The Moral Underground: How Ordinary Americans Subvert an Unfair Economy

[marmar]

from YES! Magazine:




The Moral Underground: How Ordinary Americans Subvert an Unfair Economy
All around you are everyday heroes who refuse to be complicit in the economic mistreatment of other people.

by Lisa Dodson
posted Mar 18, 2011


Bea, a manager at a big-box chain store in Maine, likes to keep a professional atmosphere in the store. But with a staff struggling to get by on $6 to $8 an hour, sometimes things get messy. When one of her employees couldn’t afford to buy her daughter a prom dress, Bea couldn’t shake the feeling that she was implicated by the injustice. “Let’s just say ... we made some mistakes with our prom dress orders last year,” she told me. “Too many were ordered, some went back. It got pretty confusing.” And Edy? “She knocked them dead” at the prom.

Andrew, a manager in a large food business in the Midwest, told me about the moral dilemma of employing people who can’t take care of their families even though they are working hard. This was something that he couldn’t pretend was okay. He came to the decision to “do what can” even at the risk of being accused of stealing. “I pad their paychecks because you can’t live on what they make. I punch them out after they have left for a doctor’s appointment or to take care of someone ... And I give them food to take home....”

Ned, who works in a chain grocery store, detours some of the “product” that doesn’t quite pass muster—dented cans, not-quite-fresh produce—to his low-wage employees. “I guess you could say I make the most of that,” he said. “I make the most of it. I don’t see it as a scam. It’s not for me, it’s for them. ... At the end of the month ... that’s all they have.”

Paycheck inequalities
Today, one in four U.S. workers earns less than $9 an hour—about $19,000 per year. Thirty-nine percent of the nation’s children live in low-income households. And African-American and Latino families are much more likely to be poor or low-income and are less likely to have assets or home equity to offset low wages.

Between 2001 and 2008, I spoke with hundreds of lower- and middle-income people about the economy, work, schools, health care, and what they saw happening around them. When this research began, I was focusing on parents in low-wage families, documenting their accounts of working, being poor, and trying to keep children safe. But that changed when I spoke with Jonathan, a middle-aged “top manager” in a chain of grocery stores in the Midwest. I was asking him about the stresses of running a business that employed lots of low-wage parents. He acknowledged there were plenty. I was getting toward the end of the interview and he seemed to sense that, so he stopped me and asked, “Don’t you want to know what this is doing to me, too?” ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.yesmagazine.org/happiness/the-moral-underground

[LeftofObama]

1. Wonderful article!

Thanks for posting it!

[undeterred]

2. People closer to the bottom care

but the higher you go up the food chain, the less empathy there is.

[mimitabby]

3. this makes me sad

because I know the people they quoted in the article are the exceptions, not the rule

[Maru Kitteh]

7. most low-level managers are just getting by themselves and can't afford to lose their jobs

either.

Noble intentions aside, the first two are definitely stealing. The first one could probably even be prosecuted and it seems almost certain the first two would be fired. Company policy would determine the whether there's a problem with the third one I imagine.

It's not like a supervisor in a grocery store is rich or anything. They need to keep their jobs and feed their families too.

[blurp]

8. Stealing?

We already use the democratic process to take from the haves and give to the have-nots. What's wrong with that? These stories are nearly the same thing.

[wickerwoman]

9. They're really not.

Taxes are not "taking from the haves and giving to the have nots"- that's a Republican meme to justify not paying them. Taxes are each of us supporting the society that enables our success at a level appropriate to our means.

And taxing Bill Gates to fund a homeless shelter isn't the same as stealing a dress so your employee's daughter can go to prom.

I applaud managers who give food or other things that were going to be thrown out anyway to employees but taking things that would otherwise be sold *is* stealing.

And I even think stealing can be justified when it fulfills a dire need, such as when you or your children would starve otherwise. But going to the prom doesn't count. And there's no "but I was stealing from an asshole" defense in court either. Society doesn't work if we all feel free to take whatever we want whenever we want it and screw everyone else. And the response to ammoral CEOs isn't to throw morality out the window ourselves.

[tavalon]

11. Wickerwoman?

You're name sounds pagan. Pagans often understand nuance. I rarely see such black and white thinking from the pagans I know. Perhaps your name just means that you are a maker of baskets?

Society doesn't work? Actually, just as it is, society doesn't work. The oligarchs have stolen so much that perhaps many of us no longer care to play by their rules. Certainly, each of us must decide what is moral and what is not within our own framework.

I know of no way of retrieving or, as you put it, stealing the money that Wall Street stole from you and me, but if I did, I would, and I wouldn't lose a bit of sleep. To each according to their need, from each according to their ability.

