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Dear John, I read a great book recently entitled, "The Deadly Politics of Giving," by an anthropologist named Seth Mallios. The book was a deep dive into two contrasting cultural exchange systems: one, war-economy Britain and Spain at the time of the first colonial experiments on Turtle Island, and two: the gift economy of the Middle Atlantic Algonquin Indigenous peoples of Virginia. The book is long and nuanced, but [spoiler alert] the conclusion is that the colonists tragically misunderstood the intentions of the indigenous people and read ignorance, naÏveté, and often malintent into the actions of the "other," thus setting the stage for violence and an ethos of domination instead of cooperation. Gift exchange and reciprocity, I find, is one of the easiest ways to participate in a community of peace. It is as simple as taking harvest of what we have in abundance and giving it away, knowing that such actions build bonds of trust that build and strengthen community. But the war economy has co-opted notions of gifting just as it has almost every other means of exchange, robbing it of its relational power. This is the war economy's way of undermining connection to out neighbors. Keeping us isolated keeps us in line. Our next Local Peace Economy online gathering is this Wednesday, February 12th and will focus on the peace culture value of reciprocity and gift exchange. The gathering will be highly interactional with those attending. In this meeting, we will ask ourselves: What does enough look like? How might I take one step to bring reciprocity into my relationships instead of relying on transactional relationships to get my needs met? Join us in for this conversation Wednesday, February 12th at 8 pm ET/5 pm PTas we learn together. UPCOMING Local Peace Economy Gatherings:
Other supportive resources:
We hope to see you on February 12th. With care, Jodie & Marie P.S. There is a new episode of CODEPINK Radio, entitled "Mutual Aid in a World on Fire." There are two segments of this podcast, both focused on the role of mutual aid in both emergent situations and in the needs we all experience within the matrix of daily life. We hope you will give it a listen.
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