On a recent visit to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston my family and I found something a bit unsettling in the exhibit “Power of the People: Art and Democracy” : an interactive piece that created a mind map,collaging words visitors associated with “democracy.” Included in were words ranging from names of politicians and philosophers, to adjectives of both positive and negative connotations, to countries of origin. Naturally, we wanted to participate in the collective art-making so I typed “Haiti,” and despite several variations was met with the same response: “please try a different word.” Knowing the history of […]
HANDS OFF HAITI: Why international intervention will not save Haiti.
Manufactured Disaster (Prime Minister Garry Conille made an official visit to Kenya on October 11-12, 2024, at the invitation of Kenyan President William Ruto) On October 11, 2024, Kenyan President William Ruto during a press conference,“confirmed that Haiti will receive 600 more Kenyan police officers next month, doubling the size of the strained international anti-gang force known as the Multinational Security Support ” (UsNews, 2024). The Kenyan-led police force– backed by the United States-is just the latest example of a long history of outside interventions that have done nothing to stabilize the country or stabilize its people. Haiti remains in […]
Reversing the Flow in the Puerto Rican Energy Crisis
As whole city blackouts become more prevalent, hospitals sacrifice life saving services, and residents use hand fans to survive record breaking heat waves; it is becoming remarkably clear that Puerto Rico is in a clear need for a transition to sustainable infrastructure in order to build state-wide resilience and begin the path to auto-gestion. Historically, “resilience” and “self-dependence” has been a burden that has been placed on the citizens by the state. Both Puerto Rican and American governments have the capacity to uplift this burden but rather seek solutions without the wellbeing of the people or the environment in mind. […]
Disaster Capitalism in the Prison System: Modern Slavery still Fuels Capitalism
As written in Politico, there is an exception to the 13th Amendment’s abolition of slavery: involuntary servitude can still be used as punishment for crime, creating the foundation for our modern prison labor system (Schultheis 2024). In California, Proposition 6, which sought to end forced labor as punishment, failed by a narrow 5% margin. This raises critical questions: What went wrong, and where do we go from here? This essay will illuminate systemic injustices within prisons, highlighting how they profit from forced labor. I will use the framework of disaster studies to understand how marginalized and oppressed populations experience exacerbated […]
Greenwashing Plastic into Communities
Greenwashing Plastic into Communities By Joseph Roberts This paper will explore how greenwashing undermines people’s efforts to live sustainability, causes environmental harm, and makes it harder for areas to recover from pollution. I will be looking at greenwashing on plastic products, this is because plastic is a common product to be greenwashed. Many people try to live a more sustainable life, to reduce how much harm they are causing to the environment. However, corporations are misleading consumers by making their products seem more sustainable than they actually are, to make a profit. This is known as greenwashing. […]