Disdain for the honest working person..

[walldude]

They work hard. That's what I keep hearing. Those CEO's, politicians, bankers, all think that they deserve what they get because they work so hard for it. I'm here to call bullshit. I say not one of these fuckers would last a day in my job.

When the Senate was bitching that they were hard at work in session on Saturday, there was a guy on my roof doing repairs in 7 degree weather. HE was WORKING. The snow fell all over the east coast, the people who stayed up all night plowing the roads, they were WORKING. They person making the donuts at 3am is WORKING. The person cleaning the CEO's office is WORKING. The person stocking my local grocer is WORKING.

Sitting behind a desk shuffling money around and skimming off the top is not WORKING it's ROBBERY. They produce nothing, they create nothing, they don't do a fucking thing but see how many more people they can steal from on a daily basis. And over the years they have developed a true disdain for honest people who actually WORK. They sit there and laugh at us for actually thinking you need to work to get paid. Used to be this country had an actual work ethic. The lower classes still do. And we counted on the Democrats to stand behind the people who work hard and try to build a secure life for their family. They have failed us miserably. Not only have they failed, but they seem... proud of it

They have shown us that they have joined the other side. They have shown their distain for us pretty clearly this week. And for some reason they and many of their supporters can't seem to fathom why we didn't get right in line to get screwed over again. People are tired of watching the rich and powerful live off of our money, off the sweat of our backs. For many the illusion that the Democrats were on their side was shattered when the people spoke very loudly and very clearly about our wants for a health care bill and we were told to SHUT THE FUCK UP. They sent a fucking army of losers out there to attempt to squash any dissent. Only they are so corrupt and so crooked that the best they could was tell us, you don't like it, tough shit.

Honest, hard working people. That's what this country is full of. Too bad our leaders have been up to their necks in their own bullshit for so long they wouldn't know an honest man if he came up and bit them on the ass.

[DJ13]

1. Big K&R

:kick:

[ixion]

2. kicked and recommended

just fyi... you should change "distain" to disdain. :)

[IndianaGreen]

3. Labor creates all wealth

K&R

:kick:

[Brickbat]

4. Right the fuck on.

Always with the bosses and the workers. Mr. Brickbat is a train engineer and was dealing with a derail the other night at 2 a.m. in below-zero weather with -30 windchills. The 20-something MBA-awarded manager who was hauled out of bed sat in the (running, heated) truck and whined about how harrrrd it was to be out and about at that hour.

BTW, it's "disdain." Other than that, right on.

[walldude]

5. Thanks man, spell check didn't get it I guess the other spelling has meaning as well

An Engineer? Damn man my kids would love you.

[Warpy]

7. Spel chek dont werk

in the title line.

[Kali]

15. it can

somebody posted how to set firefox to spell check all fields - I don't know where that post is, but I followed the instructions and now I have it in the title box!

[Brickbat]

29. No, no -- my husband!

:)

[Warpy]

6. I'm sure most of our jobs would have them

weeping and gibbering in a corner within the first half hour, I know mine would have. Nursing is not for the faint of heart and manicured of hand.

You know the world is completely wrong when the jobs where men with soft, clean hands who create paper profits for the unimaginably rich are paid enough to live like Sultans while the people on whom the survival of the species depends are paid little or nothing.

What these disdainful pricks never seem to realize is that their lives absolutely depend on all of us who break our backs (in my case literally) for less than it takes to live decently on. John Galt would dry up and die without all the people he considered to be wealth sucking parasites, while the world would never notice if he went on strike.

We need a national strike to remind them of that.

[walldude]

9. You know.. that's not a bad idea...

These idiots can't do anything for themselves. They'd be in deep shit if they didn't have us to cook their meals, fix their cars, build their houses, fly their corporate jets, and donate all our tax dollars to helping them when they need to replace those brass fixtures on their yacht with gold faucets.

[Leftist Agitator]

8. Not one of those lazy, corpulent fucks would last a day...

In the kitchen of the restaurant that I work in, particularly in August when it's about 120 degrees back there.

It's getting to the point where everytime I see someone who is obviously well-off, I want to physically harm them, just so they know what suffering is like.

They think they'd suffer without their goddamned multi-million dollar bonuses and their fucking golden parachutes. Give me ten minutes alone with any of these rich assholes, and they'd BEG ME to give up their bonuses and the like.

If this keeps up, violence against their number becomes inevitable, and not just from me.

[Warpy]

25. Nothing made me more furious than the shut up summer houses

on Cape Cod that were owned by the wealthy, huge pleasure palaces that stood empty 10 months of the year while the people who did all their work lived in shacks or their cars, some even in tents during the summer.

