Roger and All of us who are living high on the hog
Ever notice that back in the 1800's we measured success by the cuts of
pig we could afford? High on the hog told the listener that the
person being discussed was doing right well. Probably he was
"bringing home the Bacon". Of course we did admit that you can't make
a silk purse out of a Sow's ear.
And my grandma Ludwig used to tell us, "In a pig's eye", suggesting
that whatever we were begging her for, was not going to happen.
Anyway, about this idea that we Working Class folk have been bought
off in order to keep us from tossing the greedy overlords out on their
bum. I would suggest that all things are relative. Sure, we American
workers do have a much higher standard of living than most folks
around the globe. But we never compare ourselves to the less
fortunate. Unless we say, "There, but for the grace of God, go I".
Or like the elderly client of mine, who still had some sight and a bit
of hearing, "Thank God I'm not a cripple...like Him!" as she whirled
and pointed her boney old finger in my chest. But by and large we are
busy "keeping up with the Jone's". We tend to compare ourselves with
those up the ladder a few rungs. While I do what I can to promote a
higher standard of living for workers around the world, I can't recall
ever saying, "Boy, am I glad I'm better off than they are". Back in
my days in the drapery factory, I always worked on the boss to raise
up the wages of my fellow workers. If I could get my helpers up to
something close to my wage, then it was much easier to negotiate a
raise for yours truly.
But that's another story for another day.
In fact, we Working Class Americans are coming closer and closer to
rising up against the oppressive Corporate Lords. We see the
difference between what our hard work and sweat brings to our tables
and how great a difference that is compared to the overloaded tables
of the Ruling Class. That's what will bring this uprising to a head.
Greed! The Ruling Class can't stop grabbing everything in sight.
Sharing is a sign of weakness to them. Just listen to the muttering
when Obama talks about "compromise". Compromise is not a term
understood by those holding sway. Success is in terms of control and
possessions. If they can't get everything you andd I own, they must
control it.
Most of us working class Americans know that we are far off and away
better situated than our counterparts in other Lands.
What we have not agreed upon is what we should do about it. Should we
work to raise up the standard of living for all workers of the world?
Maybe do what FDR did for the working class in this nation, make life
more tolerable for a period of time. But see where that is headed?
Bite by bite the Masters are gobbling up those hard fought benefits.
Perhaps we'd be better off putting our heads together and coming up
with a plan that will retire the current overlords and put in place a
Peoples Government
One thing is for certain, if we continue doing nothing, things will get worse.
Carl Jarvis
On 3/31/15, Roger Loran Bailey <rogerbailey81@aol.com> wrote:
> The living standards of the American working class are a good deal
> higher than the standards of living for much of the international
> working class. It should be remembered that this is maintained through
> the exploitation of workers in other parts of the world. The former
> Maoist International movement declared that there is no revolutionary
> potential in the American working class because it has been bought off
> by keeping its standards of living high on the backs of the working
> class elsewhere. I would not go that far, but they did see one very
> clear way that the class struggle is kept damped down in this country
> for the time being at least.
>
> On 3/31/2015 4:16 PM, Carl Jarvis wrote:
>> Hi Miriam,
>> Long ago I learned that reading about, or even watching films about
>> living conditions and customs in other Lands did not even come close
>> to first hand experience. So no, I don't really know what it would be
>> like to live under those conditions, especially trying to work to
>> survive. But I know enough that I would never say our oppressed
>> working class is in as desperate conditions as Palestinians. My
>> experiences are from the slums and ghettos around Seattle, San
>> Francisco, Los Angeles and our own Third World, the Clallam
>> reservations. None of these disadvantaged people come close to the
>> suffering in many parts of the world. But if we say that the under
>> privileged in America are so much better off because they are not
>> being beaten, gunned down or forced to live in the garbage dumps, we
>> would be missing the whole point. As long as we have Masters, we can
>> be assured of one thing. We will always be controlled by our Masters,
>> and they will continue to become more and more abusive. Israel is a
>> good example. But we can also turn to our own indigenous people, the
>> American Indian. Any way, I didn't set out to compare one oppression
>> with another. All oppression has to be stamped out before the people
>> of the world can live in peace. And I don't see that happening any
>> day soon.
