For Tuesday: Eighner, "On Dumpster Diving" (pp.377-387)
Answer
TWO of the following:
1. How
does Eighner distinguish between the different kinds of scavenging and the
types of people who do it? What does it
mean to have a “scavenger ethics”? Can
someone who rummages through thrash really have a professional/moral code of
ethics?
2. What
does dumpster diving reveal about our culture and society? What lessons does it teach him about living
in the Western world, and about having a “healthy state of mind” regarding
material possessions?
3. If
you were forced to scavenge to survive, what is the most practical advice that
Eighner offers in his essay? While some
of this advice in common sense, what advice comes simply from day-to-day
experience and scavenger wisdom?
4. Why
is there such a stigma against dumpster diving in our society? How is it materially different from going to
garage sales, flea markets, or even finding something abandoned in a parking
lot? Is it just for health reasons that
most people avoid it, or is there an aspect of hypocrisy in
refusing to do it? Do we all “dumpster
dive” on some level?
Q. 2
ReplyDeleteIf people are dumpster diving that means they have nothing. People see someone homeless on the street and just walk past them with no regard as to why they are there on the street. Most just assume that they are some kind of substance user and put the blame on the person. For Eighner, he doesn’t have anything and doesn’t give resin to why he is on the streets. He does how ever, give clues and hints that he isn’t a substance user because he basically puts he doesn’t like them. So for people to put him in the same category Eighner is forced to ask for help, learn what is good and bad food is. He also learns that not everything is a gem worth taking.
Q. 4
People don’t like others to take what was theirs for no cost. If a person went through their trash they would still (most people) stay they are stealing something from it even though they throw it away. Also some people through things away they want to keep hidden or secrete like the college on page 384. His only dispute is he wanted no one to know about his bets. On the other hand some people would just say its unhealthy. There is built up bacteria that formed in the trash (if it there has been certain amount of time pass since it was thrown away or there could be bathroom trash mixed in.)
Some people do look in trashcans if they see something on top and are like “hey I could use this” or “this doesn’t look to old or dirty!” and they take them, wash and use the said item. Some people will through out a brand new ipod cuz they boy/girlfriend got it for them a month ago and just broke up with them that day. Making the “ipod” a good device to still use and have.
Savannah Lincoln
ReplyDeleteQ3.
Her advice about what food to eat from the dumpster would be most practical if I had to survive this way. First of all, because eating is part of surviving, but also because she does give tips on how to identify what you should and should not eat. Her tip about the cans sucking air when opened is a helpful one that a lot of people would have never known to pay attention to. Her statement that, "unboxed pizza does not exist," could also be useful. She gives good tips about the best time and places to scavenger for food.
Q4.
I think it's strange to most people because once it's in the dumpster, it's considered trash. But, one man's trash could be another man's treasure. I believe some people look down their noses at it because trash is considered dirty, but that's not always the case. If there are clothes, take them home, wash them a couple times and it is no different than buying it second hand. The only difference is you got it for free. I think that dumpster diving for food is different, but only because I have the money to buy it. If I didn't, I'm sure an unopened can in the garbage wouldn't be as bad as hunger. It could be a health hazard to eat food from the garbage but there are many health hazards in eating any kind of processed food. Many people dumpster dive, and I think many more would do it as well, if it weren't so frowned upon.
Caylin Ballard
ReplyDeleteQ3. If I was forced to survive to live by scavenging through dumpsters the most practical advice the Eighner offers for me would be the three principles on eating safely from a dumpster: use the senses and common sense to evaluate the condition of the found materials, know the Dumpsters of a given area and check them regularly, and to always seek to answer the question "Why was this discarded?". I think that what you would learn on a day to day basis would be when you can eat the foods and when you can't. I'm a hypochondriac so I'm the type of person that would throw things out, so her advice about what all you can eat and what you shouldn't eat would be helpful to me if I were to dumpster dive one day.
Q4. Dumpster diving is usually associated with the homeless, it's not something you see a normal person doing everyday because they don't have to. Garage sales and things of that nature to me are different than getting something out of the dumpster. Dumpsters aren't clean, they have who knows what in them. I definitely wouldn't get anything from a dumpster and place it in my house. I think it is a level of a health concern more than hypocrisy. If dumpsters where clean I think more people would be wiling to get into them. If you look at it on a different perspective however, I think some would say we all do "dumpster dive", some people do have garage sales and if its not sold those items might go in the trash, so if we do pick it up it technically it would be dumpster scavenging, but most don't want to look at it that way.
