At a factory where black and white workers bowled together on Tuesday nights, where at least two romances crossed racial lines, a subtle divide emerged: Many white men like John refused to train and shunned those who did; many black men like Mark openly volunteered.
The white workers who did agree to train tended to do so quietly, and kept it a secret as long as they could, said Jim Swain, Shannon’s supervisor.
Some white men complained that they’d watched their economic prospects decline for decades. They had shared their jobs with black men, then with women. Now that blacks and women were welcomed in every facet of factory life, the jobs were moving to Mexico. It seemed like proof that their best days were behind them.
This has to be one of the most concise, insightful summaries of the roots of things like racism and sexism that I have ever seen. And it is surprisingly evenhanded and sympathetic to the white men that are so often maligned.
I don't know how we solve this. But, I think you have to start with having compassion for the fact that many "overprivileged assholes" are scared of losing the security they have worked so hard for, that they thought would be relatively permanent if they did the right things.
How do we create a society in which all people can expect some baseline security instead of squabbling over who to leave out? This is perhaps a strange question to ask in a discussion about a factory closing in the US and moving to Mexico. Or perhaps not.
I especially appreciated the part of the article that elucidated that the Mexicans had not realized they were taking the jobs of the Americans who were training them. The ending is perhaps supposed to be a downer. The headline certainly is. But the last paragraphs indicate her daughter got scholarship money and many of the workers went on to get other jobs.
That isn't to downplay what a big problem this is for Shannon, nor to dismiss the very real issue the plant closure represents across the US.
The problem is that even if you provide security, people are unhappy with living on the cost of others. People need to feel useful, having a job is about more then just getting a roof and food.
>People need to feel useful, having a job is about more then just getting a roof and food.
Unfortunately for people, having a job is not even about that.
Jobs are for you, an employee, to provide value to a company in exchange for whatever the market determines your labor is worth. Not to provide you with a sense of satisfaction, or dignity, or even enough money to afford a roof and food.
If your job can provide you with those things, then you're lucky. But as the global economy moves beyond the need to sustain itself on human labor, it makes less and less sense to expect employment to fulfill societal needs, or even basic human needs.
I would like to see universal basic healthcare in the US and genuinely affordable housing. I am not for basic income. I don't think it provides any kind of security. I think basic income amounts to a big fat fuck you to the little people.
I am for viewing our current crisis as The Second Industrial Revolution and trying to find a way to better distribute work, not welfare checks under the name of basic income.
I talk about that fairly often. I try to not harp on it. I didn't really see any reason to state it in the above comment.
Your concept of security and mine are not the same.
I’m on board as long as we remember that the victims of that behavior have to deal with a double whammy- the economic precarity plus the racist and sexist discrimination aimed at them. They never even got to the point of having the stability that others had and are losing.
Hmm, I was thinking more along the lines of not misplacing our sympathies. People who lash out because they’re losing their jobs deserve sympathy, people who are losing their jobs and being lashed out against deserve even more sympathy.
As far as solutions, the problem must be stated correctly before it can be solved.
I see our current economic pains in terms of The Second Industrial Revolution. The first created the 40 hour work week (among other things). The second needs to make the burden of work for the masses even lighter. I don't see UBI as having a role here.
We also need to build enough affordable housing and provide universal basic healthcare. Shannon is stressing in part because her adult son and his child live with her. The child -- Shannon's grandchild -- has serious health issues. This is part of why she says "I'm not rich. I got bills to pay."
She could more readily afford to take a pay cut if she didn't have to worry about the high cost of medical care in America.
The white workers who did agree to train tended to do so quietly, and kept it a secret as long as they could, said Jim Swain, Shannon’s supervisor.
Some white men complained that they’d watched their economic prospects decline for decades. They had shared their jobs with black men, then with women. Now that blacks and women were welcomed in every facet of factory life, the jobs were moving to Mexico. It seemed like proof that their best days were behind them.
This has to be one of the most concise, insightful summaries of the roots of things like racism and sexism that I have ever seen. And it is surprisingly evenhanded and sympathetic to the white men that are so often maligned.
I don't know how we solve this. But, I think you have to start with having compassion for the fact that many "overprivileged assholes" are scared of losing the security they have worked so hard for, that they thought would be relatively permanent if they did the right things.
How do we create a society in which all people can expect some baseline security instead of squabbling over who to leave out? This is perhaps a strange question to ask in a discussion about a factory closing in the US and moving to Mexico. Or perhaps not.
I especially appreciated the part of the article that elucidated that the Mexicans had not realized they were taking the jobs of the Americans who were training them. The ending is perhaps supposed to be a downer. The headline certainly is. But the last paragraphs indicate her daughter got scholarship money and many of the workers went on to get other jobs.
That isn't to downplay what a big problem this is for Shannon, nor to dismiss the very real issue the plant closure represents across the US.