tartra

User credit: eqrine_horse_rescue on insta

Prior to this point, when Odysseus tries to exercise Xenia (ancient Greek guest rites/hospitality code), he did what he was supposed to do. (Well, we think so anyway — notably, the most famous books of the Odyssey are told by Odysseus, who isn’t exactly a reliable narrator.)

But when Polyphemus kills and eats some of the men, the game changes. The Cyclops makes it clear he has no intention of abiding by Zeus’s laws, and will cannibalize the lot of the men. So, Odysseus responds in kind — he breaks Xenia and lies. He introduces himself under a false name as part of a trick. Polyphemus then breaks Xenia again — he tells Nobody he’ll be eaten last, and that is the Cyclops’ guest gift to him.

Odysseus’ transgression is clearly the lesser one. The Nobody trick works. It gets Odysseus and most of his crew out of the cave alive.

But, crucially, before leaving Odysseus sheds his disguise. He admits his true identity, in detail, so he can boast of his achievements and add vanquishing a Cyclops to the list. And it bites him in the ass spectacularly.

The only reason why Polyphemus can curse Odysseus, can bid his father Poseidon to curse the man who blinded him, is because he now knows who did it. If Odysseus had kept his mouth shut, he might have safely made it home from there. But while a big part of why the Nobody disguise vs. real name reveal is showing Odysseus’s hubris, it’s not just about that. It’s also about the start of a pattern that hurts him more than it helps him.

From this point in the Odyssey on, Odysseus lies about his identity constantly. And sometimes it protects him, but more often it’s a detriment or at least unnecessary. He’s lying about his identity primarily to people who are on his side — a kindly loyal swineherd, his son, his faithful wife, his ailing father.

The last one is especially damning, because happens when Odysseus has already killed the suitors and returned home and reunited with the rest of his family sans disguises. He knows from everyone else that Laertes never betrayed him or his legacy, but was mourning his son and heartbroken for almost a decade. Odysseus has publicly declared his return to everyone else — his father doesn’t know because he’s living in squalor remotely. But Odysseus doesn’t tell his father who he is. He makes up a fake identity and tells a story implying Laertes’ son is dead. And when Laertes bursts out crying, then Odysseus drops the charade and finally admits who he really was.

There was no utility to that lie. No loyalty to test. No hidden threats to worry about. But Odysseus still instinctively lies to his beloved father about who he is, only dropping the charade when he sees the damage it’s doing to his relationships.

Because at this point, lying is pathological for Odysseus. He can’t seem to stop doing it. Because with Polyphemus, a lie protected him and the truth hurt him. That is the point of the “ Nobody” disguise.

For example you're waiting for the bus, and there's one bench that's wide enough for 2-3 people to sit on at the bus stop. Why sit directly in the middle and leave bags sitting on either side of you, or sit off to one side with your legs propped up taking up the entire bench, when you could just as easily sit off to the side and leave room for others to sit too?

Say you're sitting in a classroom with isles just wide enough for one person to walk down. Why leave your bag (or other possessions) sitting in the middle of the isle, making it harder for other students to pass your desk, or creating a tripping hazard, when you could tuck it under your desk where it won't be creating a tripping hazard for anyone?

Or maybe you live in an apartment building that has a shared hallway instead of private entrances, and you have a bike that you don't feel like storing all the way down in building's bike storage room. Why leave your bike laying in the middle of the hallway, forcing your neighbors to have to maneuver or trip over it when coming and going, when you could try to find a better place to store your bike that isn't obstructing the shared hallway?

Not only can not being mindful of how much space we're taking up be dangerous, such as creating tripping hazards. But it just makes sharing spaces, whether private or public, easier with others when we leave space for others too. Nobody is more entitled to space than someone else. You don't own the sidewalk, or the bench at the bus stop, or the shared hallways in your apartment building anymore than anyone else does, and everyone else deserves the same access to it.

Bingo bango, keeping shared spaces decluttered instead of taking up more space than you need is important for keeping shared / public spaces accessible.

Speaking from my own personal experience, I grew up being hyper-aware and self conscious about how much space I take up and where and from who. I was constantly trying to make myself smaller and keep out of the way within my mobility scooter and then my power wheelchair. I had it drilled into me by every adult around me that I was a fire hazard if I didn't make sure I was out of the way enough, which is doubly stressful to be told when you live in a state known for its wildfires.

When I first learned about Judith Heumann in highschool, and how she legally fought (and won!) to be a teacher after being denied on the basis of being a power wheelchair user and thus a fire hazard, when I read the arguments against that idea? It was earth shattering. It was completely novel and radical to me. And from that point on I started to really notice how I am often not taking up an unreasonable amount of space, I'm taking up exactly as much as I need to, and that me needing that space does not make me annoying or bad or in the way. I had just as much of a right to be there as anyone else. That realization was groundbreaking!

Same with when I approach the bench at a bus stop, and someone is sitting sideways with their feet up like they're on a sofa (for some reason this is a popular way to sit on the bench at bus stops among many Icelanders, not sure if this is as popular in other places). Half the time they give me a dirty look like I'm being rude or annoying for asking them to move their legs so I can sit too.

Washington Post is paywalling the article but it looks like Taylor Farms — a consumer bagged salad brand that also supplies produce to grocers and fast food chains like Taco Bell, Walmart, McDonald's, Chipotle, Burger King, KFC, and Meijer —may be at least one of the sources of the current cyclosporiasis outbreak.