Hayden Blakemore
ReplyDelete2. Dumpster diving reveals what we throw away and shows how well our culture or society is doing and if they need help or not. What we throw away shows everything that is about us and what we don’t need. The lessons he learns about living in the Western world teach him that not all things are forever. All things material wise will come to an end and having a state of mind like that will help prepare you to lose the things you love most.
3. If I was forced to survive on food from dumpsters, I do believe I would not eat. Most practical advice, however, is distinguishing safe food from terrible food. Using the senses and common sense to evaluate the condition of the food is a good trait to have, while also finding out why it was thrown away to begin with is another. From time to time you can learn which places are good and which are not, but it comes from going there daily and finding what is right and wrong.
Q.2
ReplyDeleteI think dumpster diving can reveal a lot about the region that it takes place in. It may just be that this city has a low rate of homeless individuals or it could be that there are more here that are mentally impaired than in other cities. You can also tell a lot about a particular region by what the dumpster divers pull out of the trash cans and dumpsters in that area. Apart from that one can go from being independently wealthy to living off the streets in a very short period of time. Eighner say something along the likes of in this day and age of technology and greed the vast majority of Americans buy and own more than they need simply because they think they need it. This goes for those who were in Eighner’s position as well, he says there were those who collected everything they came across. We can see this in our cities today, homeless men and women walking around carrying baskets or pushing carts, all full of only one particular type of item. He says that if we do not need them in that instant or in the foreseeable future they are detrimental to our survival, at least when making a living on streets, and we need to let these things go. Eighner says nothing lasts forever and everything gets replaced so we need to learn to not put so much value in material possessions.
Q.4
Society generally views “dumpster diving” as a bad thing, maybe because it tends to be dirty, or maybe they think someone should not be seen doing something like that. Whatever the reason, I think most people believe that since they think they would not ever do that then no one else should either. This is why almost everyone just averts their eyes and walks by, acting like the homeless are not there. I don’t really think there is much difference in going to a flea market, or especially a garage sale, the main factor is that in a place like that you are buying something used whereas you would otherwise be picking it up for free out of the trash. I believe a lot of people with steady income avoid getting something, anything, out of a dumpster purely because their pride will not allow them to. So yes, I think that everyone, at least once in their life will do something to the equivalent of “dumpster diving”.
Andrew Jordan Nickell
ReplyDeleteQ3- There is some great advice offered in this essay. I would've never known to stay near apartments or college campuses. They are very wasteful and throw away many useful food and every day items. It is also said you should keep up with the campus schedule to know when holidays and moving days are. These are the times when people throw the most away. I think that knowing which foods are good and which stay better longer will come from experience. You will gain that knowledge by eating something spoiled and getting sick. Then you'll know not to eat that food again, or learn to tell if it's spoiled.
Q4- I think people view it as a low life and trashy thing to do. People think if you are digging through the trash that you are homeless and poor. They think it is disgusting and can't stand to see people do it. I think dumpster diving is no different than garage sales. People are just simply getting rid of stuff they don't want in a more profitable way. Dumpster divers get garage stuff for free. People will buy stuff from other people all day long, but if you were to put that same stuff in a dumpster, they would not touch it. They are to good to dig through a dumpster. They think it is gross and unsanitary.
Yes, we all dumpster dive on some level. Any form of getting something that somebody no longer wants is taking somebody's trash and making it our own possession. Some people use a middle man, like a garage sale and pay for the stuff. While others (dumpster divers), simply get it for free.
2. I think that Dumpster Diving reveals that our culture and society are careless and wasteful, and also greedy. If there wasn't so many still good, and useful things thrown away just because people find them disposable, then dumpster diving wouldn't be so easy. He learns that the Western world is very materialistic, buying new things constantly, and throwing out the still good, after buying the new. People buy what they don't need just because they think they might. Then when they realize they don't, it becomes garbage to them. But dumpster divers don't find a lot of things that are thrown away "trash". Since most of it is still very usable.
ReplyDelete1. He distinguishes by using the words "scavenging" and "scourging", because they feel to be more comfortable terms for what people do. I think that having a "scavenger ethics" means that you have a certain way in which you dive. Certain things you look for, and don't look fore, I think, play into that a lot as well. I think that someone could have a "professional/moral code of ethics" if they are a dumpster diver. Maybe they aren't materialistic, or maybe they don't agree with how wasteful people are, and feel like most things shouldn't go to waste. I see no problem as to why people, especially homeless, would be discouraged to do that. Once someone throws something away, that's kind of them saying that they don't want that stuff anymore. So it should be fair game, I think anyways. So I do think its moral to some degree.
