A Journal for Walking Over Fallen Fences

I ate dinner last night with my friend Matias Viegener. Unfortunately our dinner was not plucked from the wind like manna, instead it came to our plates as the result of human toil. We started talking about Matias’s Fallen Fruit Project.

Fallen Fruit is a revolution. It maps all the free fruit in the world. It guides your hand over the neighbor’s fence, liberating sweet juices.

Why plant shrubs on lawns when you can plant food producing trees? When can’t cities line the streets with pears for all citizens to enjoy? Johnny Appleseed is my hero.

I’m reminded that Cain killed Abel. Abel was a shepherd and Cain was a farmer. The story of the two brothers explains how sedentary lifestyle (Cain) ended the hunter and gatherer lifestyle (Abel). God favored Abel’s lifestyle, which made Cain jealous. God preferred everyone to be like Abel, taking as needed from the gardens and fenceless pastures. Earth does not understand private property. It takes more effort to plow than to pick. But Cain wanted control over the environment. Cain wanted his own plot. Cain wanted to get through the rough seasons by relying on the food he stored through the good seasons. It made sense. And the making of sense spread, waged war, and fundamentally changed the Old World and later the New World. It will all catch up eventually. The War begins with Cain.

This critical biblical story threatens the foundation of the Western world. The writers of the Pentateuch were liberal dudes, no doubt harassed by the fundamentalist powers-that-be of their time.

http://www.fallenfruit.org

Yesterday, Susan and I met a man who introduced himself by the name of Love. He spoke with a British accent and wore a necklace made of gigantic brown beads.

“What would I find if I were to google your name?” I joked.

“You would find my writings. You would find people who view me as a dangerous threat.”

He helped lead an organization called ONE. They were here for an Earth Day event at the downtown convention center. They were also filming a documentary about what would happen when they world simultaneously discovers what nobody knows.

He stared at me without wavering. He wanted me to see his spiritual strength and authenticity. He was aware of his performance. People humbly introduced themselves to him as we talked.

The group of twenty-odd members stayed at a $300-per-room-per-night Malibu resort. Before an aqua swimming pool, the followers played guitar in a hot tub that was drained and converted to a bonfire pit. A gathering of clean haircuts and khaki pants. Some wore full suits. Love and the other leaders resembled John the Baptist with their scraggly gray beards and haunted eyes.

“We make biofuels and greenhouses,” Love continued. “We are the world’s largest network of invisible subnetworks that emerge within the system. We are just now coming to light.”

Regarding the immigration issue in America, let’s debunk some myths and get to the heart of the matter. Also note that when we talk of immigrants, we usually refer to poor, undocumented workers.

Myth 1: Immigrants take jobs that Americans won’t do. This myth assumes that if all the immigrants disappeared, dishes would no longer be washed.

Myth 2: Immigrants mooch from Americans. Immigrants are hard workers, and contribute to the economy with their productivity, sales taxes, and other means (although not with their income taxes, since they are undocumented and make very little anyway). I have the opinion, shared by many, that the rich who exploit labor, hoard cash flows, and dodge astronomical levels of taxes are the true mooches. Trickle up economics.

Myth 3: Immigrants take jobs away from Americans. This myth is not grounded in any economic law, and assumes there is some “fixed” number of jobs that you can “take” from.

Myth 4: Immigrants lower American wages. There may be some truth to this in regards to unskilled labor. If the supply of unskilled labor exceeds demand for it, then wages naturally fall. However, workers may increase the success of a business, and cause the business to expand, thus increasing the demand for unskilled labor.

Also note that not all jobs are competitive. An immigrant may complement an American worker, increasing wages for both parties. Synergy.

So to verify the assumption that immigrants ultimately lower wages, can we accurately compare wages in a city like Los Angeles (who has many immigrants) against a city like Louisville (who has few)? If so, what concessions and assumptions are made? It is often apples to oranges.

With no significant economic argument against immigration, why is it a hot topic?

Reason 1: Xenophobia/Stereotyping. For some this will always exist. Americans really ought to study foreign languages at an earlier age. The mass media should offer programs to educate viewers about the art and culture of those different, instead showing only tabloids and terror. You cannot hate when there is empathy.

Reason 2: Critical Mass. As immigrants arrive, they bring their cultures and customs with them. Most people tolerate difference, but there is strength in numbers, and with that is the danger of immigrants organizing into a body politic. The powers-that-be could never tolerate such a threat (except in the case that they can derive power from a pro-immigration stance).

Reason 3: Wedge Votes. By making immigration a hot topic grounded upon silly logic, political parties may prod demographics into voting along its line, winning an easy seat to power.

Reason 4: Non-citizen status is challenging. An undocumented worker cannot have American car insurance, for example. With certain practical rights, would the challenges still be a problem?

Summary:

Walls make no economic sense. Don’t criminalize hard working people. Don’t shoot hard workers at the border.

We need flexibility to allow for freedom of movement, both in and out of the country. Work is often seasonal, and flexibility allows people to flow between countries as needed. We need to allow a path to citizenship for those seeking it. Why such tight control and regulation anyway? We need to relax.

We need to decriminalize undocumented workers in our own minds, and bridge the communication and cultural gap. We need tolerance.

The Statue of Liberty is dedicated to poor immigrants. If a wall is created, we are effectively dismantling Lady Liberty and using her parts to build the wall.

Last night, Haruko and I posted the first three manifestos written at our manifesto workshop.

http://m-y-manifesto.net/events/20060403/

Haruko and I wrote M-Y-Manifesto to promote self-authority and to encourage manifesto writing. When learning about the South Central Farmers and their endangered 14-acre field, we knew it was the place to hold our first event.

We were outdoors, reading from the Declaration of Sentiments and the Black Panther’s What We Want, What We Believe platform, tuned into vegetables, train tracks, and the Spirit of ‘76. Connected in a place that no marketplace could ever facilitate. A part of me still lingers there.

In a surprise turn, people have commented that they are now interested in teaching their own manifesto workshops. I imagine a world where such workshops are as common as 99-cent stores and storefront churches.