or, with progress comes pain.

The overarching theme of the past readings is work. The ability to work, and laboring; both in the factory and the hospital. For a lot of our lives, we are ingrained with the need to always be doing something; always be working. 

My thoughts are a little disjointed, but I wanted to touch on laboring work. Ed Slavishak’s Made by Work was especially resonating, given that my father works in a warehouse. He’s one of two people who know how to put together mechanical parts and engines there, and though it’s great job security, he is effectively destroying his body. Chronic pain, illnesses, severe arthritis, and more already (He’s been working there for over 25 years). I don’t know a lot of people who are watching their parents’ health fall so suddenly, more often, people suggest “Why doesn’t he move to an admin position instead?”, not fully understanding that he would struggle with that too- sitting in one position for hours flares up his pain. 

Thinking about his future disabilities reminds me of my own, and how there is currently no approved treatment for what I have. I think about how I will care for him without worsening my own body as fast as he has. Scary! But that’s something to worry about when I’m not writing a blog to my classmates. I have a lot to say about disability, which I will definitely do later in the year.

Instead; I’m shifting my attention to reproduction. A huge fear of mine is giving birth, about doctors being so close to such a terribly sensitive part of my body. I’ve had people in the past laugh at this, but I’ve had severe panics and sprialed mentally over the very idea of it in the years after (I’m much better now than I was!). I watched my sister give birth (when I was 9, by the way), and that was not fun. To spare the details, this doctor did not listen to my sister at all, and she tore badly as a result. The film Aftershock was validating, in the sense that others knew and were trying to provide change in the system. Seeing the effort for birthing centers and more doctor-patient communication (or, for any in the first place) is bittersweet – it took the lives of countless women for people to take notice. For another class, I’ve been considering doing a research paper on the history and impact of midwifery, because it’s such an infuriating topic to read about, and is SO important.

The title of this post ties this all together; as civilization grows, industrialization and medicalization have removed from us many choices. This pressures you to do work in certain ways and exhausts you so you don’t fight for yourself. As tired as many of us are, I think slowing down is a worthwhile ‘fight’ that we should try to make.