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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIf I hear one more rich fuck talk about the dignity of work...
Last edited Tue Apr 17, 2012, 01:11 PM - Edit history (1)
My head might explode. 
I want to know...
how many 50 lb bags of cement Mitt or any of his boys have ever heaved up onto their shoulder to carry anywhere?
how many squares of asphalt shingles have they carried up a ladder onto a roof?
how many night shifts have they pulled?
has a RMoney ever even pushed a lawnmower?
or shoveled snow?
swung a hammer?
turned a wrench?
sanded a piece of wood?
have any of these fuckers ever mended a pair of socks?
or patched the knees of their kids pants?
Work does bring dignity, so long as that work is appreciated and rewarded by society.
I don't need to be lectured about the dignity of work by some jackass for whom the word callous describes their economic policies rather than the effect "dignity" has on ones hands!
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el_bryanto
(11,804 posts)Has Romney needed to work to feed his family or himself. I mean I kind of wouldn't be surprised if he has shoveled snow or swung a hammer; but he didn't need to. He wasn't going to go hungry if he didn't do those kind of tasks. He could call someone in at any time to do that sort of work.
Bryant
tk2kewl
(18,133 posts)I doubt he could drive a framing nail without hitting his thumb.
And sure he could call someone in at any time, but would he offer them fair compensation? Would he actually appreciate their contribution or view it as dignified? Mitt and his like need to be called out on this shit over and over, and workers need to punish these fuckers as was done nearly 100 years ago.
And how many people that actually do work for a living get the appreciation required for their work to actually be considered dignified? How is having your goddamned salary cut in half at GE dignified?
The 99% still have the power to turn around the productivity v. wages graph if we are willing to stand together and say enough is enough. You fuckers like paying less for more? Let's see how you like it when we reverse the slope of their fucking productivity curve.
Enrique
(27,461 posts)and they're still workers.
And a lot of gentleman farmers have all kinds of skills, like clearing brush.
tk2kewl
(18,133 posts)add to the list those things that count as work in your view.
I could go on from my list to include all means of helping your fellow man: cop; fireman; doctor; nurse.
Other things that qualify as work: waiting tables; cashier; stock clerk; secretary...
No doubt the list goes on. But as I was taught as child growing up in the 60s and 70s, you need to use your gifts and your skill to contribute to society and if you do you deserve to be rewarded and appreciated. A career as a "taker" was literally a foreign concept to me until I had already become an adult.
Even if one has "all kinds of skills" whatever they might be, if their primary use is to take more for themselves at the expense of others they deserve contempt.
Enrique
(27,461 posts)there's just as much dignity in those jobs as in swinging a hammer. A lot of times those are thought of as things you "end up" doing if you can't get "real work." So thanks for adding them. 
el_bryanto
(11,804 posts)But first of all -my issue is that Romney never needs to work, and the stuff he does to earn his money is societally destructive. And that's the key thing; most American's aren't in that position. You either go to work or you go hungry. Working because you gotta work is a whole different lifestyle from working because you want to work.
I guess my other question is that the line between being a taker and a giver is pretty nebulous in a lot of cases; like say people who work in Human Resources. Are they takers? or Givers?
it is somewhat more clear in Romney's case, I admit.
Bryant
tk2kewl
(18,133 posts)My father's take on Human Resources: "There is nothing humane or resourceful about them."
tk2kewl
(18,133 posts)there's certainty much gray area there. one could even argue that most Americans are takers even if they devote their lives to helping other Americans since as a group we pretty much take way more than we're entitled to and leave much of the world wanting.
This is why we need real liberals again and why the RFK quote in H20Man's thread really moved me http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002543005.
Good one!
I don't think I ever felt like I got a great deal of dignity from any job. Great post by the way--but seriously, most jobs you do because you need the money. And the real dignity would come from actually being compensated enough--which I don't think I ever was.
Now did I love it a few times, when I was in bands, playing my horn, and singing rock and disco sometimes? Yea, I loved it, it was awesome, and interestingly I'm not sure if it was dignified all the time, but it was fun, and it didn't really pay well either. But it sure was more tolerable.
Dignity may be over-rated.
leftyohiolib
(5,917 posts)ended like this there's dignity is working for me. the for me was left off
Enrique
(27,461 posts)especially now, with so many people out of work, being a working person means the struggle to GET a job, and to KEEP it, so they can continue working. Those are things that Ann Romney for example never had to worry about.
tk2kewl
(18,133 posts)finding and keeping work is becoming harder than the work itself. and that is just the way these fuckers want it. it is way past time for the people who actually do the work of the world to start taking back what is rightfully theirs.
pscot
(21,044 posts)is a cheap worker.
hifiguy
(33,688 posts)when the only "work" they have ever done is steal with a computer, a phone or a pen should be marched to the tumbrels at the point of pitchforks and torches and sent to the scaffold.
