Ignorance

Why does that guy have to fly his damn helicopter low over my house at 6 a.m.? Doesn’t he know my kid and wife are sleeping? He’s ignorant.

Why didn’t that woman use her turn signal? I could have gone, but I didn’t know she was going to turn. Doesn’t she know how her driving is affecting other people? Does she care? She’s ignorant.

Why are these people (who say they’re Christians) rallying to a presidential candidate who is a misogynist xenophobe talking trash and vowing violence? Don’t they know anything about Christianity? Do they even get the point of America? They’re ignorant.

Why doesn’t anyone fire that twit? He’s incompetent and lazy. Doesn’t he know how hard he makes it on everyone else around him? I’m trying to do him a favor and he’s crapping all over it. He’s ignorant. And while I’m at it, so are the people who keep a guy like that around.

She’s such a liar. I’d be her friend if she’d give me a chance. She doesn’t have to lie or make herself out to be something she’s not. I’d accept her as she is if she’d just tell the truth. Well, she deserves the loneliness she gets. She’s ignorant.

“Hey, Irwin. I have a few questions to ask you.”

Yes, Lord. What are they?

“Are you going to eat three square today?”

Yes. I plan on it.

“Where will that food come from?”

Meijer, I guess.

“Who got it to Meijer?”

I don’t know. A truck driver? Probably several truck drivers.

“Where did those truck drivers pick it up?”

I don’t know. I guess a distribution center somewhere.

“How did it get there?”

More truck drivers, I suppose.

“And the food. Where did it come from before Meijer got it in its distribution center?”

I don’t know. Maybe it came from a farm or a food processing plant or something.

“Do people work in those places?”

Yes.

“Who are they?”

I don’t know.

“Farmers? Field hands? Wage-earners?”

I guess.

“Do you know their names? Their stories? How much do you think they earn? What do you think it’s like to live their lives?”

I don’t know. I have no idea.

“How many animals will you eat today?”

Um. I guess parts of at least one or two.

“Did you ever see those animals alive before someone slaughtered and processed them for you?”

No. No, I didn’t.

“Do you know on what farm those animals were raised? Do you know the farmer who raised them?”

No.

“Do you know who slaughtered them for you?”

No.

“Do you know who transported them from the farm to the slaughterhouse?”

No.

“So, you’ll eat today without knowing anything about who made that food for you or where it came from?”

I guess. Yes.

“You don’t know anything about their families, lifestyles, wages, any of that?”

No.

“So you really don’t have any clue what people have to do to get you your food, right?”

I guess you’re right.

“Are you going to wear clothes today?”

Yes.

“Where did you get those clothes?”

Men’s Wearhouse. And I suppose you’re going to ask how they got there. And I’m going to say a truck driver.

“Yes. Yes. Where were your clothes made?”

Let’s see. Bangladesh. China. Vietnam.

“So how did your clothes get from those countries to the local store where you bought them?”

I guess on a ship.

“Do people work on the ship?”

Yes.

“Do people work on the docks in the countries where the clothes were made and in the United States where the clothes arrived in port?”

Yes.

“What do you know about those people?”

Nothing.

“What about the people who made your clothes. Where do you suppose they work?”

A factory, maybe.

“What do you think it’s like to work in those factories?”

I don’t know.

“How much do you think the people who made your clothes got paid?”

I don’t know. Not much, I suppose.

“Where do you think these garment-makers live? What are their families like? What do they eat? Do their kids go to school? What about their hopes and dreams? Do they have any? Are they able to make them come true?”

I have no idea, Lord. I don’t know.

“So you’ll eat food today and wear clothes and you don’t know who made your food and clothes. Animals. Dock hands. Farmers. Field hands. Garment workers. Truck drivers. You don’t know the lives they lead at all.”

No. I guess not.

“So then, you don’t know how your lifestyle profoundly affects their lives, do you?”

No. No I really don’t.

“What was that you were complaining about ignorance?”