Class solidarity is a powerful force, regardless of strata.
I have been coming to terms with the fact that I have yet in this lifetime to cross over the threshold into the middle class of America. Yes, that's right, a life of poverty and low income for me. At least so far. I think there were a few times I may have come close, maybe within a few hundred or couple thousand dollars range, but as a single parent with two kids, that doesn't count for much.
There is this weird dilemma of feeling like you have to 'act middle-class' in order to participate in society at all. The tension when you refuse to play the game is extremely uncomfortable. I'm getting better at it, though, at least I hope, in refusing to pretend, and finding careful ways to speak truth about what is seemingly mundane. Such as the ability to participate in social life at all. There is no time to lose when, on a regular basis, you are weighing decisions such as whether to buy bread, milk, cereal, or eggs; or the electricity bill. or perhaps gasoline so you can keep showing up to work.
I had a moment last week when I heard my boss say something to the effect that her work is 'extra' to the company, while mine is germane to operation. Yet, I am paid below market rate wages while she makes twice as much money -- American capitalism at its finest, even in the non-profit sector!
There is a new book out this year, Winner Takes All, about the broken approach of philanthropy for social change, and I think the non-profit sector is the frontline of this class war. I am increasingly interested in finding solidarity in union organizing for people employed in non-profit organizations. I think it would be a natural addendum to the government employees union AFSCME, essentially a new iteration of a public service union. Sign me up.
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For further reading:
Mark Twain argued that a society consisting of the sum of its vanity and greed is not a society at all but a state of war. (from Lapham essay)
This book excerpt on witches and class struggle in the 16th century
I have been coming to terms with the fact that I have yet in this lifetime to cross over the threshold into the middle class of America. Yes, that's right, a life of poverty and low income for me. At least so far. I think there were a few times I may have come close, maybe within a few hundred or couple thousand dollars range, but as a single parent with two kids, that doesn't count for much.
There is this weird dilemma of feeling like you have to 'act middle-class' in order to participate in society at all. The tension when you refuse to play the game is extremely uncomfortable. I'm getting better at it, though, at least I hope, in refusing to pretend, and finding careful ways to speak truth about what is seemingly mundane. Such as the ability to participate in social life at all. There is no time to lose when, on a regular basis, you are weighing decisions such as whether to buy bread, milk, cereal, or eggs; or the electricity bill. or perhaps gasoline so you can keep showing up to work.
I had a moment last week when I heard my boss say something to the effect that her work is 'extra' to the company, while mine is germane to operation. Yet, I am paid below market rate wages while she makes twice as much money -- American capitalism at its finest, even in the non-profit sector!
There is a new book out this year, Winner Takes All, about the broken approach of philanthropy for social change, and I think the non-profit sector is the frontline of this class war. I am increasingly interested in finding solidarity in union organizing for people employed in non-profit organizations. I think it would be a natural addendum to the government employees union AFSCME, essentially a new iteration of a public service union. Sign me up.
//
For further reading:
Mark Twain argued that a society consisting of the sum of its vanity and greed is not a society at all but a state of war. (from Lapham essay)
This book excerpt on witches and class struggle in the 16th century
