In defense of the sanctimonious women's studies set || First feminist blog on the internet

Quick publicity: Detroit Water Project

EG

If you’ve been following US news recently, you have probably read about Detroit Water and Sewage shutting off water to thousands of homes, some of which owing as little as two months’ worth of bills.  It’s a perfect storm of right-wing class and race war–we’re talking about largely impoverished, mostly black people.  For some unimaginable reason, water has not been shut off to any of the delinquent corporate accounts, even though they owe around 30 million dollars.

So there are thousands of homes in a city in the US in which people cannot flush the toilet, or wash their hands, or even get a drink of water.  And children’s welfare authorities have the right to take children whose homes do not have running water.  What does this have to do with feminism?  Well, feminism is either a social justice movement or it’s not–either the needs and priorities of women without water are the needs and priorities of feminism..or we’re just a special interest group catering to the needs of the middle class and white.

This kind of attack on poor communities, on black communities strikes at the vital work generations of women have done to maintain and nurture those communities’ strength and resistance to racist exploitation and oppression.  So I want to link to two sites.  One, the Detroit People’s Water Board, co-founded by Charity Hicks, whose water was shut off at 6 one morning, does political advocacy work.  The other, the Detroit Water Project, is a direct help site–you can make a donation that goes toward paying off somebody’s water bill so they can have their water turned back on.

I swear, this country would commodify air if it could, and smother those who couldn’t pay the bill.

18 thoughts on Quick publicity: Detroit Water Project

  1. Well, feminism is either a social justice movement or it’s not–either the needs and priorities of women without water are the needs and priorities of feminism..or we’re just a special interest group catering to the needs of the middle class and white.

    /roaring applause
    ..I may or may not have cheered out loud on the bus, EG. Thank you for deciding to drop post-bombs here!

    1. Thank you so much for the kind words, Kerandria!

      I didn’t think I would have much to say…but apparently I have compulsive blogging syndrome. Beats the hell out of working, I guess!

  2. Thanks for this.

    For some unimaginable reason, water has not been shut off to any of the delinquent corporate accounts, even though they owe around 30 million dollars.

    This is what struck me as much as anything when I first read about this. So much for having no choice but to turn off delinquent accounts. Hypocrites.

    I’m not sure I agree that every single problem in the world that affects women as well as men should be a priority of feminism — because that could lead to subordinating the problems that do unequally affect women — but in this case I definitely agree, for all the reasons you state.

    1. For me, what makes feminism distinct from other social movements is that it acknowledges and prioritizes gender as an axis of oppression and category of analysis. I was trying to do that when I talked a little about how much of women’s work in besieged communities involves nurturing and maintaining those communities–the kind of emotional and social, as well was physical labor that often goes unseen but is essential. And it’s women who are overwhelmingly children’s primary caretakers, so the threat of having children seized falls particularly heavily on them (which is not to say that it isn’t traumatic for non-women as well). I also can’t help but think about how much of the domestic labor and childcare that is usually done by women requires, well, water. So I was trying to make that analysis happen, but I’m afraid I didn’t spend the time I should’ve on that, because I wanted to get the links up before the end of the workday.

      I guess I also really believe in solidarity. Feminists and feminism have to be there when the exploitation is primarily class- and race-based because otherwise, why should the women affected by that exploitation care about feminism? Does that make sense?

      1. It makes complete sense to me. All of which is why I agree with you that this situation (and others like the ones you describe) should absolutely be concerns of feminism.

      2. I also can’t help but think about how much of the domestic labor and childcare that is usually done by women requires, well, water.

        I would loooooooooooove for you to write more about this EG! GO GO GO!!! 🙂 🙂

  3. I swear, this country would commodify air if it could, and smother those who couldn’t pay the bill.

    Why do you think they allow so much pollution? First we can’t use local water directly, then the tap water has to be run through a filter (which we buy) …

    So why not poison the air to the point where we have to pay to be able to tap into pipelined air, or have canisters delivered? Don’t laugh, the same jokes could have been made about water even just a few decades ago …

    So it really wouldn’t surprise me. Not ready to put on my tin foil hat and believe it just yet – but it depresses me how easily I could see it happen.

    1. You know, I don’t even think we need to posit a conspiracy. I think that’s just the logic of capitalism. If you don’t care about anything but making a profit, you end up despoiling natural resources, and then you have created a need a for a product that used to be easily available. I wish I found your scenario a little less convincing, actually.

      1. Given how much air pollution has lessened in the last 50 years in the US — due to regulations that most corporations initially opposed, of course — I’m not sure this line of argument goes anyplace as a practical matter. It also reminds me a bit too much of the adamant insistence by the old Soviet Union, Eastern European countries, China, etc., that damage to the environment is impossible by definition under a socialist system (and only possible under capitalism), just like crime, airplane crashes, nuclear accidents, etc., etc.

        1. That’s a good point, though I do wonder how that plays out with the stats showing worse air quality and higher rates of asthma etc. in poor neighborhoods where bus depots etc. are more likely to be located. Like, has general air quality gone up while local air qualities in such areas has gone down? I honestly don’t know where even to begin looking for the answer to that.

  4. What I haven’t heard (may have missed) is if they ever penalized the corporations who owed many, many more times the amounts owed by individuals, or if they, as usual went free due to the “special status”, thanks to SCOTUS. Thanks, Supremes, though of course corporations had special status long before Citizens United, didn’t they?

  5. Whoops, sorry for the idiotic comment before, somehow the beginning of article escaped my eyes, perhaps I better get some sleep…..I see the dear darling corps. still occupy their special status, exempt.

    Thanks for posting this follow-up…..we had all better wake up, organize together and change this or the next generations are totally screwed.

  6. Funny, we could have sworn that water and sanitation were considered basic human rights…

    And all member states of the UN (of which the US is one) have signed at least one declaration recognising this right since 2010.

    We have no idea how US government works… does this mean the state of Detroit is committing an offence punishable by the central US government?

  7. (the first iteration of this comment may or may not have gone through. Apologies if this is a double; there will be no further attempts if it does not appear)

    Funny, we could have sworn that water and sanitation were considered basic human rights…

    And all member states of the UN (of which the US is one) have signed at least one declaration recognising this right since 2010.

    We have no idea how US government works… does this mean the state of Detroit is committing an offence punishable by the central US government?

    1. I believe a complaint has been filed with the UN. The UN condemned the shut-offs, saying that water is a fundamental human right and only those who could pay are deliberately withholding payment (say, perhaps the corporate accounts) should be cut off.

      That and a $2.50 will get you on the subway, as they say in my hometown.

  9. Actually, air already has been commodified, for children in poor neighborhoods. Corporations and cars can pollute as they please, and the kids? http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/13/us/the-soaring-cost-of-a-simple-breath.html?pagewanted=all&module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3As%2C{%222%22%3A%22RI%3A16%22}&_r=0

    In some states, rain water is commodified and it is illegal for private citizens to collect it. I am not making this up. http://www.ncsl.org/research/environment-and-natural-resources/rainwater-harvesting.aspx

    Chattanooga, TN has/had a spring which was open to the public for many years: General Sherman watered his horses there, and citizens who had water cutoffs or damaged pipes after freezes congregated to fill milk and bleach bottles. TN-AM Water Company repeatedly attempted to have the spring closed. Finally, the owner of a convenience store across the street purchased a house above the spring and diverted the water supply for his yard. Despite years of public use, he is being allowed to “own” the spring’s contents and exclude others.

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