Adria Abella Villafranca
ReplyDelete2. What does dumpster diving reveal about our culture and society? What lessons does it teach him about living in the Western world, and about having a “healthy state of mind” regarding material possessions?
In my opinion, this essay reveals that our world is a consumer’s society. We don't care about the things that we waste and about the things that we could use more. This essay reflects that sometimes we throw things that could be used by other people. Eighner said in this writing that we are very materialists and we always want to buy more and more. The writer teaches us giving some examples of food that he can save and eat. That means that we are throwing several good food in the trash. The lesson that he tries to explain is that we have to save our goods and stop this world of consumerism.
3. If you were forced to scavenge to survive, what is the most practical advice that Eighner offers in his essay? While some of this advice in common sense, what advice comes simply from day-to-day experience and scavenger wisdom?
In my point of view this essay is like a help guide for surviving and instructing us to save the good food. Is incredible the things that you can earn near a campus. In my conceit the most practical advice that Eighner offers in his essay is the idea to stay near the campus and know the student's schedules because the students throw several things, when they are going back to home, that could be usable. The other idea that surprise me is that you can earn free pizzas every day because this kind of restaurants throw a lot of pizzas at the end of the day. Finally, the advice that comes simply day-to-day experience is that you will earn experience by eating something rotten and getting sick and in that moment you will know what food is good for you and what kind of food is bad for you.
Karina Tarpey
ReplyDeleteQ2; By dumpster diving he learned that we have an incredibly wasteful and lazy society. We would rather throw perfectly good food and items away than deal with them or try to put effort into finding a good home for them. We, as a society, were raised that there is more where that came from. After the Great Depression, people wanted to provide as much as they could for their children, and in doing so, raised a generation, who raised more generations that do not appriciate what they have. Everyone, well almost everyone, lives by wanting more and more and more. We fill our houses to the brim with meaningless things, hoping that someday someone will put some meaning or value to them. We keep anything with even a little sentiment, pride and define ourselves on what we have, and not who we are. I had a German foreign exchange student who was absolutely disgusted by the amount of food we eat and even more disgusted by the amount of food we throw away. Eighner learned that material things are not important because one day everything ends up discarded.
Q4; I think the stigma about dumpsters is absolutely correct in the fact that Dumpsters are disgusting and nasty themselves. Trash juice and dead animals end up in dumpsters daily. Though, I agree that certain dumpsters may be safe-ish, like ones outside department stores I'm sure are okay because food is seldom thrown away in them. I worked at a movie theater where we were instructed to throw out the fresh popcorn at the end of the night. Perfectly good popcorn bagged separately than the regular trash, however, once in the dumpster, I wouldnt touch it with a ten foot pole due to the rest of the trash I threw out; nasty soda, half eaten cheesy pretzels, old candy and stuff swept off the floor in the theaters. I also worked at a car wash picking and cleaning after people, like picking up trash and taking the trash to the dumpster and such. People leave a plethora of interesting and useful things at car washes in the trash, but due to dirty water, old soda, hypodermic needles, spilled liquor and beer and such things left as well, I would never take the useful things. I stay away from dumpster diving purely for safety reasons. However, I do "dumpster dive" on some level. I love going to garage sales and thrift stores, which, minus the dumpster, could be arguably the same thing. I feel they are just safer because there isn't any rotten food or dangerous items I could hurt myself on.
Faith Armstrong
ReplyDelete1. Eignher distinguishes between people who dumpster dive in a couple of ways. He says that there are the people who only dumpster dive on the surface. They are the people who only want to get things out of the dumpster, but they would never eat food out of the dumpster. Then, Eighner says that there are the “real” dumpster divers who would eat out of the dumpster. EIghner says that he would never dig in someone’s personal dumpster. I think that whenever he talks about scavenger ethics he is referring to not invading someone’s personal privacy. Eighner makes a good point about having “scavenger ethics”.
4. In my opinion, there is such a stigma against dumpster diving because it is associated with people who didn’t necessarily have enough to provide for themselves or their families. It has an instability factor involved as well. You never know what you will find in dumpsters, and I think that’s what causes the instability associated with dumpster diving. I see a huge difference between garage sales, flea markets, and dumpster diving. Whenever you go to a garage sale or a flea market, you go there with the intention of buying things that you will use. Whenever you go dumpster diving, no matter how efficient Eighner thinks it may be, you never know what you will find. There could potentially be things that you could use, as well as a lot of things that you can’t. At garage sales or flea markets, the things that people sell are usually in good condition. They sell things like clothes that no longer fit, household appliances they no longer need, or other things that may no longer need. The people who have garage sales are generally people who could use the extra money, or they understand that just “throwing things away” is not good. If something is in good condition and you know someone or somewhere that it can be used, then make sure it gets there. Health concerns, I’m sure, play a huge factor in why people don’t want to dumpster dive.
