On Tue, 1 Nov 1994, Deborah Rudacille wrote:
> <Those who are truly marginalized are frequently unable to vote with
> their pocketbooks and their voice is therefore, unheard.>
>
> Jayne, I agree completely with this and also with your comment
> regarding the need for caution in compromise. I believe very
> strongly that it is the responsibility of those who *do* have a
> certain amount of power (of the pocketbook or whatever) to create a
> space for those without power to speak. I don't think that we can
> pretend to speak for them. For example, there has been some talk on
> this list over the past week about the evils of supermarkets. Yet in
> my own city of Baltimore (and presumably in other cities as well)
> community activists are fighting hard to persuade major supermarket
> chains to open stores in the inner city. It seems that their absence
> results in inhabitants of poor city communities being forced to shop
> at local mom and pop stores where costs are substantially higher, due
> to smaller inventory. In effect, those who can least afford it are
> paying more for food--due to the absence of corporations, not their
> presence.
I can attest to this from personal experience! The other thing that
happens is when you do get a supermarket they still charge higher prices
than their stores in the suburbs because there is a lack of competition
and people are trapped.
Jayne
