Random thoughts

[invertedisdead]

Saw a guy riding a motorcycle yesterday with his dog straddling the gas tank.

My first thought was: These are some strong mushrooms.

But there was no mushrooms.

 

[macbill]

The Female of the Species
When the Himalayan peasant meets the he-bear in his pride,
He shouts to scare the monster who will often turn aside.
But the she-bear thus accosted rends the peasant tooth and nail,
For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.

-- Rudyard Kipling

 

[ChooChooCharlie]

Agreed, @macbill , even among gods. Athena was a bad ass, original girl with the slayed dragon tattoo. (Dali etching from '63 with gold, new arrival at local gallery) From his mythology suite, can see her emerging from head of daddy Zeus. She enjoys blowing vapor clouds and long walks on the beach. Swings both ways, but needs to be on top

 

[macbill]

 

[macbill]

I'd rather have a Thing than Alexa

 

[florduh]

10,000 UAW workers at John Deere are striking at midnight.

60,000 IATSE Film and Television workers set to strike Monday.

37,000 Kaiser Permanente workers have voted to strike.

Love to see it.

Here's a really good overview of Strike-tober...

I don't remember a news story that's put a smile on my face like this in a long, long time.

"there is a new militant spirit in America's workforce..."

"across the country, labor is on the march..."

"for the first time in a long time, workers have the upper hand..."

 

[kel]

Awesome!!!

Sorta feel this should belong in the Fuck You thread - it's about time!!!!

 

[BabyFacedFinster]

I feel this way too. I see it where I work.

I'm sick and tired of being worked like a dog for scumbag people that don't give a shit whether you suffer, live or die.

Some people love spreading the rhetoric that Oh look, so many lazy people that don't want to work. Bullshit. I think the pandemic gave a lot of working people a taste of life with more freedoms. Now that companies are trying to bring everyone back to the same old shit, people (like me) don't want to give up the majority of their lives working for scumbags and being treated like shit. Regardless of their shit pay.

If I could walk away and not have my family suffer, I would. And I'd tell everyone at work to suck my fucking ass. Lousy shitholes.

 

[kel]

I agree wholeheartedly!!

Like many others, I did the same thing many years ago, saw the daily grind for what it is, it's really good to see a lot more people doing this too!

I live my life as an expression of freedom in many ways, happy to answer any questions, but fundamentally, I earn a lot less than I used to but also spend a lot less... instead of spending time at work earning loads of money to buy takeaway coffee, expensive sandwiches for lunch and other bullshit like that, I now make almost everything myself at a tiny fraction of the cost.

It's a choice, there's nothing wrong with being a wage slave, erm, employed, I know a lot of people like the stable regular income that provides, or at least used to, nowadays it's all zero hour contracts and other 'fuck you - you worthless scum' policies designed to intimidate, oppress and subjugate.

Fuck those fuckers!!!

 

[marduk]

If I could walk away and not have my family suffer, I would. And I'd tell everyone at work to suck my fucking ass. Lousy shitholes.

Live vicariously through this r/antiwork post that made it to the Reddit front page yesterday.

https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/q82vqk

 

[kel]

Walking out of a shit job and giving the finger to the piece of shit boss who made your life a misery, some of them seemingly for the sheer delight in hell of it, is one of the most positive life affirming things you can do in my book!

Ooh and this one, perhaps a bit extreme but still brilliant:

They're all coming back.... Jennifer Aniston hilarious in Office Space (now I have to find the printer scene)

 

[Cheebsy]

Honestly, I can't understand why the American workforce stood for this treatment for so many years. I mean, 2 weeks annual leave a year is a disgrace, and it's far from uncommon to my understanding. After organising family visits during the holiday season(s), how is one able to go abroad for any meaningful length of time to see family that maybe don't live in the same country?

The thing is, I have witnessed UK employers try to inflict similar kinds of pressure in this country. My better half used to work for an American nursery school company, and the treatment of employees was pretty bad by our usual standards here.

