16 Aug 2021, 6:36 am
Something Profound wrote:
Mountain Goat wrote:
The governments take on equality is to subdue the majority or the stronger and promote the weaker at their expense.
...
At the risk of jumping into a rabbit hole of highly sensitive subjects, I think first we must clarify why "The majority" is stronger and why "The minority" is weaker.
This seems like a good place for discriminatory and/or prejudicial assumptions to begin. If you assume one group is superior, in any way, to another group, you of course are going to have a belief that exerts a bias. We are all guilty of it, but you can adjust for such assumptions.
So let us get rid of that notion. Then we have a suggestion that the government is promoting one group over another group.
Why?
Well, if we look back at the previous assumption, which is that one group was "stronger," it may be because that group, with it's assumed privilege, may have been exerting undue, unwarranted, and unnecessary unfair treatment towards the other group because of a perceived deficiency. If this is true (Which we can see quite obviously it is, inherently because the statement of "stronger majority" vs "weaker minority" implies it's existence) then the government intervening on the behalf of one group to make sure they get fair treatment is required.
Why does the government need to intervene? Because we can see what happens WITHOUT government intervention. Discriminatory practices become rampant, and inequality becomes systemic.
It is kinda like having a Parent tell the naughty kid that they are not allowed to kick the other child. Both children are just that: children. But one clearly wanted to do something unkind to the other, and if the parent did not intervene, the naughty kid would still be kicking the other child on the ground.
That doesn't mean either child is superior, stronger, better... it just means one decided to take advantage of the other for <insert stupid reason here>.
Now, when a person who is racist/sexist/ableist/classist (most likely the latter, but quite likely all four) is told "Do not be unfair to black people/women/disabled/poor people, and that person happens to have the monetary power to exert influence, do you think they are going to be honest with you about WHY they are told to behave? Do you think they are going to *actually* behave?
We can go back to the naughty boy and the abused child. The Parent says to the naughty one that he can't harm the other child, and has to sit in time out. The Naughty boy doesn't accept that their actions are the reason for why they are receiving punishment. Instead, the naughty boy starts to say mean, nasty things to the abused child and vows that when he gets out of time out, and the parent's back is turned, he will beat the child again. He will also tell all his friends that the abused child is a whinging tattletale, and the abused child may suffer abuse from other people because of this word-of-mouth social ostracization.
Going back to our real world adult analog, the Business Owner who has been told by the government to treat worker's fairly isn't going to just sit by and accept this rule kindly. Sure, he will hire a woman. The woman will be so out of their depth and unqualified that they can justify keeping them at the low wages, and if they do fire them they get to check the box that says "Hired a female employee this quarter" AND they get to complain that "Women are incompetent." Not because they actually are, but because they created the scenario that allowed it to fail.
Meanwhile YOU are the bully cohort. You are angry that your job was taken by a woman. So the Business owner says to you, "See? Just like women to want to get a job they aren't qualified for. Remember in the good days when women stayed at home to cook the meals? No trouble for good ole boys like you then! But NO! The Government says I have to hire these dainty women to do a man's job. Doesn't that make your blood boil?"
And it does. You are so mad at women and the government for something that is actually the fault of the bully's, the racists, the sexists, the ableists, and the classists, that you overlook the WHY and only focus on how it affects you.
And again, instead of being mad at the business owner, who could hire both of you if he really wanted (And rarely is there a case where this is not possible), you are blaming the wrong person for the wrong that the business owner did to you.
U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson had a famous quote that goes:
"If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you.”
That is what is happening here. You are so busy being angry at women because the business owner gave you a reason to be angry, that you forgot the fact that it was the Business owner who didn't hire you.
It wasn't just that that made my blood boil to be honest. I was more dissapointed then angry. I tend to get depressed and think of myself as worthless etc rather then angry.
I worked there at that place on and off for about seven years. The off periods were where I had to quit when I had burnout. I found out that though I had proper payslips, only the last year or two I was on the books. I also was first employed for 20 hours a week where I was told if I worked hard and there was enough trade that it would turn into full time. I worked exceptionally hard but with the extra trade and revenue earned they employed another part time person. They kept re-employing me each time (Usually after two years) I handed in my notice after starting to burn out, but this was after the first year they employed another... And to show how much work I was doing. Well. Later they had me on a seven hour a week and then when I threatened to leave they quickly had me on a 12 hour contract a week. Now when on those low hours I actually did more work each week for them at less pay in my 40's then I did where I first worked for another place and was doing 40 hours a week, as they kept pushing and pushing for more.
And why was I on such low pay? Because I had to start an hour early and we were not paid that hour, and I had to finish hours late with out being paid for those hours and this was daily (When they found out I had no choice to keep the job they spread my official hours thinly so I was working every day of the week most weeks, and if not six days a week), and on official days off they had me work overtime, so I ended up being owed 500 hours pay which I never had every six months or so... It was why I kept burning out. I eventually handed in my notice as the pay I was getting as they never had the budget to pay my overtime despite the shop making over 80K a week in sales and most of the products had over 1000% profit margins due to EU grant aid to help large companies compete with small shops, and I eventually left because the cost to get to work and back was the same as my monthly wage so I was unable to continue working. I was treated as a slave by the other employees. I found out after I left that I was on commission (No one had told me that) and every job I did was entered by a certain sales staff into the till. (I thought it strange that I was not allowed to use their tills as I had been fully till trained in past jobs and even had higher retail qualifications and experience then most working there). I later found out that certain employees new cars like a rally prepared Skoda 4x4 and a brand new carbon fibre bicycle each year (I could not afford that) were paid for by the bonuses of the work I had done. It was commission I was supposed to have had. And every time the area manager came I was told not to come into work. I did not know why. I later found out that it was because I was never officialy on their books.
I eventually got to meet him as we had just broken the record for the number of bike sales in a day in the whole history of the company of all the stores they ever had and our store was half the size of some of them. When I did go to ask him why I was not paid all the overtime I was owed he turned and walked off quickly and did not say a word to me. I am not sure if he had not heard me as he was focussed on leaving or if he didn't have time to talk?
Sure I was not too pleased. At least he gave me a mini marsbar for helping the store gain the record as he must have had quite a bonus himself. I liked the marsbar.
I later worked for the same company but in another store and I was officially on their books and it was like working in a different world, but by then I was soo mentally hard hit that the damage had been done and past memories had me hit burnout after burnout, and when I hit burnout, it hit hard. So hard that the last one left me almost physically dissabled as once I had to teach myself how to walk again as it had gone from my memory. It was the last time I worked. Not been able to work since. No ones fault. Just life I guess.
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