Your heirarchy’s more heirarchical than mine!

Recently the MSA’s interaction with the Wholefoods Collective has been one of antagonism and somewhat amusing bickering. Most of the argument that has any real substance centres on the application of differential pricing in the cafe and canteen-thing. That is, the MSA has brought out their community card (that has ‘benefits‘ for those willing to pay the hundred and something dollars and is discussed by kernel here) and was trying to get/force Wholefoods to charge $2.40 for my coffee and $2 for those weirdos with community cards. Mr. Haywood and the Wholefoods Collective emphatically said ‘no’ a few times, had their new coffee cart taken by the MSA (behold the might, the power… oooooh boogy boogy) (see this right-wing, but amusing and pertinant rant about hippies, Wholefoods and the coffee-cart) and eventually (I discovered this semester early one morning) started charging me $2.40 for ’strong’ ‘lattes’. Apparently one collective member has gone on strike but in such a way that means either the other wholefoods employees do his work for free, or (as has been happening) he comes into work anyway without being paid. (Recently, more recently that the writing of the above text, another collective member is striking – they have a long letter too, it says they’re a woman)Aaaanyway, for a long time Mr. Haywood has referred to many members of the Go!, alp-alligned faction, as ‘Go!-bots’ – a reference to the existence of ‘headkickers’ and a ‘heirarchy’ of ideas and influence within Go!. In turn, Go! members have referred to Mr. Haywood as Chairman Glen – alluding to his despotic, i suppose, control over the Wholefoods Collective. Surely no one is saying there has to exist absolute equality of contribution of faction members, and for equality of having-ideas-considered or something. This argument has gone nowhere for a long time! Why not try and critique eachother’s actual actions? However, thrown into the debate for the first time since the engagement or whatever, Zoe had a go at Mr Harwood’s “1950s-esque” relationship with “missus” Kellan. Mr Useless has complained of not being ‘bullied like this since highschool” and needing a good cry. What a nice sensitive man. Why can’t he be left alone to run his ‘ethical business’ with his friends and family?

“The Chairman Under Fire For His 1950’s Lifestyle”.

“I have read the sexist dribble from Chairman Glen for months now and chosen to ignore it because its only purpose was to create sensationalist opposition to the current decisions of the MSC. However Iam sick of the assertions that men are pulling the strings in Go! and that somehow I’m just a stupid little girl go-bot who does whatever David Taft tells me. For starters Glen, you want to see a hierarchy and the patriarchy in action watch the mahinations of the Wholefoods Collective. You speak and everyone jumps; that’s a hierarchy! Yes there’s a hierarchy in the MSA, there’s a President, and a clear change [sic] of command, but one that is accountable to democratic structures, student council and a student general meeting. I believe in open, visible hierarchies, because they also bring responsibility and accountability.

I take responsibility for every decision I make, and I’m not going to hide behind other people. Its possibly time you fess up and join the liberal party, because moving in with wifey, and spouting Pro VSU propaganda is all looking a little too 1950’s Australia.

Your comments are sexist, no one is pulling my strings. I like all members of Go! come to MSCas a free individual who chooses to exercise a right to vote collectively at MSC on the political platform we were elected to pursue. Go! is not a boy’s club, which is more than I can say for the last Activate administration who had an all male executive (2005- Nick, Jonno and Ollie). So don’t call me a Go-bot and don’t say others are making my decisions. Women may defer to men in the politics that your’e involved in (and by that I mean the Greens and the Young Libs), but in my caucus the matriarch is strong.

Zoe Edwards
President of the MSA”

Well, I think ‘Chairman Glen’ is an inappropriate term for Mr Haywood. Wholefoods Collective is more like a gang; with a family head and disposable hired-hands. As everyone knows, work makes us free. And all my friends are lazy.

*

Last year the Wholefoods Collective was responsible for the exclusion of a Monash student, the constant targetting of this student by security and the daily presence of security at Wholefoods. This was ostensibly concerning his attempt to break into the Wholefoods office when he was locked out. You’d have to say that this ‘break-in attempt’ was part of a protest, given this students prior treatment, and I think it’s fair to say (now) that Wholefoods is against this kind of protest. Well, at least not against the use of security in settling disputes.

This followed a long debate, for which I was wholly absent, that started with an article that the student had written with the help of Mr Haywood. It concerned religious fundamentalism in the form of Zionism and the state of Israel as an imperial force to be protested. Between this and being expelled from tertiary study by the collective, the student was accused of Sexism (a claim without explaination, and a mystery to me), Racism (in referring to a collective member he had forgotten the name of – who is possibly techniquely darker-skinned than the student in question – as “dark-skinned”) and anti-Semitism (over the article? or over some comments in collective meetings. Not sure, but I would never refer to him as anti-Semitic). These are all extreme charges, and appear to fit more with the polemic nature of arguments used by Wholefoods Collective than with the student’s actual beliefs or actions.

It does not surprise me that I have heard of Mr Haywood’s involvement with the article only a few times, and never from ‘that’ side of the debate.