In Europe, they’re called peasants. The Spanish refer to them as peons. Here in the southern United States, they’re described as po’ folks. Working class citizens the world over are historically disenfranchised! Everyone from your blue-collar laborers, to your pink-collar nurturers, to your white-collar office flunkies are regarded as working class. Basically, if you’re overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated, you’re working class. So, that’s any American without generational wealth, every American without a college degree, the vast majority of American women, and all American college graduates who aren’t charlatans or sycophantic ass-kissers. These people make up the most integral portion of the working populous, and they have the most significant impact on life as we all know it. Additionally, they are the least likely to reap the rewards of their crucial contributions to our society and our economy. The working class are the hardest working people in all fields of employment, and they’re customarily paid minuscule wages in contrast to people who exert a fraction of the effort and energy. We’re all aware of social stratification, the socioeconomic hierarchy, and the way society tribalizes citizens by outlining social statuses. It’s fucked up, and that’s something most of us agree upon. However, I’ve always been vexed by people’s tolerance for inequitable compensation. Especially because people seem to find jubilation in fussing about how much they hate their jobs. For me, when I define something as a problem, I then strive to obtain a solution to said problem. For most other people, they tend to seek comfort in unsatisfactory situations, usually because they realize the struggle is more difficult than the sacrifice. But, what the fuck is a life worth living if there’s nothing to fight for?!
In life, there will come times where settling for less or sacrificing desires for necessities is imperative. Nonetheless, what’s the point of busting your ass every day and never having anything adequate to show for your hard work? Yes, the bills must be paid. Yet, to what expense exactly? Personally, I’ve never been a keen believer in hard work. As I’ve mentioned, the hardest workers in the workforce predominately make the smallest wages. And, I can’t pride myself on being held in servitude by a system specifically designed to exploit people who believe submitting to subjection is commendable. The rapper Kanye West once said that slavery was a choice, and he also labeled modern day workers the “new slaves”. I agree with both of those statements. Firstly, a person can’t be enslaved unless they capitulate to dictation. Many people don’t speak of the captured Africans who jumped off slave ships mid-voyage, or the ones who died attempting to fend off Europeans in the Motherland. Those people chose NOT to be slaves! Secondly, we all live in a world where many people recoil from acknowledging the fact that our livelihoods and well-being are almost one-hundred percent contingent on the amount of money in our bank accounts. And, of course, the amount of money in our bank accounts is normally determined by the amount of our paychecks. If you’re a part of the working class, it’s likely you work excessively hard, and you are typically working more toward the benefit of others than to your own. If you’re entirely dependent on your job to survive, you’re also dependent on your employer for survival. So, you work hard, and you comply with the demands of the people in charge of you at a job that pays enough to only just support your survival, but it’s inaccurate to liken you to a slave? There doesn’t have to be whips and chains incorporated in acts of subordination to consider the subordinates slaves.
I think American slavery lasted so long, because most of the enslaved were afraid to revolt and rebel against subjugation, oppression, and prejudice. There must be a pronounced degree of acceptance and submission present for people to live in perpetual repression for extended periods of time without revision. For the same reasons, American women and the working class have been, and will likely continue to be, subjected to unfair remuneration. But, I hope I’m wrong! I hope the current barrage of liberal women in American politics induces tangible change, and I don’t doubt that it will. Still, I don’t think this country is ready to see everyone win. Donald Trump was fraudulently elected into office, because the historically disenfranchised were beginning to thrive and prosper under the rule of America’s first black president. I won’t delve into any conspiracies, but we all know the profusion of support for Donald Trump was triggered in direct response to Barack Obama’s 8-year tenure as Commander-in-Chief, and for everything he embodied and accomplished therein. It’s not difficult to discern that classism, much like racism, has been preserved by the bigotry and bias of powerful white men. Years ago, immigrants were utilized to do grunt work without being reimbursed for their services, and I’m not talking about slaves. The affluent have always deprecated and derogated the poor, regardless of their race, creed, or origin. The truth of the matter is, the present-day working class is trivialized because the lower-class stratum has always been observed by the upper-class as inferior. The higher ups believe that people who don’t already have money, shouldn’t ever have money, and that’s evident by the stark variance in the way hard working people are paid in comparison to businessmen. Now, I’m aware an argument could be made on the matter of skilled and educated workers being more skilled and educated than unskilled and uneducated workers. But, that still isn’t a justification for the unmitigated unfairness in America’s unbalanced salary standards. There should be an equitable balance between how hard you work and how much money you make.
As of today, I’m 31 years old and I’ve had well over 15 legitimate jobs since I was 18 years old. No, I’m not overexaggerating, that’s a true story. If I ever felt like I wasn’t being paid enough to constitute strenuous physical exertion, I either quit the job or employed efforts equivalent to my wages, which typically got me fired. Honestly, I’ve always had the fighting spirit, and I’ve never given a fuck about how people perceive me. I’m going to stand for what I believe in, despite everything! And being challenged only fuels my fire. Though, I’m also very pragmatic and percipient, so I’ve never been brash or impudent. I’m kind of an edgy nerd, in fact, I used to call myself an “intellectual thug”, and I’m not too proud to admit that moniker lame as hell. I’m the type of person that will punch somebody in the mouth for talking shit, then help them up and lecture them about respect. I could never be someone’s pawn or lackey, or be used as an instrument to advance someone else ahead of me. I believe I epitomize the psyche of those who fought and died for our civil rights in the past. I truly believe I’m destined for greatness. It’s time for people to learn how to take charge. People hate me, because they think I believe I’m better than them. Well, let me clarify to you motherfuckers that I absolutely believe I’m better than you! The reason you’re reading MY blog right now, is because I believe in MYSELF enough to make YOU believe in me too. I know, undeniably, that I will NEVER be the stimulus for another motherfucker’s success. What about you?