit for FREE..."
thats the funniest thing i've read in a while!!! Perfect time for an epiphany ;)
No i hear you and i agree. But dont forget that you cleaning lady probably doesn't have what it takes to pass that exam to take care of animals. Maybe what you can do is setup a similar situation where you create a House Cleaner Certificate and then get other suburbanites to feel good about coming over and cleaning your palce for free. By comparison, they will be richer and guiltier than you!
I have the same feelings really but more directed at helping unfortunate people not animals. Maybe you could try that instead. at least that way theres no cat shit to be hosed.
n
thats the funniest thing i've read in a while!!! Perfect time for an epiphany ;)
No i hear you and i agree. But dont forget that you cleaning lady probably doesn't have what it takes to pass that exam to take care of animals. Maybe what you can do is setup a similar situation where you create a House Cleaner Certificate and then get other suburbanites to feel good about coming over and cleaning your palce for free. By comparison, they will be richer and guiltier than you!
I have the same feelings really but more directed at helping unfortunate people not animals. Maybe you could try that instead. at least that way theres no cat shit to be hosed.
n
# posted by 
: 4:33 PM
: 4:33 PM
thanks for understanding, n. Are there any unfortunate people where you live? I thought they were all tan and beautiful and rich (like you!)
and scroll back to my original post and see how far I got trying to help out unfortunate people. There are none, the government pays someone to help them and they still complain.
and scroll back to my original post and see how far I got trying to help out unfortunate people. There are none, the government pays someone to help them and they still complain.
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