Even my right wing father admitted to me once that this country was pure genius when it came to creating wealth but utter idiot when it came to distributing it fairly.

[eridani]

40. You're wrong about the corpulence

The more money you have, the less you weigh. Personal trainers, chefs, well-appointed special rooms devoted to exercise equipment, etc. Hard physical work these days is way more likely to get you serious repetitive strain injuries than aerobic conditioning.

[Goldstein1984]

10. We hear so much about the Middle Class

and yet we never say "Lower Class." And we also avoid saying we have an "Upper Class."

I think it's because having lower and upper classes conflict with the American myth of equality.

We're part of a system designed to benefit the few at the expense of the many. The illusions upon which the system is built are beginning to break down.

With all the domestic concern over HCR, was anybody paying attention to Copenhagen this week? The oppression by government/police against citizens wanting to be heard; the "preemptive arrests"; the standing ovation given by representatives of poor countries to Hugo Chavez when he said the root cause of the world's problems are capitalism and imperialism...

People are waking up. I don't care about being Lower Class, but I'm tired of being parasitized by the Upper Class.

[tonysam]

12. Some people differentiate between "middle" class and "working" class,

but in this country it is a false distinction. There is in reality a tiny economic elite, and then there is everybody else. These two classes of people have different life experiences and different goals for this country.

Period.

[harmonicon]

18. a false distinction, but a meaningful and functional one.

It keeps people more subdued if they think they are middle class, and everyone is considered to be middle class. The only thing that seems to be lower is than that is homeless. The reality is that there is almost no middle class, but, as you suggest, a giant working class and the few elite.

In some countries, they still speak of a "working" class, but not the US. I think this is because of the very real disdain that the OP mentions. It is so ingrained that noone wants to be identified as lower or working class. I am poor, and I will always be poor. That's ok with me, but even here on DU I've had people tell me that I'm an idiot for having my degrees and doing what I do for a living because it won't make me money. Money rules all, even here.

I think these are the things that need to be discussed. The class war as been fought, and the ruling elite won, hands-down. Now, instead of complaining about it, I think we have to discuss how and why we lost, and what we can do about climbing out from this social and linguistic hole we're trapped in.

[Goldstein1984]

20. Both of your replies makes good points

Categories don't work very well, they're imperfect.

I think a very good pair of categories is just "Elite" and "Working Class"

The problem is, the Working Class would include a bunch of wannabee elites buying into the American Dream.

In the end, maybe the best distinction is just between those who support a system run by elites and those who don't.

The real enemy is "Them" and those of "Us" who support a system that keeps "Them" in power.

Which leaves the question: How do we organize "Us" for action against "Them?"

[harmonicon]

24. I think unifying that "us" is the first important step.

I think this distinction that you suggest is real, but also a big part of the problem. Many people buy into this "american dream"; they are really convince that somehow - through magic, maybe - they will at one time be incredibly wealthy, so they don't want to pay taxes, because those taxes would benefit the poor (and the poor are bad).

It's not a nice thing to say, but most people need to understand that they will never be well off - they will be fucked for life, unless they start working socially and politically to make changes that are needed. One of these changes that needs to happen is the end of racism. Racism has always existed for economic reasons. It serves to keep the poor divided against themselves. It may not on the surface seem like an economic issue, but it is a huge one. For all of the hatred that I see toward Obama's policies around here lately (I share them, but I always have - I haven't been surprised by anything he's done), I think his election is a very good thing, if only it changes the future outlook of many white children. If they see that the most elite of the elite is a black man, that may change the way they interact with others in their daily lives.

[walldude]

26. Hmmm, I don't think that most people have a need to be wealthy

I know money is not high on my list of priorities. I think most people just want to be able to pay their bills, get their kids a decent education and have a bit left over for vacations and the like. They just want to not have to worry about whether to buy medicine or food.

I agree about racism, although I think we have come quite a long way. Still have a long way to go but as generations pass racism will as well. My parents were good people and raised me right. I have tried to do the same for my kids and they seem to not even notice color, to them a kid is a kid whatever color they are.

[harmonicon]

27. I wish I agreed

Money isn't high on my list of priorities, but it is for others, even here on DU. People seem to care an awful lot about status symbols and possessions that make them feel safe and worthwhile - new cars, big TVs, other crap technology, big lawns and lawn-care things, etc. If people didn't care about money, why is it mentioned all of the time? It especially gets thrown-about when talking about higher education - future revenue as the reason for receiving an education. In my experience that's just complete crap - it's people with well connected families who get the high paying jobs.... sure, they have to get a degree to justify it, but it doesn't really have anything to do with what they're doing. For others, it can be like a trade school to help them get skills so that MORE (but probably not higher paying) jobs are open to them. However, for the vast majority of people, education is - functionally - only for self betterment. I don't think that's a bad thing. I think it's a good thing.

