In a previous commentary here at Not My Tribe … I wrote that there was scientific evidence, as well as everyday common sense evidence, that work as defined and dished out by our upper crust bosses under capitalist society in America makes people sick. I was amazed that such a simple and easily verifiable observation provoked so little intelligent discussion by our esteemed readers! What gives?
Personally, I have easily worked about a dozen made-dangerous-by- capitalism job types in my lifetime and feel fortunate that I have not been totally crippled by the experience. Apparently not all of us have had these work experiences though, and not having actually done any of the dangerous work in America might put rather rosy blinkers over the eyes of some few folk about the dangers of American capitalism as well as world capitalism as a whole?
The experience of writing here on this blog about how work under capitalism eats away at workers, and then getting dissed off personally for having brought the subject up at all, I have found profoundly demoralizing. (what discussion began to occur about my previous commentary was quickly erased from this site//// I hope and trust that it does not happen again?). Why write about everyday life for me and others in this country, when one only gets disrespected and put down as being an idiot for doing so? There may very well be much better venues for political expression than this blog if this sort of thing was to become routine here on Not My Tribe?
Back to the subject at hand though. Much work in the US, as in all other capitalist societies is undertaken with little concern for the physical safety, let alone emotional well being, of the workers doing the actual work. Farm workers are put out into fields with cancer causing chemicals all around, not given adequate water to drink under the hot sun, and then are harassed like they are some sort of human vermin by Immigration. Yes, work in a capitalist society does make people sick, and many farm workers get sick here in America. Only a totally hard and contemptuous person would actually call such observations about the dangerousness of work in capitalist America into any kind of real question, IMO.
Farm work is only one single egregious example of the abuse of the American worker (YES, Migrant workers are from the Americas and should be considered American workers), and this abuse of us all who do the actual work goes on in each and every sector of our economy, and the damage to our health is extreme. This is a rather simple and obvious truth, and it should not need for multiple examples to be listed out to anybody, who has been living in US society and not born with a totally dead soul.
I have vacationed myself (kind of) from writing for over a week now, and will not write any further on Not My Tribe unless I feel it has some value. The value I have seen for my writing previously, was that simple observations of current events that were not totally rank with corporate lies was of some value even if done for only a small readership. That can still be of value if allowed here by the powers to be of this blog?
A blog that is written from a consistent Left perspective is a novelty here in Colorado Springs, as it is everywhere in this imperialist and hate driven society we call the USA. There are those who either don’t want that, or are in fact totally lacking in any appreciation for why Left viewpoints need to be given opportunity to rise up from out under the blanket of total corporate censorship and non-sponsorship of such? The motives are many for some folk not wanting a Left perspective ever to be expressed anywhere and always, and I won’t attempt to guess the motives of all who dislike what I have said about work under capitalism. We live in a soceity with multiple life viewpoints and perspectives.
Work under this capitalist society is a sickening experience, and some relief from it can actually be obtained by just being exposed to some simple honesty. That is what I strive to do when I write my commentaries here on Not My Tribe. Most all of you who have read this commentary actually do realize the simple truth that work under bosses put above us in the work force as overseers, is a profoundly alienating and deadly daily grind to our souls and our bodies. Not hard to figure out. I will write about it and other similar topics that express simple truths from a Left perspective. (if allowed to do so?)
Tony:
1st paragraph: Your “scientific evidence” was disputed, actually, and your “everyday common sense” implies that critics of your thesis don’t have common sense. Saying “simple and easily verifiable” again preemptively belittles criticism. Your being “amazed … provoked so little intelligent discussion” is certainly an insult to the arguments you received.
And that’s just the first paragraph! (Subject-wise, I agreed with you completely.)
Tony, you were removed for making only personal attacks and attempting to dispirit others who do not share your particular arguments. We do not have to agree on everything, but I think mutual respect is critical to expressing ourselves. With this new post you herald the return of completely vindictive attacks and if this is the extent of your arsenal, I don’t believe NMT is interested.
