Modern-day Robbin Hoods
The book “The Moral Underground” was recently given a short review in Time Magazine (Dec. 14, p. 23). In her book, Lisa Dodson (BC sociology prof.) paints a rather dismal image of corporate America, who she feels is building wealth by abusing low-income workers. “Helping the less fortunate in this context becomes as a form of civil and corporate disobedience.” Time lists three of her examples: (1) supervisors who alter time cards so that employees can take better care for their families; (2) the school nurse who keeps cots in her office so those with bad home situations can get a few hours of sleep; and (3) the doctor who thumbs his nose at insurance regulations in order to provide medicine for an entire household. ”All see their behavior as necessary and moral acts of conscience.”
This same kind of ”gorilla” aid was also highlighted in the seminal book “Mountains Beyond Mountains.” In it, Boston-based doctor Paul Farmer frequently ffinds medical supplies he needs at various institutions in the Boston area. As an example (p. 90): “The first microscope in Cange (Haiti) was a real one, which he stole from Harvard Medical School. ‘Redistributive justice,’ he’d later say. ‘We were just helping them not go to hell.’”
December 22nd, 2009 at 4:41 pm
An even more extreme position was recently taken by a priest of the Church of England. He advised members of his congregation to shoplift if they hit difficult times. The Rev. Tim Jones, parish priest of St. Lawrence and St. Hilda in York, England, said that society’s attitude toward those in need leaves few options. “My advice, as a Christian priest, is to shoplift.” Not from small businesses, but from big box stores. The latter, he alledges, can more easily pass on the costs to the rest of the population through higher prices.
The archdeacon of York had a slightly different opinion, stating that the “Church of England does not advise anyone to shoplift.” And the local police called Rev. Jones’ sermon “highly irresponsible.”
December 23rd, 2009 at 12:24 pm
I purchased the short book by Lisa Dodson: The Moral Underground. I enjoyed reading it, but was somewhat frustrated by the emphasis on need, which I was already aware of, and the limited number of examples of civil disobediance. I would have preferred a much broader range of personal experiences in dealing with various forms of inequity. But all-in-all, it was a good read.
According to the book’s Preface, Lisa “found a quiet resistance to the unfair economy. . . Out of sight of the media and political limelight, I listened to ordinary people talk about loathing economic abuses that they witnessed every day. And in their tales of contemporary injustice, I heard old American themes of civil disobedience, loyal resistance, and actos of solidarity that have drawn ordinary people together forever. We are told Americans are passive in the face of economic brutality and will blame each other rather than turn around and point to those who make the rules and hold wealth and power. But I have learned otherwise. And though I found no common movement or broad campaign, I learned of hundreds of small acts that tell a larger tale of Americans who reject an economy that destroys people.”
December 23rd, 2009 at 12:45 pm
An excerpt from The Moral Underground:
“On March 1, 2000, an article appeared in American Family Physician called “Curbside Consultation: Bending the Rules to Get a Medication.” The article describes an “increasingly familiar dilemma that physicians (and other care professionals) face. Dr. Robert Dickman, a family physician practicing in Massachusetts, describes facing a patient who asks him to put her mother’s name down on an asthma prescription because her mother has health insurance and she does not. The patient in this scenario lives on a “tight budget” and has ended up in the emergency room previously with an acute asthma attack. She is unlikely to buy the asthma medication without the name change on the prescription; her health is at stake because she is poor.
. . . Which is worse: “cheating” an insurance company that puts their bottom line before people, or letting someone go without needed medication? How do you balance competing “wrongs”? What matters most? As Dickman ruminates on this, he suggests that unwavering adherence to truth-telling is not (ital) always regarded as the most moral stand: “Lying to the Nazis to save hidden Jews would not insult our moral intuitions,” he points out. In the end, assuming that he knows the patient, knows her situation and what’s a stake, he says, “My sense of patient advocacy and my consideration for the greatest overall utility (the most good) would win the day over truth-telling. I would write the prescription in her mother’s name” with careful follow-up to be sure that treatment was being carried out as needed.
What is wonderful about this scenario, from my view, is that he went public with his contemplation about what’s more right and acknowledged his ethical if risky stand. This is not simple. I have heard this kind of account dozens and dozens of time all around the country and in many settings. But whether employer or teacher or doctor or nurse, the speaker would insist on a code of silence about acting against the rules even when they were convinced that was the only course of action.”
The author continues:
“But it should be add that Dickman’s admission of putting a patient’s health before the rules did not go unpunished. He was criticized by a few doctors for engagin in “fraud.” This, apparently, is to them more egargious than leaving a patient without critical medicine. These colleagues felt that he should pay for the medication himself — the individual-charity solution. Yet one wonders how even a doctor’s salary would cover all the health needs of the uninsured and underinsured.”
February 8th, 2010 at 2:37 pm
Local Pastor Corey J. Hodges wrote for following in the SLTrib (5 Feb 2010). He was speaking in response to Rev. Tim Jones justifying theft:
“Jones argues that shoplifting is a victimless crime and thus a better option than prostitution or burglary. His opinion reflects societal views: So-called victimless crimes are regarded as less deserving of punishment. Some condemn a person for drunkenness or fornication but overlook their own pride or judgmental behavior (both of which are sins).”
“When people try to quantify sin, the result is a subjective criterion. Usually the sins that one struggles with are justified while all others are condemned. Jones insists shoplifting from large retailers is not harmful, but members of the British Retail Consortium, a trade organization trying to reduce theft, disagree.”
” . . . Instead of condoning theft, Jones should encourage parishioners to give to the poor. Jesus commands us to care for the needy; ignoring this command is just as offense to God as shoplifting.”
February 11th, 2010 at 10:07 am
My email response to Pastor Corey J. Hodges included the following:
“I guess the question becomes: Which is the greater sin, “not helping the poor” or alleged “stealing.” As an individual on a fixed income, I have limited economic potential for helping the poor. The current economic environment is skewed toward the rich. So how do I as an individual help level the playing field? How do we improve the safety net given the current economic and political situation? I think we can both agree that Rev. Tim Jone’s approach is not a good idea.
Your article implies a black-and-white situation. But there are large gray areas that can and need to be exploited. For example, the Federal agency I work for is skewed toward helping larger resource users (those with political clot). It seems like by overtly and covertly encouraging my agency to look at the situation of those in real need (ie. Native Americans), I can do more good than I can as an individual donor. If the corporation a Christian works for is abusing its employees, what is his/her responsibility? Should he/she covertly help them? I would argue, in some cases, it is our moral responsibility to help them. But each employee must look to his conscience to determine the level of help. That is why God gave us a brain.
What if a church requires a tithe? And what if individuals don’t like the way the money is being spent? Are they morally obligated to pay the tithe, or should they use some of their “tithing” money to help the poor (without going through the church)? I think all of us need to look at our jobs, religions, clubs, etc. to see how we can push the limits to help those in need.
I have worked on Indian reservation and volunteered for humanitarian projects in Africa. I can attest to the need out there. It is way beyond my personal capabilities. But with help, both witting and unwitting, I can sure do a lot more.”