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I keep seeing essential workers called heroes.
I& #39;m not sure what to think about that. I& #39;m considered an essential worker, which means that my work helps keep up some vague semblance of normalcy while we weather this public health crisis.
1/19
I& #39;m not sure what to think about that. I& #39;m considered an essential worker, which means that my work helps keep up some vague semblance of normalcy while we weather this public health crisis.
1/19
There are many, many people who are essential workers in this sense (to be clear: this thread is about people who aren& #39;t working in human hospitals - THOSE people are truly doing ESSENTIAL work, dealing with insurmountable odds without basic, necessary tools or support.
2/19
2/19
I bow to them, and wish I could be there to help you.)
But please understand, the majority of essential workers are not doing this out of some sense of duty to society, or because they enjoy risking their health, but because if we didn& #39;t, we wouldn& #39;t get paid.
3/19
But please understand, the majority of essential workers are not doing this out of some sense of duty to society, or because they enjoy risking their health, but because if we didn& #39;t, we wouldn& #39;t get paid.
3/19
And wouldn& #39;t be able to keep our homes, or eat, or take care of ourselves or families.
We work jobs that pay - at their best - JUST enough to live on. Not enough to save money. Not enough to pay for training or education that might allow for better-paying jobs.
4/19
We work jobs that pay - at their best - JUST enough to live on. Not enough to save money. Not enough to pay for training or education that might allow for better-paying jobs.
4/19
Best case, we make enough to pay our bills, get groceries, maybe treat ourselves or our families to a dinner out sometimes. And these jobs usually demand so much of us physically or emotionally that we don& #39;t have the energy, once we get home, to do anything more...
5/19
5/19
...than consume some entertainment, try to maintain relationships with our friends and loved ones, then sleep. Perchance to dream.
Please know - & WE know - this isn& #39;t by accident. Keep the majority of people tired enough they can& #39;t afford (money or energy) to protest...
6/19
Please know - & WE know - this isn& #39;t by accident. Keep the majority of people tired enough they can& #39;t afford (money or energy) to protest...
6/19
...their lot, and you& #39;ve effectively muzzled what could become your worst enemy.
And be sure to tell us "boot straps" fairy tales; weave them through every societal narrative - so we are JUST ashamed enough of our failure to achieve greatness that we don& #39;t question...
7/19
And be sure to tell us "boot straps" fairy tales; weave them through every societal narrative - so we are JUST ashamed enough of our failure to achieve greatness that we don& #39;t question...
7/19
...why, & blame ourselves, not the people with power who created the labyrinth to begin with. Poison our minds, exhaust our bodies, and give us enough crumbs to avoid death - but JUST enough, can& #39;t have the workers fed too well - & you& #39;ve won.
8/19
8/19
You& #39;ve cut the legs out on those who do the actual labor to support you. Don& #39;t worry, we can still drag ourselves around through the gore to do your bidding.
I risk my health - & possible death - every time I leave my home, so that I can serve you.
9/19
I risk my health - & possible death - every time I leave my home, so that I can serve you.
9/19
I have no choice in this - I have to work to survive, & my workplace is "essential." I& #39;ve seen this referred to as an "industrial draft," which is fitting. My choices are to continue to work, or face the loss of my home, starvation, & loss of access to healthcare, which...
10/19
10/19
...essentially means loss of life for me.
And you want to know something really ironic? If I were granted universal income & free health care tomorrow, I would volunteer to help others! I& #39;d get groceries for people who can& #39;t leave their homes due to their health.
11/19
And you want to know something really ironic? If I were granted universal income & free health care tomorrow, I would volunteer to help others! I& #39;d get groceries for people who can& #39;t leave their homes due to their health.
11/19
I& #39;d organize medical training for others who can volunteer to help home-bound patients. I& #39;d find a million ways to help my community - & anyone else who needed it - while this is happening.
So here& #39;s what& #39;s happening instead:
12/19
So here& #39;s what& #39;s happening instead:
12/19
By requiring healthy, willing, and capable people to work a barely-paying-enough-to exist job right now, you& #39;re effectively removing a massive portion of the population who could instead be helping to end this. People who could be trained as support staff in hospitals.
13/19
13/19
Or as carers to people sick at home. Or allowing them to help their community in whatever way they see fit. And even if you don& #39;t believe they& #39;d be proactively helping others with volunteering, at the very least, if they weren& #39;t forced to work, it would take...
14/19
14/19
...lots of potential carriers off the streets, making society safer.
But again, the ruling classes can& #39;t run the risk of letting their labor force see how powerful they are. They need to keep us exhausted, desperate, & despairing.
15/19
But again, the ruling classes can& #39;t run the risk of letting their labor force see how powerful they are. They need to keep us exhausted, desperate, & despairing.
15/19
We are effectively muzzled, hobbled, & can& #39;t do damage to the existing power structure this way.
HEY, you may be thinking. At least you still have a job & money coming in. You have insurance. Millions of people don& #39;t anymore. If they had a choice, they& #39;d still be working.
16/19
HEY, you may be thinking. At least you still have a job & money coming in. You have insurance. Millions of people don& #39;t anymore. If they had a choice, they& #39;d still be working.
16/19
And that& #39;s the crux of it, isn& #39;t it? We& #39;ve lost the ability to choose our own path. This power lies in the hands of the ruling class, who can take away our livelihood at a moments notice. Or force us to continue to work in terrifying conditions because WE HAVE NO CHOICE.
17/19
17/19
We live or die by the whims of those with money & power. Our "American dream" is a lie.
So please, stop calling us heroes. We& #39;re cannon fodder. We live according to the rules set by those who have every intention of keeping us ignorant, exhausted, & just barely useful.
18/19
So please, stop calling us heroes. We& #39;re cannon fodder. We live according to the rules set by those who have every intention of keeping us ignorant, exhausted, & just barely useful.
18/19