2nd paragraph: “Apparently not all of us have had these work experiences … might put rather rosy blinkers” is circular logic. And it presumes that unless someone has experienced something, they cannot sympathize. I’m fully capable of assuming you need not have been subjected to water-boarding to understand it is wrong.
3rd paragraph: You say “getting dissed off personally for having brought the subject up at all” but you were removed for personal attacks on fellow authors. I thought your post was great, and yes, you were stabbed in the back by others who didn’t grasp the issue, and we resolved internally to accord our fellow participants, at the very least, the presumption of validity especially if it’s a subject with which others are unfamiliar.
“my previous commentary was quickly erased … one only gets disrespected and put down as being an idiot” The comments were removed because they devolved into personal attacks. Yes, comments attacked you, but you responded in kind. The exchange was extremely unbecoming.
“this sort of thing was to become routine here on Not My Tribe” Please don’t make it a routine. It’s up to you. Nothing but personal attacks and you are OFF.
4th paragraph: “Only a totally hard and contemptuous person would actually call such observations about the dangerousness of work in capitalist America into any kind of real question” Or someone as yet uninformed. Why insult the readers before they’ve had a chance to become apprised?
5th paragraph: “This is a rather simple and obvious truth … to anybody … not born with a totally dead soul.” More condescension directed at the reader.
6th paragraph: “will not write any further on Not My Tribe unless I feel it has some value … even if done for only a small readership” Now you’re threatening NMT, and trying to insult it as well?
7th paragraph: “I won’t attempt to guess the motives of all who dislike what I have said” You are implying that there is an unspoken rationale behind arguments presented to you. That is also an Ad Hominem fallacy, to avoid legitimate debate. It’s also casting aspersions.
8th paragraph: “(if allowed to do so?)” You keep implying that your ideas have been censored, even once. This is not true. Comment threads have been censored when they devolve into spiteful personal attacks. Although we might discuss putting limits on inanity.
Tony, that’s 8 out of 8 paragraphs with ERRONEOUS content. I’m sure you would agree, NMT has got to aspire to better performance.
Or we could simply swap off tickling the Cerebral Neurons of the readers.
Kind of a literary version of Good Cop Bad Cop, only without the rubber hoses, bright lights, and sensory enhancing drugs.
Ever since that “You’ve Got Mail” movie, there’s been a noticeable influence of The Internet Style of writing on the more traditional popular art.
I’d say ever since Tron and Frogger, actually, but there’s a certain populist power in being able to snap off an answer, without having to call in to the Bloviator du Jour and wait while his answering/screening people get around to allowing one to humbly ask permission to speak, or write out a long detailed Letter to the Editor just to have it either silenced immediately, cropped beyond recognition, whatever.
A discourse involving simultaneously millions within a few minutes.
As far as communications go, we’re tripping around in Terra Incognita and having one Hell of a good time doing it.
Now WE’RE becoming the MSM.
But with the one control, the opposition’s response is just as instant.
Or better yet, Comrades with a different take on the same theme.
Will we ever get it entirely right? Not Bloody Likely!
But we can hit the Zen Button and surf this puppy, tweak the waves at key moments, man, if I keep on writing this way I’m going to get so Existentialist I won’t be able to get up the sentence will keep going and going, writing itself almost, with lots of commas and no periods, like St Paul with the one book he actually wrote with his own hand, you know, because it hurt so much to write, and he wrote this one and only one letter with his own hand, instead of letting Luke or Priscilla transcribe it for him, so he wrote it the same way he talked, you know, like when he was going to Jerusalem for the last time, and he was preaching and teaching in an All-night Bull Session of Massive proportions, and just went on and on and on until some kid up on the third loft nodded off and fell down, everybody thought he was dead, Paul checked him over, found out he was still alive but just knocked out, and then HE WENT BACK TO PREACHING, man, you just gotta love a story like that….
Heee hee hee…
Damn that’s a rush doing that.
When I TALK like that it enhances my undeserved reputation for emotional instability.
But hang with us a while, Tony.
Thanks, Jonah. We’re trying to.