[StarfarerBill]

31. I like the IWW's definition of the working class:

Basically, anyone who doesn't have the power to hire or fire a fellow worker. I think this would include the self-employed who don't exploit others' labor.

[Goldstein1984]

35. Good definition

I'm thinking of all the people I work with, and all those I have over the years, and, with some exceptions, the IWW definition does a good job.

[walldude]

39. Works for me too...

[Greyhound]

23. The upper classes are parasites and they know it.

They just work at hiding their nature and too many of their victims agree with them.

[Goldstein1984]

36. If they are parasites...

and I think they are, the I guess the political class are parasites on parasites.

Regardless, we have to find a way to change all of this.

I can't think of any painless way to do it.

[tonysam]

11. Congress typically "works"

2 1/2 days a week, and no, they don't always come out to see their constiuents the rest of the time.

[walldude]

13. ?? What does that mean?

[G_j]

14. right on!

[harmonicon]

16. sure, I agree, but this is nothing new.

For god's sake, the country was founded by slave owners. The distinction doesn't get much more clear than that. As long as those people are revered, this thought process you outline is entrenched in the country.

The only way I can see to change it is through voting, but when elections come up on this board, I've seen a million people (ok, not a million, but thousands, and that can be extrapolated to millions across the country) say that they won't vote for the person who cares about them, because others won't, and they would rather have the person win who's going to fuck them with a broom stick than the person who's going to fuck them with a broom stick with nails sticking out of it win the election.

Some of these people rationalize this thought with fairy-tale dreams that their chosen broom-stick fucker is really a liberal in disguise who will - once elected - become what they would like them to be, and not the person they've shown themselves to be historically.

[walldude]

17. You are not going to get change through voting till campaign finance is reformed

Period. There is no possibility to debate this. It's a fact. Until we pull the corporate money out of the government even elections are useless. Bad or worse. That's not a vote, it's the lesser of two evils.

[harmonicon]

19. but that just leads to circular reasoning.

It's the people we elect who can change campaign financing. I also don't think that that is the only way to change things. I think instant runoff voting (any runoff voting, but definitely instant runoff voting, because of the speed and ease of it) would do a lot to change things. While it would take a constitutional change to implement this for federal elections, it could be done for other elections, and for primaries, where I think it would make the biggest difference for the time being.

All of that said, there are still those who get through with the system we have now. People may disagree about who they are, but I think there are some elected officials who really speak for some people. For myself, I see a lot of my own political ideals espoused by Howard Dean, Dennis Kucinich, and Bernie Sanders. However, you're right that I've never had the chance in my Michigan congressional district to vote for anyone like one of them for Governor, House Rep., or Senator, but I guess it can happen.

[walldude]

22. Well we like the same people...

I don't think it's "circular reasoning" though, more like a Catch 22. We need enough votes to change the law but we can't get enough votes until the law is changed. Sucks. Although with the new story about the banks going into the insurance business I think the backlash is about to get even worse.

[Greyhound]

21. I've made this point numerous times in the past and it always ends in the same way.

The blindly bigoted defend the devaluation of their fellows as "unskilled", thus justifying their own theft.

[Gman2]

28. This smacks of class envy, and the truth.

[StarfarerBill]

32. For those who wish to become part of the exploiting classes, that's true.

For the rest of us it's not envy, but resentment of the exploitation and having the fruits of our labor taken away.

"Labor is entitled to all it creates."

[walldude]

34. Envious of lazy greedy bloodsuckers... uh... no

Just pissed off when they are given my money and then I'm told to shut the fuck up.

[glitch]

37. If you don't know any elites rent the movie "Reversal of Fortune"

You'll see soon enough there is nothing there to envy. Or think about actually being George Bush. :scared:

[ShortnFiery]

30. Oh yeah, your words ring true.

[asdjrocky]

33. And complete and total disdain for the people that would give anything to be working.

When I hear them going on about working over Christmas vacation or coming in on the weekend I can't help but think of all the Fathers and Mothers out there who would love the chance to be working right now.

And to call this work hard, with their catered lunches -better than anything a lot of us will ever have- and their in house services such as doctor, nurse, and just about anything else you can imagine.

They are the House of Lords who do the bidding of the true Ruling Class. Makes me want to puke.

[readmoreoften]

38. K n R. Tony Soprano works hard too.