>> Frankly, I can't begin to imagine trying to exist in Israel as a
>> Palestinian. Nor can I imagine trying to survive as a field hand in a
>> plantation cotton field. I think of the people being held and
>> tortured under inhumane conditions for years, and I honestly can't
>> believe I'd survive. I listened to Mitchell this morning on Democracy
>> Now, as he tried to explain the complexities. He was firm in his
>> belief that cutting the funding of Israel would not force them to
>> negotiate a settlement with Palestine. Nor would Palestine comply if
>> we cut off their funding. This surprised me, since I did not know
>> that we are funding them. But he went on to say that neither side
>> trusts the leaders of the other side. So we all sit around playing
>> games while Israel continues to gobble up Palestine's land.
>> And by claiming the problem is too complex, Israel wins. And the
>> American Empire also wins. And despite whether or not I understand
>> just how wretched it is for the Palestinians, life gets no better for
>> them.
>>
>> Carl Jarvis
>> On 3/31/15, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@optonline.net> wrote:
>>> Carl,
>>>
>>> I have to say that given all of the books and articles I've been reading
>>> about what life is like in 2015 for the Palestinians, as opposed to what
>>> life is like for most Americans, the difference is a difference in kind,
>>> and
>>> not just in degree. I'm not minimizing what low and middle income
>>> Americans
>>> are experiencing. But I think that perhaps you don't have a real idea of
>>> what life is like for Palestinians. And it's no accident that you don't.
>>> You
>>> won't encounter detailed descriptions in the media nor in all of the
>>> books
>>> available on BARD. You will encounter a watered down view from the
>>> American/Israeli viewpoint. If you weren't so busy, I'd send you some
>>> material privately, off list, to read. But you've indicated that you
>>> don't
>>> have enough time to read everything that's posted to this list.
>>> Sometimes,
>>> seeing all of information through a specific framework is helpful in
>>> gaining
>>> an understanding. But sometimes, doing that, can get in the way. Let me
>>> just
>>> explain one thing. The areas on the West Bank where Palestinians live,
>>> are
>>> walled off and people can't get out of those areas without going through
>>> military check points. The roads that Palestinians use are different
>>> from
>>> those that Jews use. If you are a Palestinian, going to work out of your
>>> walled in area, you must wait at the check point, perhaps for several
>>> hours,
>>> so you must get up very early to get to work on time. If you are a
>>> Palestinian with a medical emergency and you need to get to a hospital,
>>> you
>>> still have to wait at the check point, perhaps for several hours. People
>>> have died while waiting to be allowed through the checkpoint.
>>>
>>> Miriam
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Blind-Democracy [mailto:blind-democracy-bounces@octothorp.org] On
>>> Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
>>> Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2015 2:36 PM
>>> To: Blind Democracy Discussion List
>>> Subject: 12 pretty good signs you're vacationing in an apartheid country
>>>
>>> How about we substitute, First Class Corporate American Citizens, for
>>> Occupying country, and Working Class for, Indigenous People.
>>> Sure, there are huge differences between us. Here, we Working Class
>>> People
>>> have most of the Land to exist upon, while the First Class Corporate
>>> Americans hold small gated estates. Well, that's not counting their
>>> private
>>> clubs and lodges.
>>> But we Working Class, indigenous folk do get to live in and around the
>>> garbage dumps, the slums, next door to the factories and on the lands
>>> once
>>> filled with mountains, and on barren hills that continuously slide into
>>> the
>>> valley below.
>>> Nonetheless, differences aside, we Working Class Indigenous Folk are
>>> just
>>> as
>>> subject to the whims of the Occupying Nation.
>>> It's not been so many years ago that these First-Classers decided to
>>> take
>>> about 60 thousand dollars of our home equity, right out from under our
>>> noses. Our youngest daughter lost over 70 thousand. Our eldest
>>> daughter,
>>> our son and our nephew all lost their homes due to the trickery of our
>>> Masters manipulation. Our Occupying Forces come and go as they please,
>>> flying their private planes, driving with police escorts, safe and
>>> secure.
>>> We, the Working Class, shuttle back and forth in huge traffic jams on
>>> smelly
>>> roads that often have toll booths attached. Depending upon our color or
>>> how
>>> we dress, we can expect to be challenged by the very police we thought
>>> were
>>> in place to protect us.
>>> You might want to argue that our situation is different than that of the
>>> Palestinians. But it is different only in degree. The fact is that
>>> whenever one people control the lives of other people, and do so for
>>> only
>>> their own benefit, there is no difference.
>>>
>>> Carl Jarvis
>>>
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>>>
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