This article brought up several interesting points. The first is who truly wields the power?This is similar to Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” as it poses the question of who in the village of Balgat was more important- the chief or the grocer. Lerner writes “In Balgat, the Chief carried the sword, but did the Grocer steer the pen?” (51). I understood this as while the Chief has political “control” over his people, the Grocer plays an important role for the people. He knows the system and how to work it, therefore, people come to him with money questions, which can be seen as a form of power. Money is a driving influence in much of the world, and while money was a “taboo talk” in Balgat, it still permeated society.  I though the point of “some Balgati were talking loud about the Grocer to keep their own inner voices from being overheard by the Chief- or even by themselves” (50). This reminds me of the class discussion on conformity, and how people are willings to put the blame on others in order to not stand out. In many cases, especially in undeveloped societies, it becomes a game of who can stand out the least. In addition, when Tosun asked the people what they would do about the problems in Turkey if they were president, it was interesting how some were shocked by the question, claiming that they could never think of themselves in that light. Yet, the Grocer has no problem answering that question. Why is that? Is it because the Grocer is progressive in his thinking while the Shepard is stuck in his old fashioned ways?