People scrutinize public appearances, statements, and appearances of white dudes so they quit…

Ok, I give zero fucks about most pop culture, unless we’re talking The Walking Dead and House of Cards. Occasionally, I’ll dabble, and I do enjoy reading Perez Hilton when I can’t sleep…don’t judge…but for the life of me, I don’t get why we’re obsessed with entertainers. I just don’t.  What I do love? When public figures freak the fuck out when their privilege is challenged, particularly the white dudes.

Alec Baldwin, Piers Morgan, Shia LaBeouf, and probably dozens of other white dudes are really tired of people judging everything they do because we’re somehow persecuting them for holding the accountable. This policing has clearly got to stop *sarcasm*.  Don’t get me wrong, I’d hate to be followed everywhere, but I also wouldn’t make transphobia, homophobic, racist, etc rants. I intentionally used the word “policing” because we don’t police white cis men’s behavior the way we police people of color, other  genders, and other sexualities (Anyone got better inclusive language that doesn’t keep cis white dudes at the center? I’m trying to make it clear that anyone who deviated from the standard by which we measure is policed in appearance and behavior in a way cis white dudes just aren’t). Additionally, this policing is more than self-policing, which a guy I know likes to complain about men are held to an unrealistic standard because of comicbooks (no, that is all). I’m talking about dress being used against you in court, or racial profiling, or the media deciding you’re the worst person ever because you cheated on your boyfriend complete with death threats. And yes, all of those are real examples.

So when Alec Baldwin pens a piece claiming he’s stepping back from public life, I just have one question, why bother penning the piece? Delete your Twitter account, delete Facebook, refuse all interview requests moving forward. Just do it. However, in that piece where he claims he was unjustly labeled a bigot, Baldwin using the T word in regards to a transgender man, so clearly he learned a lot. Reading Baldwin’s piece is kind of surreal. He talks about how lucky he is, but then everything changed because he was called a homophobe. THE HORROR! Some perspective maybe? My life’s ok, and I’m called a cunt by strangers pretty regularly, meaning I’m reduced to my genitalia on a regular basis by people who give zero fucks about who I am. Want to talk about street harassment? I suspect some of my friends of color have similar experiences. At the end of the day, I shrug my shoulder and walk it off because fuck those guys and what can I possibly do? Perhaps, Baldwin was hit so hard by being called a homophobe because deep down he knew it was true? And epically, Baldwin concludes by apologizing if he offended anyone, you know instead of apologizing for what he said and did.

Allison Kilkenny does a pretty great take down of Morgan and Baldwin. She notes their privilege is the real problem for both of them. Kilkenny notes the similarities between Morgan and Baldwin’s decisions to step back (though Morgan’s decision was probably aided by CNN pulling the plug finally). They are also both pseudo liberals. Morgan and Baldwin both keep saying their didn’t do anything wrong, which is bullshit. Morgan was so disrespectful to Janet Mock, and then went on to engage with Twitter activists about how he’s the real victim, because you know he says so (?). For Baldwin, his major issue is that technology has allowed people to capture his horrendous behavior, tough guys, I’ll break out the tiny violin. Kilkenny nails it:

“Now, here’s the thing: I believe everyone has the right to take a mental vacation. I’ve seen some of my friends (primarily women journos and activists) be relentlessly hounded by anonymous internet trolls, bullied and threatened with rape, until they left their online lives just to preserve their sanity. But let’s be very clear that what Morgan and Baldwin are describing is entirely separate from the noble existences of persecuted activists. Men like Morgan and Baldwin are accustomed to holding all the power, which is why they’re mystified and peeved by the public backlash they’ve received for, in most cases, being privileged dicks.”

Kilkenny continues by explaining what Morgan and Baldwin are really doing, which is giving up, another privilege of those with power. They don’t need to work; they don’t have to listen to people who disagree with them or want to hold them accountable. I think this is the point of all of this. People with privilege aren’t used to being held accountable, and because of that they decide they can walk away. Well, too damn bad, and welcome to the world everyone else lives in. I’m sure Baldwin, Morgan, and the rest of them are going to be alright. But as my mother told us, “grow thicker skin.”

Fast Food Workers’ Strike

Remember back when fast food workers from the major chains walked off the job in protest? Yeah, well obviously they did it again, but this time in 100 cities, more actually, but I don’t have a head count. This strike included cities in the south where they have minimum wages lower than the federal minimum wage.

 

Allison Kilkenny continues to write about it for The Nation. These workers are calling for $15 an hour wages, which is close to a living wage and fringe benefits. Kilkenny’s piece includes interviews noting how difficult it is to live off poverty wages. These interviews note a lack of resources for the underpaid employees. Overall, these workers feel undervalued and defeated, and the organizing going is giving them hope.

 

This link will take you to a map of where the strikes took place.

 

Some of you may have noticed on Twitter and Facebook last week that I had a long, too long, conversation with a libertarian about fair pay. His arguments are weak, which you know because he perpetually switched between them when facts disproved him. Mostly his argument centered on a race to the bottom argument where poverty wages are the only way to have large numbers of jobs and make a profit. This is a shitty argument because paying people a fair wage enables them to buy the product they are producing (as proven by noted capitalist and anti-labor force, Henry Ford). Also, jobs increase over time because more people can afford the products and thus they need more product.

