Food, the personal and the political

(Note: I wrote most of this on April 13.)

My Good Food Box from FoodShare came today [April 13]. Prepare yourself for some mindless rambling on the politics of food, health, and my well-being...

Today, there were two new delivery guys. I had long suspected the previous Field to Table driver of being a government mole. But he quit recently, rather unexpectedly. [1] I'll be discussing this in more detail, later.

So I buzzed the new delivery people in, saying I'd be right down. Yet, quick as a flash, they were outside my apartment, knocking on the door. Weird. It's only happened once before, with the previous driver. Before that, there were several long-time Field to Table delivery people, who had never brought the food boxes upstairs to my apartment. Wonderful as they may be, it's just not a practical thing to do (see below). Note: I've been getting the Good Food Box for several years.

Not only must these two guys have walked quickly, carrying three heavy boxes and a metal handcart, but they had no difficulty figuring out where my apartment is. I live up three flights of stairs, and there are no signs posted in the hallway about the numbering, etc. Even when I give people directions, it usually takes them some time to get oriented. Yet, these fellows found my place, without a moment's hesitation - despite being new to this route, new to my building, and probably new to the job, itself.

It doesn't make sense to bring the boxes to my door. Field to Table's general practice is to leave the boxes at an obvious pick-up point, usually near an entryway. Good Food Boxes are typically delivered to a group or local community - not to a single household. [2]

Surprised by their speedy arrival, I opened the door and faced two men of distinctly different skin tones. One stared right at me, a little arrogantly, while the other avoided my gaze, and seemed very acquiescent. It felt like a test of power relations - much like the visit I had with two Jehovah's Witnesses, the day before.

(The latter pair had come to warn me about the 'critical times' we live in. They tuned-in to my every look, word, and gesture, very closely. I find the title of the religious publication they distribute, WatchTower, fitting. More details about their spiritual chat to come.)

I've suggested many times, both on this blog and in emails, that dualistic, Good Cop vs. Bad Cop approaches are being used by the government to study people's instinctual responses. Crazy as it sounds, I believe my surveillance has helped to influence this growing trend. I'm not proud of this contribution, believe me. But just be warned: intelligence agencies' many strategies for studying people's psychological responses - especially under stress - can be extremely subtle.

After these two men left, I then had to bring one of the boxes back down three flights to a tenant, who lives in the basement. He's one of the neighbours that I keep claiming have been co-opted by the government. Low-income people make good accomplices: people tend to feel sorry for them, and never suspect them of co-operating with the government.

This man is a highly intelligent, somewhat eccentric, aging hippie. He's also an animal-loving, environmentally-responsible throwback to the days when Yorkville was still a grassroots, peacenik hangout. [3]

So what's the symbolism here? Me going down, down, down. And who should I happen to pass on the stairwell going up, up, up to my floor? A Caucasian male, with a shaved head, carrying flowers. Nice touch.

By the way, I've been wanting to discuss the abundance of bald men on TV, immediately after the media's censure of Ward Churchill, followed by the Jeff Gannon incident and various publicity-grabbing by politicians in the U.S. [4]

Am I reading too much into the Good Food Box delivery?

I can often predict these incidents, or how they may play out. It's almost like clockwork - or a sadistic game of cat-and-mouse. I've had SO MANY bizarre incidents and anomalies, involving both this organization and various people I keep claiming are moles. My inept social skills and fractious personality can only explain for so much.

Yet, if all my claims of harassment and possible death-dealing to others are the work of a 'supremacist network,' they certainly seem to have the government's blessing. The persistent, well-timed, and frequent or unusual changes and problems I seem to encounter with my two utilities (Bell Canada, Toronto Hydro), for example, is a story, in itself. (More details to come.)

I have reason to believe corporate agendas are being stepped up around this aspect of human survival. They were anyway (think Monsanto and genetic engineering), but the 'marketing' approach is changing. Conservative strategies may include: secretly co-opting organizations that deal with food production or distribution; refining business and marketing tactics of large companies; extorting sizable companies that are not western-owned into submission - or simply scoring a piece of the action.

Grassroots community food programs, like FoodShare's Field to Table concept, offer much potential for research and strategic networking within Ontario and abroad. It's all about control - yet not necessarily for the benefit of people or environments. It's more like dollars, connections, image, and influence -- $$$.

I've really meandered here, in trying to link food and political agendas to my own surveillance situation. Just wait till I get onto the subject of WATER!


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[1] There's been a general turnover among various people, whom I believe are government plants. I understand this is a regular practice of intelligence agencies. It's done for many reasons (eg, reducing suspicions about individual operatives, and the possibility of being traced; broadening training and knowledge base; keeping factions and sub-groups from forming, etc).


[2] I've tried to do outreach on behalf of Field to Table, as I believe in what they do. I'll be posting a flyer I created and distributed in 2002. I believe that period marks the beginning of my surveillers' interactions with my landlords.


[3] Another thing that makes me bitter is how I genuinely tried to help this man, and many other people, within my limited capacity - yet without getting pulled into his seeming desire for hand-outs. He never believed in my surveillance, until he, himself, had been co-opted, like so many others. As with other people, like several homeless folks, whom I've sat down and chatted with, in all types of weather, I told this person how I thought he could help better himself, and find fulfillment. I'm definitely blunt and opinionated. I believe this is yet another way, in which my surveillers found me unusual. Drawing from my pop-psychology, self-help tendencies, and real desire to bring out people's higher good, I believe intelligence agencies are now carrying out similar social experiments on other individuals and groups. I've known this man 4-1/2 years; he's lived in these two adjoining buildings for about 20 years. Yet, within the past year, he's become a completely changed man: clean, groomed, more self-possessed, and so on.

Several of my neighbours think I'm loaded. I believe the government tells them this, in order to gain their co-operation. People always assume I'm at least 'comfortable,' and it's not hard for Big Brother to persuade anyone that I'm either wealthy or crooked. I get extremely agitated and nervous around money and other power issues. People close to me didn't even believe what I was saying, or understand why I was screwed up, so why the heck should anyone else?

Note: I am not physically wanting, in any way. I've also seen the most extreme forms of poverty elsewhere, so I always appreciate what I do have, and I'm well aware of whatever 'privileges' I may hold. But wealthy, I am not.


[4] Please see '"Gannon" stoking conservative flamers?' and posts about Ward Churchill's controversial writings.


Edit: Please click on the 'comments,' below, for more thoughts on Good Food Boxes, moles, harassment, and intimidation. I'll explain more about the 'sweetheart' reference later.