4/20: Scott and Kelley Readings

In Kelley’s “From Race Rebels - Cultural Resistance,” Kelley explained ways in which people could perform organized acts of resistance that are not largely organized or have a specific direction.  Where organized forms of resistance include large scale things such as protests or strikes, Kelley concentrated on small things that people could do everyday, using the example of workers at McDonalds.  He argued that, as a McDonald’s, as a minimum wage worker, no one ever complained about how much they were paid, the hours they had to work, or even poor treatment.  However, they made up for it in others ways, such as making extra food before closing so they could take leftovers home, stylizing their uniforms, and even just working slower.

In Scott’s “From Weapons of the Weak - Cultural Resistance,”  Scott also referred to forms of resistance that people could do everyday, however Scott was referring to peasant rebellions such as foot dragging, dissimulation,  or false compliance.  He thought that peasant rebellions often resulted in serious repercussions, and often times created a more coercive and hegemonic state apparatus.