 

However, we went around and around. In the end this comes down to people or profit. The rights of human beings verses corporations. Also, despite what the Supreme Court has said, corporations are not people. If the goal is mass profits for a few then higher wages will hurt them, if the goal is a work force that can support itself and buy products then an increase in wages will help.

 

This libertarian also made some amazing arguments about how everyone can work two jobs (two minimum wage jobs at the federal level is only $14.50 per hour). He did it after all with no privileges, like being white and a man. The obliviousness of libertarians is astounding.

 

Fingers crossed the largest fast food strike is successful. Hopefully, these workers will get living wages, but the Dems aren’t going to get anywhere in Congress. Republicans are going to shut this bill down every time the Dems try to push a bill through, and the White House will be no help. This has to be a grassroots movement where the elected officials are actually afraid of losing their positions. I doubt this will happen because of gerrymandering. Maybe on a local level? Well, this took a depressing turn.

Another day, another act of Walmart stupidity

Don’t get me wrong. I hate Walmart, but sometimes I wonder about their PR people. Do they have PR people? Are these people being paid minimum wage? Or is Walmart so powerful and eliminated so much of the competition that they no longer need PR people? The answer to these questions doesn’t really matter. What matters is the meta experience of Walmart employees that are aware them make a poverty wage and the store that employees them is collecting food for them.

Take a minute. Throw something. I’ll wait. I threw a mug…it didn’t break.

So this is happening in Canton, Ohio. Walmart claims that it is proof employees are looking out for one another by trying to provide Thanksgiving meals to their coworkers. Of course, everyone else things it is proof the company doesn’t pay enough to survive. Olivera Perkins wrote the story for The Plain Dealer.

This food drive is in employee only areas out of the line of sight of customers, because can’t let your customers know something like that. It should be noted that Walmart employees go on strike  today (Monday) in Cincinnati and Dayton.

Naturally, employees and those trying to organize them are pretty angry about all this because I don’t know pay your employees. Kory Lundberg, Walmart spokesman, claims the food drive is proof employees care about one another: “It is for associates who have had some hardships come up. Maybe their spouse lost a job.

“This is part of the company’s culture to rally around associates and take care of them when they face extreme hardships.”

Lundberg asserts that the food drive was decided at a store level in Canton. This is all in the wake of more Walmart strikes across the states. The people involved in these strikes are looking for fair pay, safe working conditions, etc. The activists and organizers are working on something for Black Friday, but no one is talking about specifics at least to the press.

This isn’t a new drive at the Canton Walmart, and some people are wondering why it is a big deal now. Employees seem mixed; some think it is useful and kind while others feel ashamed and demoralized by it. I’m not going to get into pay rates, but even by the spokesman’s assert average rate still only comes about to about $25,000 per year, and it is assumed he went high on his rate.

You can read more from Allison Kilkenny. I really don’t understand how anyone can be in favor of the Walmart model, which is essentially short-term profits over long-term sustainability resulting in inequity, poverty, and hunger. Good job guys.

Happy Labor Day, the service industry is in revolt

I go to Panera too much. There is this one guy who works there that gives me hell for it. He’s awesome, and as such should be my best friend, but instead we talk about man problems. He also doesn’t support the service industry strikes. I asked him about them last Thursday. I told him I partially expected to walk over and see McDonalds and Panera shut down due to a picket line. Both chains are across the street from the university. This employee told me he hadn’t heard anything about the strikes, but that they were paid ok and that fast food workers are teenagers. I respect his opinion, but fast food workers aren’t teenagers. The average age is 35, most are women, and people of color.

Thursday, fast food workers (and some retailers) went on strike in 60 cities (including in Cleveland, according to my parents). They want a living wage of $15 per hour from the large corporations making money off of low-wage workers. This minimum wage would be more than double the national minimum wage of $7.25. Allison Kilkenny, as always, had an excellent piece for The Nation, entitled, “Courage is contagious: Fast food workers expected to protest low wages nationwide.”

You may remember low-wage workers walking off the job last November in New York as a one day protest. However, by the summer the movement expanded and included thousands of workers across the country. This included Detroit, Chicago, New York, and Kansas City. It is important to remember these workers have no labor protections; they don’t have a union. Every time they walk off they lose money and possibly their jobs (because of retaliation). However, on Thursday, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Memphis, and Raleigh joined this list with the backing of SEIU.

According to Kilkenny, there have already been benefits to the strikes. Some strikers in New York and Chicago saw their wages increase after the strike. Additionally, these benefits have encouraged other workers to protest for living wages. Some workers are calling for a union in addition to the living wages. The goal of action such as these strikes it to send a message to the corporations employing low-wage workers.

A few things to remember: these workers aren’t covered by a union so they have few protections, which makes this all the more amazing and inspiring, and these workers are “special populations.” Special populations usually refers to marginalized populations like women, people of color, immigrants, young people, the elderly, etc. Additionally, because these workers don’t have a union this movement is union driven (though it is union backed). Also, this being Labor Day, this isn’t the only labor fight going on right now. Wal-mart’s workers are still fighting their fight, domestic workers, immigrants, LGBT workers and trans workers specifically, teachers in Philly and Chicago, and right there in Washington DC where retail workers are fighting to increase the minimum wage with possible the help of the Council.