Robin Hood lives in the hearts of many. I know he does in mine.

[socialist_n_TN]

15. Yep, I agree. One way or another, they stole it from us...........

I have no problem stealing it back. Now, obviously it would be a different circumstance if it were a small, barely getting by, Mom and Pop, but from a large, big box store? I'd have no problem at all with it.

Hell, I'd even go so far as to advocate (if it could be done safely) stealing large caches of foodstuffs, say truckloads, and distributing them to the people. THAT'S how much of a "Robin Hood" type I am.

[tavalon]

16. May the Moral Underground win this class war!

[txlibdem]

46. From your lips...

When the sociopaths make the rules and have the power to either enforce the rules or look the other way when said rules are broken by the rich, our society is and has been for decades truly dead.

Drug kingpins have nothing on the wealthy CEOs and members of the board for their record of ruined lives and blood on their hands. Everything they've ever had and all that they have today is a product of a system of "legal" thievery. They stole or conned someone out of all the ill gotten gains they are swimming in today. Take it back!

Viva La (whatever we're calling it; Robin Hood/Moral Underground) hopefully the majority!

[Myrina]

18. +1000

:applause:

[wickerwoman]

28. I understand the nuance, do you?

As I said, I'm fine with people stealing things that they *need*- medicine, food, etc. A two hundred dollar dress so you can go to prom is not a "need". There's lots of things that would make me happy or improve my self-esteem (gourmet foodie stuff, books, DVDs, clothes, make-up) and hey, big stores sell them. And all big stores are evil and connected to Wall Street crashing the real estate market right? (Talk about lack of nuance!) So it's fine for me to just steal whatever I want because some nebulous entity out there "stole" from me and by God I'm going to get my piece of the pie back?

Screw that. I prefer to go without. Yes, I'm a pagan. I make things instead of buying them. I reject mass consumer culture, trying to take only what I *need*. If I can't afford a prom dress, I get over myself and come up with something fun, free and inclusive that I can do with my friends. If someone steals from me, I turn the other cheek (or curse them and then get on with my life). Other people's immorality is not a license for me to throw my own moral compass out the window.

On edit: and what do you think the real result of your "Robin Hoodism" is going to be? You're not going to crash Walmart because you stole a dress. But you might get some people fired because shrink is too high in that store. At least part of the purchase price is going to people in the factories making whatever you stole. How do you justify taking from them?

[tavalon]

38. I do agree that the prom dress was a bad example to use

But I see this article as being heartening. Our society needs to be evened out again and I would prefer that to be done bloodlessly. Things like a Moral Underground give me hope that it could happen. I used to be a huge believer that we needed revolution with blood in the streets. Then, I learned enough history to realize that that kind of revolution almost always ends with something worse in its place. So I was against revolution. Now, the circle has turned again and I am in favor of revolution, but the kind that Ghandi and every other non violent leader advocated and practiced. We saw the glimmers in Wisconsin. And I see the glimmers in the Moral Underground.

This empire is ending. It will happen slow or fast and when it does, I want the Moral Underground to ascend and economic equality to be our new king.

[wickerwoman]

39. I find it heartening too.

It absolutely infuriates me to read about things like McDonalds managers pouring bleach on unused food in their dumpsters to prevent people taking it or refusing the give away food at closing time. I found that kind of meanness really depressing (see also designing park benches so people can't sleep on them and refusing to build and maintain public toilets). I think the US should look at squatters rights in other countries (like the UK) to do something about the appalling epidemic of homelessness and misery next to hundreds of thousands of empty houses.

It's great that there are people out there happy to act like human beings and put people before property where they can (and within certain moral boundaries).

But I also don't think we can throw out the categorical imperative (only do those things which it would be possible for everybody to do). Nor can we let the ends justify the means.

I need $15,000 to build an extension to my parents' bathroom so when my dad needs a wheelchair, he can have a roll-in shower. This is a nice and noble thing to do but if I don't have the money, I don't have the right to rob a bank for it, do I? What do I do when a security guard tries to stop me? Do I have a right to injure or kill him so that I can continue to do the nice and noble thing I'm trying to do for my dad (a vet, whose disabilities are service related)? Of course not. And the same is true on a smaller scale. Just because it's a lovely thing to do to give a poor girl a prom dress, doesn't make it OK to steal the dress.

Anyway, babbling on. I'm glad there's a Moral Underground too. I just agree the first interviewee isn't a great poster-child for it. And I worry that people might mistake this kind of thing for constructive action. We'll only change the system by changing the system, not by small scale, invisible, individual revenges but by advocating en masse and out in the open for justice and equality.

