Journal

Oh you are so right. I was talking to my son just the other day about a similar thing that had occurred to me. So many small local shops etc. that provide services such as shoe repair places, fix-it shops, local dress shops that sort of things are very quickly disappearing. And those absences isolate us even more than we realize.. I'm very shy and "shy away" from talking to strangers or going to a new group where I don't know anyone. For me, this is isolating but what I am also missing out on are the small inconsequential interactions that we used to have. Gong to the grocery store and checking out with a real person and not having a "real" conversation with them but there is a little personal interchange between us. Saying hello to the postman not a big conversation, just a "hello you've got a fairly nice day today to do your deliveries". Not a big deal but it is a connection with another human being. I find shopping online extremely inconvenient. Shopping for things that have to fit (who knows whether that medium os going to fit you or maybe a large would work better?). Your toaster goes on the blink there's no fix-it shop where you can find out if it can be fixed or if it "really" needs to be replaced. What brought all this to my consciousness is a recent trip to the local hardware store (yes, there is still one in my town!). I was looking for a replacement rubber cover for the bottom of the metal leg on a stepladder. I didn't know what it was called but when I entered the hardware store there was a person (a real human being) asking if he could help me. I started out trying to describe what I was looking for and he interrupted me and said oh yes, you want a leg tip and it's over here. And we went to the aisle and looked at them, decided which one was the right size, I told him how the one I was replacing had gotten lost etc.. Not at all a big connection but it was an interaction between two people. So many of these small personal interactions are missing these days and taken as a whole do add up!

As always, you have managed to articulate ideas that are floating in a nebulous mass in my head. I've been struggling with the 'patriarchy' word for a while as it doesn't really serve us and is too definitive for accuracy. Overculture is inclusive, leaves no-one out - we are all responsible / accountable! - and provides a clearer understanding of what we are up against. Time to read WWRWTW again
As to small local shops, Covid gave me the opportunity to engage more meaningfully with local businesses (as I didn't want to line the pockets of online billionaires if I didn't need to), and there is one shop-owner who prides himself on having absolutely everything you might want from a hardware store (although it's more a general store with hardware on the side). And the rare time he hasn't had whatever obscure thing I'm looking for (only twice in eight years!) he has it the next time I look. He even had eco-friendly paint stripper, and small bolt-cutters....