1. Eighner divides scavengers in two the dilettanti or novice and the professional. the professional is then divided in two, scavengers who go by what he calls scavenger ethics and scroungers who don't give a flying flip about other people. Scavenger ethics is like eighner will not rummage through people's trash cans in front of their house or behind it, he respects peole's privacy. scroungers on the other hand are looking for one thing and don't care where they go to get it. scroungers are typically druggies. the novices eighner calls can scavengers because they talk a big game but in the end just take what is on the "can" and don't get "down and dirty".
ReplyDelete2. dumpster diving reveals that we live in a very wasteful society and we really don't care. we need to, as a society, take a step back and look at what we throw away. ask ourselves, "Is it still useful?" and if it is do not throw it away even if that means we don't get the brand new game system or brand new phone, etc. We keep what we need and don't take to much to help reduce waste.
Q3: If I had to survive off of scavenging I think the best advice that Eighner gave was how to eat safely. We way he talks about using common sense and evaluate the conditions of the food are important. The advice that comes from day-to-day experience is remembering that most food is thrown out for a reason. The safest dumpster food is the food in cans.
ReplyDeleteQ4: There is such a stigma against dumpster driving because it is viewed as poor. People think that if you dumpster dive you are less than them or poor. It’s different from those things because you are looking and taking junk rather than buying someone’s junk. I think it is for health reason because it has been thrown away for a reason then it’s also how people view you. They might not dumpster dive because of them being judged. I think we all dumpster dive. We all see things we want and if it’s just laying out then we will take it.
Jamison Elston
ReplyDelete2. People dumpster dive either because they are homeless and have nothing, or because they are desperate for materials. Some people will do anything to get new things, and scavenging through a dumpster is one of those things. You have to have a healthy state of mind when dumpster diving because you can find food in there to eat, but you won't even consider eating it unless you use common sense as to whether or not it is edible.
4. Dumpster diving is frowned upon in our society because we see everything in a dumpster as filthy trash that isn't needed. It is different than finding something in a garage sale or in a parking lot because it is in the trash, which makes it dirty and unappealing to the typical person. Unless you consider buying stuff at a garage sale "dumpster diving" on some level, no, we do not all dumpster dive. I personally have no desire to get something out of the garbage.
Amber Simpson
ReplyDeleteQ2.) Dumpster diving reveals that we have people who need things and can’t provide for themselves, and yet we send people out to other countries to fix their needs. America needs to take care of America before handling other countries’ problems. Other countries probably think America is oh so perfect when, in reality, we need to fix ourselves. Then, we wouldn’t have “dumpster divers” and not be such a hypocritical country.
Q4.) I personally have a stigma against dumpster diving because it is gross; there are a lot of germs on/in trash cans! Who wants to dig around in a trash can or a dumpster to get something they can just buy or bargain for? Apparently a lot of people, but I still wouldn’t. I understand homeless people dumpster diving to try to find the resources they need, which is sad. I think it is mainly based on health reasons why people are against it. If you go to a flea market or garage sale, although it is used, it hasn’t touched other garbage. When I hear “trash” or “garbage,” I picture stinky, old food and other things that have grown a ton of bacteria. I just don’t see how anyone would be okay with touching that mess just trying to get something they don’t have.
Macy Ellis
ReplyDelete2. I think it makes our society seem greedy and unreasonable about the fact that people in the world could go through our garbage and still find reasonable things to use. Why are we throwing away things that obviously still have value? It is selfish of us.He finds out the Western world was more materialistic than he thought. Its a place where people buy things even if they aren't needed, just to fit in to the society. Then, it goes to the garbage.
4. In my opinion, no I do not want to get something out of the garbage. I find it dirty and uncalled for. But for some it is necessary. Dumpster diving is looked down on in our society. But who wouldn't want something that was barely used and not broken? It sort of does resemble a garage sale, or a store like GoodWill. It is wrong to some, but others successful.
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ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing Eighner's "On Dumpster Diving." His raw and insightful exploration of survival, consumerism, and societal waste challenges our perspectives. Eighner's ability to find meaning in discarded items underscores the profound lessons hidden in the mundane.
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Eighner's "On Dumpster Diving" offers profound insights into survival and consumer culture. His experiences provoke reflection on waste, necessity, and resourcefulness. A thought-provoking read indeed.Sterling Heights Dumpster Rental.
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