Initech
(108,688 posts)The rich make all the money, pay none of the taxes. The middle class pays all the taxes, does all the work. And the poor are there just to scare the shit out of the middle class - keep them showing up at those jobs!!
I'm ready for the revolution at this point. 
hifiguy
(33,688 posts)"Nothing says 'obey me' like a bloody head on a fencepost." 
we need to start collecting some heads
dkf
(37,305 posts)Or not.
sinkingfeeling
(57,788 posts)
hedgehog
(36,286 posts)or worked a packing line?
anything where you gotta show up, put in your time and use your wits and/or brawn to collect a paycheck without stepping on someone else's throat.
TrogL
(32,828 posts)I work in IT. There is no dignity.
tk2kewl
(18,133 posts)Software can be quite elegant when done properly.
TrogL
(32,828 posts)...or in a project where there are five goals, management goes for the low hanging fruit, abandons the rest and wonders why the project failed.
tk2kewl
(18,133 posts)I hear you, but I can honestly say that while I have been party to the development of some really crappy software there have been a few exceptions where I have felt good about the results.
tk2kewl
(18,133 posts)
abelenkpe
(9,933 posts)
tk2kewl
(18,133 posts)
Baitball Blogger
(52,299 posts)You know, you sweat when you play eighteen holes of golf.
pscot
(21,044 posts)
ecstatic
(35,066 posts)I mean, duh!
Response to tk2kewl (Original post)
Post removed
abelenkpe
(9,933 posts)The bum on the rod is hunted down
As the enemy of mankind;
The other is driven around to his club
And feted, wined and dined.
And they who curse the bum on the rods
As the essence of all that is bad
Will greet the other with a winning smile
And extend him the hand so glad.
The bum on the rods is a social flea
Who gets an occasional bite;
The bum on the plush is a social leech,
Blood-sucking day and night.
The bum on the rods is a load so light
That his weight we scarcely feel,
But it takes the labor of dozens of men
To furnish the other a meal.
As long as you sanction the bum on the plush,
The other will always be there,
But rid yourself of the bum on the plush
And the other will disappear.
Then make an intelligent, organized kick,
Get rid of the weights that crush;
Don't worry about the bum on the rods,
Get rid of the bum on the plush!
tk2kewl
(18,133 posts)
Mz Pip
(28,441 posts)and it wasn't by cashing dividend checks left to me by my father. None of the jobs were particularly high paying - waitress, sales clerk, key punch operator, a entry level position at the phone company.
I didn't have to take out massive student loans because college was affordable back then. I can't imagine what young people have to go through today to get an education and it will just get harder. People like Rmoney want to make education so inaccessible that only rich kids will be able to go. Rich kids like his sons who would never have to do any kind of actual work to help pay for ther educations.
tk2kewl
(18,133 posts)$150,000 - $200,000 for a BA and then another couple of hundred Gs for a law degree or an MBA is a nothing for the 1% but if anyone else tries to pull that off they might just be paying it off until they die these days.
Cleita
(75,480 posts)tk2kewl
(18,133 posts)In case you are dignity-challenged and need remedial assistance.
lsewpershad
(2,620 posts)know about the dignity of work.....unless it's someone else working for him.
Bake
(21,977 posts)Hell, they had to sell some of the stock Daddy gave them! I'm sure that was traumatic! They couldn't even ENTERTAIN!
Seriously, I agree with you about a brazillion percent!!
Bake
tk2kewl
(18,133 posts)
DinahMoeHum
(23,592 posts)because there is a mural at the tenement where Alex and his Droogie friends live, supposedly depicting "the dignity of labor". The Droogs apparently crayoned and chalked pictures of genitalia in specific areas, and sayings such as "If It Moves, Kiss It" and "Suck It And See".
McCamy Taylor
(19,240 posts)Tabasco_Dave
(1,259 posts)They never see the inside of a cubicle or a mile high stack of folders, if they do it's only for a short time.
Johnny Noshoes
(2,003 posts)Most work is tedious,routine and dull. If its physical its hard on the body as well. Very few jobs pay well anymore and so I don't know how dignified can describe some jobs. In the months since I lost my job I have discovered that the only thing that really mattered in the end was the people I worked with and the friendships forged. Oh yeah the pay was pretty good and the benefits were generous so sure I miss the money and the bennies. I found out recently that apparently the entire library of the old company was dumped because they couldn't get enough for it in the bankruptcy auction. So what did all of our work, our effort, and our dedication amount to in the end - NOTHING. The only thing that mattered was our fellow workers - our friends.
newspeak
(4,847 posts)or any construction worker. Those who do really hard labor should feel insulted that some of our shiftless politicians want to raise the retirement age. Some jobs are harder on the body than others.
