Arundhati Roy is an inspired writer, the darling of the WSF crowd, and fast becoming one of the world's foremost critics of stupidity and shortsightness in our international systems. I don't always agree with what she has to say -- sometimes she's flat-out rabid -- but I have never yet read anything she's written and not come away with a better understanding of how many in the developing world see America and its policies. In particular, her Do Turkeys Enjoy Thanksgiving? is the kind of opinion that almost never is heard in the mainstream of American media, much to our own detriment:
"Unlike in the old days the New Imperialist doesn't need to trudge around the tropics risking malaria or diahorrea or early death. New Imperialism can be conducted on e-mail. The vulgar, hands-on racism of Old Imperialism is outdated. The cornerstone of New Imperialism is New Racism.
"The tradition of `turkey pardoning' in the U.S. is a wonderful allegory for New Racism. Every year since 1947, the National Turkey Federation presents the U.S. President with a turkey for Thanksgiving. Every year, in a show of ceremonial magnanimity, the President spares that particular bird (and eats another one). After receiving the presidential pardon, the Chosen One is sent to Frying Pan Park in Virginia to live out its natural life. The rest of the 50 million turkeys raised for Thanksgiving are slaughtered and eaten on Thanksgiving Day. ConAgra Foods, the company that has won the Presidential Turkey contract, says it trains the lucky birds to be sociable, to interact with dignitaries, school children and the press. (Soon they'll even speak English!)
"That's how New Racism in the corporate era works. A few carefully bred turkeys the local elites of various countries, a community of wealthy immigrants, investment bankers, the occasional Colin Powell, or Condoleezza Rice, some singers, some writers (like myself) are given absolution and a pass to Frying Pan Park. The remaining millions lose their jobs, are evicted from their homes, have their water and electricity connections cut, and die of AIDS. Basically they're for the pot. But the Fortunate Fowls in Frying Pan Park are doing fine. Some of them even work for the IMF and the WTO so who can accuse those organisations of being anti-turkey?"
My main problem with Roy is that she's long on polemic and short on solution. That said, her writings are a key tool for understanding the internal politics of the Second Superpower.
