University of Pennsylvania

During a family barbecue that crowds my house with a hundred hungry relatives, getting a prized lamb chop can be warfare. At one barbecue, my uncle ate every lamb chop straight off the grill. As part of the eldest generation--those who worked in Newark plastic factories to build a life for his children--he could take advantage of the vulnerable without repercussions. The younger generations went hungry and their protests did not survive his public condemnation. Though this is perhaps a simplification, I’ve come to see this annual family dilemma as a microcosm of oppression. Around the world,…