Working for the Living
We are all laborers in some way or another, but how did we get here? (An ode for Labor Day)
The labor industry we all currently find ourselves apart of was formed by the enslavement of millions of Africans. There was a high level of fear created by the diligent record-keeping, that ultimately created a productivity increase of 400% in 60 years. This was marked by the slave-owners as a gold mine. If the enslaved did not meet their daily quota, which was tracked and ranked, they were beaten. The level of scrutiny and violence occurring daily was ruthless and yet apparently deemed permissible by the colonizers’ standards.
Fast forward to 2020… what happens in today’s world that is seemingly violent, illegal, and an infringement of rights that is also deemed “permissible”? If you don’t do your job to your boss’s standard, will you be beaten? Probably not, but you will most likely lose that job. Do you often find yourself working overtime in all the micro-actions of email, communications, and emotional side work? Do you give yourself to work, for an hourly wage or yearly salary in order to pay for basic needs such as the roof over your head and health care?
In lieu of Labor Day, let us acknowledge that we have all been indoctrinated into a system of capitalism that uses our bodies and minds to produce. Regardless of the industry you are in, if capital is involved, your body and the work you do can be viewed as a resource. One of which you are paid for. How is that the trash collectors make minimum wage and entry-level software engineers make 104K/year? The gauge by which we measure value is completely offset. Trace the lines of power back to the beginning.
We are not in the dire circumstances we find ourselves in, here in 2020, by any sort of accident. This has been a long time coming; the gap between the poor and rich has been steadily growing since the 1970s with a shrinking middle class. The beginning of the labor movement as we know it formed back in 1794 through acts of collective empowerment and demands for better conditions and wages. In fact, a group of immigrant women formed one of, if not, the first labor union in the US, where they protested against dire work conditions and low wages. These women were apart of a large portion of refugees that were coming to “North America” fleeing famine and corruption in their homelands.
In other words, the factory owners, the cotton/textile entrepreneurs, and the slave owners, all took advantage of someone escaping death by offering them a crumb in exchange for their body/labor, which would then be seen as a resource to be extracted.
This is not the land of the free, this is the land of fighting for your freedom and getting a slice of something that represents freedom but does not come close to actually being free. We must remember how this land was stolen and colonized. It is imperative that we recall the history of how America was founded, as we move through this next generation of economic and social collapse, because yes, this has happened before. It can be helpful to remember that our ancestors have more than likely at some point or another had to fight for their freedom. You may have to go back a little bit further if everyone is your family is a white, straight, wealthy, able cis-man, but you get the point.
“It was an experiment in the pursuit of happiness, but it was in effect the pursuit of previously unimaginable affluence.” -Andrew Sullivan
In remembering that we are part of a greater cycle of humanity, evolution, and consciousness, we may be able to harness the powers we once used to repair our broken past and move forward as a society that truly values freedom for all. In addition to calling on those that have gone before us and fought similar fights, we may also benefit from zooming in and being able to witness the ways in which we are complicit and also underserved. For example, it is a common narrative to view racism as only damaging to people of color, which in turn can result in a relinquished understanding among Whites. However, Race was constructed quite, deliberately to divide the peoples and therefore fracture their collective power. Racism benefits no one but those seeing us as a means to their production based ends.
We are all being asked the question right now, “How do you want to respond?” The Climate Crisis, the Global Pandemic, Social Disenchantment, and the Racial Fight for Justice, are all giant invitations for the people of the world to get aboard the ship of progress; where you can let go of outdated ideologies, and use your innovative technology and whatever is left of your powerful souls, to take the fucking leap.
Remember you are a part of a whole, and your neighbor can teach you things, so listen and be kind.
This system is not working for you, you are working for the system.