Johnny Noshoes
(2,003 posts)People who do really hard physical labor should be allowed to collect full SS benefits EARLY - not later. I was a white collar worker and yeah I have to say that I never had to do the kind of work you're talking about. The people who do that kind of work are to be admired out there everyday busting their butts to earn a living. I'm not looking down on that kind of work. A construction worker can at least point to a building or bridge or whatever and say I helped make that they helped create something that will last.
guitar man
(15,996 posts)are the ones who are supposed to make work dignifying for those who do the actual work. Instead, they do everything in their power to make it humiliating....when one can fiind such "work" that is 
handmade34
(24,010 posts)except what the PTB tell us... ironically, much dignity has been taken away from millions by bullying, stigmas, unfair laws and rules, isms, social constraints, etc...
tk2kewl
(18,133 posts)you should consider making it an OP
Javaman
(65,685 posts)let's see the scares on mitten's hands.
anyone who has had to work a day in their lives has the scares to prove it.
Glaisne
(642 posts)worked all day in the blazing sun bent over picking vegetables, fruits, etc.?
worked on the kill floor of a factory farm?
spent long days cleaning crap from toilets in hotels, hospitals, schools, or nursing homes?
worked deep in coal mines all day exposed to coal dust, methane explosions, or cave ins?
worked on oil rigs exposed to god knows what dangers and toxins whose employers cut who knows what corners to maximize profits at the expense of safety?
worked on their feet all day long serving customers who often can be rude, mean, demanding, unreasonable and sometimes even dangerous?
AND... any job that does not provide enough to meet the most basic needs of life like food on the table, rent, transportation and healthcare at minimum IS NOT WORK WITH DIGNITY!!
tk2kewl
(18,133 posts)and on, and on, and on...
while those fucking prick sip martinis at the club.
if they prevail in the short term, i fear their will be a real class war in my lifetime
Lydia Leftcoast
(48,223 posts)If I could, I would make that whole country club set work industrial temp: work in a hospital laundry or packing airline meals or pulling hot plastic out of molding machine with inadequate gloves--all while standing on a concrete floor while someone walks around yelling "Faster! Faster! No talking!" Oh, yes, and with a 20-minute lunch break and one 10-minute coffee break between 7:00AM and 3:30PM.
It was one of the most unpleasant but also one of the most educational periods of my life, the perfect antidote to attending two Ivy League universities for graduate school.
If I had the power, I would require a year as an industrial temp as a prerequisite for an MBA. What we have now are children of affluence getting MBAs and becoming adults of affluence with no real understanding of how their subordinates live.
In this one respect, I think Mao was onto something, although I wouldn't have used his tactic of giving people 24 hours' notice to settle their affairs before sending family members off into different parts of the country for five or more years. I like the idea of making the rich "learn from the peasants."
tk2kewl
(18,133 posts)that required a trimester of work in the trenches of the industry each year.
As a freshman I worked in a ship yard overhauling giant aluminum mine sweeper diesel engines and worked in the cramped propeller shaft alleys of frigates using short wrenches that were hit with 50lb lump hammers to tighten sections of propeller shafts together.
Sophomore were required to work as engine room cadets aboard a merchant marine ship.
Juniors and seniors finally get the opportunity to work in engineering firms designing the stuff that they had learned to actually build, maintain and live in.
Seems like it would be a great idea to incorporate this sort of thing into every degree path somehow.
Initech
(108,688 posts)They would love it if they could - the über-rich have become so fucking out of control since the Bush era that it's absolutely frightening. How many of them have had to deal with abusive bosses and supervisors with no chance for advancement or pay increase? Let's see them try that and then talk about the "dignity of work".
They've truly made things miserable for the rest of us - and now that Citizens United opened the door for these fucking psychopaths to buy elections - it's only gonna get worse. Scott Walker was just the beginning. I fear what's in store for us after the election.
tk2kewl
(18,133 posts)and it's much more morally palatable for the 1%ers with an ounce of conscience if it's you enslave people of all colors
Initech
(108,688 posts)saras
(6,670 posts)There's dignity in accomplishing things of worth to people. Some jobs offer much more leeway at this than others. Some, like working on an assembly line making land mines, may not have ANY value in this way, but merely be of economic value to someone - I'll pay you all to help me beat up my neighbor's kids.
But if you worked for the post office for forty years, you don't deserve praise because you went to work every day and did a job. You and I both know that someone can do both those things, and nothing else but waste resources. You deserve praise because you made 5,000 people happier today, and kept 1000 more out of trouble, and helped keep 400 local businesses in operation. And you did THAT for forty years. Damn right that deserves dignity.
There's equal dignity in accomplishing things of worth to people via routes other than paid employment. Anyone who assists in any way in raising children, from making a playground safer to writing books to inspecting utilities to actually being a mother, father, or child care worker. Anyone who makes the lives of others around them easier or more rewarding. Volunteers. Off-the-grid workers. Good Samaritans.
But no one anywhere is going to tell me, or anyone else I know, that we need to have a BOSS in order to have DIGNITY. In fact, I'd argue that in many cases they're mutually exclusive.
valerief
(53,235 posts)