[LiberalLovinLug]

45. I got the impression that it was more of a "Borrow" than a "Steal"

Which is still a little shady, but from what I understood from the article, which I might be wrong about, the manager ordered too many of the same dresses purposely to cover tracks later. Then the employees daughter "borrowed" one of the surplus dresses making sure not to spill punch on it, and then returned it in good condition, where it was added to the other surplus dresses and sent back.
:shrug:
Hey, as long as it could be re-purposed, I got no problem with it.

[Missy Vixen]

25. The prom is typically the most anticipated event for a female in high school next to graduation.

The person that ordered (and "lost") the dress knows more about that family's situation than you ever will.

There's a million reasons why the manager in question decided to do what she did. I'd like to think that she knew that going to the prom was a pretty big deal for a teenage girl who lives in poverty. Maybe she's sick. Maybe her mom is sick. We'll never know, will we?

Edited to mention: I went to the prom. My parents couldn't afford a dress. Luckily for me, my dad's cousin's wife and I were the same size, and she loved the Gunne Sax (dating myself for sure,) maxi dresses so popular during that time. Several of the neighbors came over to fix my hair, do my makeup and ooh and ahhh when I was all ready to go. I felt like a princess.

[wickerwoman]

27. I didn't go to prom.

My family couldn't afford the dress either, let alone the ticket price, the big meal, photos, etc.

And somehow, sixteen years later, I'm still alive. I got over it. So would she have done.

I appreciate that it is a big deal for some people, but the fact that you really, really want something still doesn't constitute a license to steal it.

I would have been pissed if my parents had stolen a dress for me so I could go to prom.

As I said before, if she or her mom is sick and they need to steal medicine or food, that's fine with me. But stealing so she can go to prom? She needs to get over herself. Life is full of things that make you feel like a princess but that you can't quite afford. I can't afford make-up. Can I go steal some? I own literally three sets of clothes and two pairs of shoes. Can I go steal some more because it makes me feel special and important? I can't afford to go to the movies and I really need to relax. Can I steal some DVDs? All companies are evil and they won't even notice...

[Missy Vixen]

31. So nice you've decided what that family needs or should have

without any information to base your decision on besides a magazine article.

I'm happy to learn that you "got over it". You have NO idea what is going on in that family or in that young girl's life. What's more, you've made it clear you don't care to know.

The manager in question had a reason for what she did. Courting the possibility of losing her job over it must have ensured a fairly compelling argument.

[wickerwoman]

32. Everyone has a "reason" for what they do.

Maybe it was even a good reason. That still doesn't make stealing moral. We can all come up with justifications for all kinds of awful shit that we could potentially do. But they're still only justifications. I really need a job so I can help pay my parents medical bills. And to get a job I really need make-up and a better wardrobe and I need to know more about wine so I can keep up with the "good ole boys" network and my textbooks for this semester cost almost $800... So then do I "need" to steal cognac and face cream and $400 heels?

Unless she was using the prom dress to stop the blood flow from a gaping arterial wound, I'm afraid I still can't see how a prom dress is a need and not a want. Maybe her life is really, really shitty. Maybe the dress made her feel wonderful. I'm not disputing either of those possibilities. But lots of people have really, really shitty lives and deserve to feel wonderful. And none of that makes stealing acceptable.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

40. Sure doesn't sound like you got over it.

[wickerwoman]

43. Oh please.

I'm 34 and I'd be hard pressed to find something less relevant to my life now than whether or not I went to prom.

My broke friends and I went to the beach, had a bonfire, and threw our own awesome, memorable party for about $10 each and I'll put that experience up against anybody else's prom memories any day of the week. You don't have to spend hundreds of dollars on someone else's idea of a "coming of age" ritual and feeling like you do is just another symptom of the poisonous American fixation on conspicuous consumption.

[shanti]

30. like wickerwoman

i didn't go to prom either, and i survived. prom is a want, not a need. that said, i understand why the manager did it.

[Pathwalker]

33. We have a thing called "Rebecca's Closet" every year in Lansing, Mi.

Women are asked to donate their gently used prom dresses at a local church, or business. A local dry cleaning company cleans them all free of charge, and then a local mall opens a store for 2 days, and sets it up so that any young girl needing a prom dress can get one for FREE. It's always a huge success and greatly appreciated, at least according to the news reports.

[Missy Vixen]

35. We have something similar here

In the past, we had the disposable income to donate a brand-new dress as well.

The girl in question is not going to die if she doesn't get to go to the prom, but it's not up to me to decide she can "do without" the prom, a graduation ceremony, etcetera. I was lucky enough to borrow a dress to wear when I was asked.

I keep wondering what it was the parent's manager knew that caused her to produce a brand-new dress for this young woman.

[tavalon]

10. I hope you're wrong

I do know that admitting to these soul enhancing efforts could lead to one losing one's job or being harassed by the IRS, so if someone like me or you or all of us were to do these sorts of things, they would probably have to be on the QT, wouldn't you think? I would think that if we even discussed it we would frame it in a way that made it seem as though we weren't really talking about ourselves, right? I'm just thinking out loud, here.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

4. Excellent! Posted to FAcebook

and I wrote Yes mag a quick e-mail, because they need to know, their Logo-pic looks AWFUL!! Like a cheezy marketing come-on (it's a close up of a water bottle you get if you buy a subscription.)

With good articles like this, they need to NOT subvert their message with poor visual communication.

[abelenkpe]

5. K&R please read

This story made my day. Thanks for posting!

[femrap]

6. Thanks for posting....

glad to hear there are some kind-hearted people out there who want to help.

Lately, I have been overwhelmed with the feeling that our nation is completely bankrupt....financially, morally, intellectually, emotionally.....just completely broke....like Humpty Dumpty.

[tavalon]

12. Until the recent events in Wisconsin and a few other stellar states,

I would have wholeheartedly agreed with you. Certainly, I believe that describes far too many who believe they are our rulers.

Moral Underground. I really like that label.

[Zanzoobar]

13. Revolting.

[marmar]

14. Selfdelete

nt

[tavalon]

17. Yeah, it is a form of revolution!

Nonviolent revolution. I'm glad you are able to see this as the highest expression of human spirit in this daunting atmosphere of creeping fascism and class war.

[Myrina]

19. Oh, you don't think the people at the top of the chain do the same?

Take 'leftovers' (from just about any industry), but instead of giving them to the lowest-paid in their companies, give it to their cronies or their cronies' kids who already have the income to buy what they want/need?

Take off the rose colored glasses.

[Zanzoobar]

20. They are no less revolting.

I find it abhorent.

[socialist_n_TN]

21. And another member of the Sheriff of Nottingham's.....

posse heard from! :)

[TheKentuckian]

22. Revolted that dented cans and ready to expire food is redirected to those with nothing

or that people work all day and need some rejects from work to make it?

[Javaman]

23. Next comes the blackmarket...

Not that I'm against it, but it's the natural progression of things.

Subversion is a good thing sometimes, but when it becomes organized, well...

[Missy Vixen]

24. I seem to remember someone here incensed about doctors who might

fill out an insurance form with a different diagnosis code to help out an underinsured patient he or she knows is struggling get their treatment covered. I was told that doctor was LYING, it was INSURANCE FRAUD, and they deserved to have the book thrown at them.

Let's face it, these little "mistakes" make our grocery bills a little higher, etcetera, but I understand why the people involved do what they are doing. The world is not always black and white.

[colsohlibgal]

26. Empathy

Most people have at least some of it. Some people have a good bit of it, as these stories illustrate. For ome though....it's MIA.

Lets look at the Banksters who brought about the collapse of Wall Street and so many public pension plans. They tended to bail with 500 million or so while ordinary taxpayers have to bail out Wall Street. And yet, I've seen several of these types interviewed and they see nothing wrong with this picture, it's stunning, empathy is nonexistent with the Oligarchy/Ruling Class.

What is cool is that there are some wealthy people who do have significant empathy but...just not enough of them.

An unraveling is underway now, it's hard to see at this point which way it will break though.

[Snoutport]

29. thanks for sharing nt

[lumberjack_jeff]

34. Excellent article.

Seeing and reacting to injustice is hardwired into most mammals. "Work ethic" on the other hand is an entirely social construct. When the latter conflicts with the former, it loses. As it should.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAFQ5kUHPkY

[socialist_n_TN]

36. Expropriation, in all it's forms, big and small,...

has a long revolutionary history. :)

[CrispyQ]

37. I love this part:

But there is also a parallel story, the one about resistance. It is a new chapter in the proud history of how people will refuse to go along with economic abuse—and not just the few heroes we recall. Heroes alone don’t shift the ground. Deep change comes only when regular people start naming what is happening, talking to one another, and, inevitably, some of them decide that they can’t accept such injustice. Occasionally, they move a nation.

~emphasis added

Great article.

[Solly Mack]

41. ...

Excellent!

[whoneedstickets]

42. This has been studied, see James Scott's "Weapons of the Weak"

http://www.amazon.com/Weapons-Weak-Everyday-Peasant-Resistance/dp/0300036418

[BrklynLiberal]

44. K and R!

[LarryNM]

47. There isn't any Stealing taking place in these stories

These are managerial decisions being made. If they were doing the opposite we would not have this tempest in a teapot about "stealing", it would be all "business" as usual in this corrupt system and none of them would be fired much less charged with a crime, only promotions.