If there was ever a time to get big companies to think about their workforce, it's now. Let's hope it has a positive effect.

 

[florduh]

I posted the article in another thread, but an unprecedented number of American workers voluntarily quit in August. Millions. A lot of healthcare workers. But the majority were in retail, restaurants, and hospitality. Jobs that are generally low paid. The conventional wisdom is that these people deserve to be paid so little that everyday is a struggle to survive. Because their jobs are so easy.

And yeah. Working a cash register is technically "easy". But that's not what makes these jobs hard. It's the fucking customers. Most people will never have enough money to buy their own servants. So they get to play petty tyrant and scream at some $12/hour employee when their treats aren't ready in a timely manner. I can't really blame people who say "fuck it" to putting up with that for the price of a small, one-topping pizza per hour.

I used to get mad when I felt like I was receiving "poor service". But after the past year, I now just assume the customer service worker is probably giving me the exact level of service their employer is paying for.

Honestly, I can't understand why the American workforce stood for this treatment for so many years

Me neither...

 

[His_Highness]

I retired in January. Was a self-employed contractor for most of my career. 3 months before my retirement...... a director at the company I was sub-contracting too demanded I work a bunch of overtime because she couldn't get the outsourced folk who were 1/4 the cost to do on-time, quality work. My response was a simple, blunt, "No". You could have heard a pin drop. When the consulting firm I sub through called to ask why I responded to the client with a blunt "no" like that I was equally as blunt when I responded "Because no is a complete sentence and I'll be retiring January 1st". It was a big 180 to those folks because I never turned down work/hours in my entire career and/or in their mind...let them down before.

Prior to the "no" incident I had made everyone aware over many months and on multiple occasions that they were getting what they paid for with the outsourcing and were going to miss their due dates. I had pulled the rabbit out of the hat before.... and they thought they had me by the wallet since I get paid by the hour. Prior to the "no" I had told them I wasn't available to work like that anymore but they were sure I was all talk.

I know 2 business owners who are having a tough time finding and keeping employees and they all have something in common....they thought once the government stopped giving money out for covid relief people would run back to their prior jobs. What those employers didn't see coming was that many of these employees found other ways to make the same pittance in the gig economy with more flexibility or found more amenable employment for the same money or were no longer wondering if they should/could retire. In other words....the employees had changed their expectations but the employer hadn't. One employer said to me "People just don't want to work anymore"...... He should have completed the sentence with "where they aren't paid enough for the work and to be treated like crap".

The other side....Many small companies can't afford to raise wages and pay better benefits so they will either go under or will have to let folks go and do the work themselves to keep overhead down....I'm talking about pool service companies, lawn care, family restaurants, etc. Some employer's are now faced with having to shrink their margins and will find out they can't. They may also be forced to hire anyone who will take the job which won't work out well either. Some of these Mom and Pop sized employers are very nice people but it won't save them.

 

[florduh]

The other side....Many small companies can't afford to raise wages and pay better benefits so they will either go under or will have to let folks go and do the work themselves to keep overhead down....I'm talking about pool service companies, lawn care, family restaurants, etc. Some employer's are now faced with having to shrink their margins and will find out they can't. They may also be forced to hire anyone who will take the job which won't work out well either. Some of these Mom and Pop sized employers are very nice people but it won't save them.

I don't want to live in a world with only large corporations. At the same time, if a small business owner can only get by by paying people so little they can't put a roof over their head, maybe that isn't a viable business model? I don't know what the solution is here. But mayyyybe giving people in the working and middle class a slightly larger slice of the profits their labor creates would mean they're able to afford to pay a little more at these mom and pop businesses? I've been told a rising tide lifts all ships.

That having been said, it's totally possible to pay a humane wage without jacking up prices. In-and-Out has always paid higher than average wages. Dick's in Seattle has their starting pay at $19/hour. Both of these burger places are cheaper than McDonalds. Almost certain they offer full medical benefits too.

 

[kel]

There's one particular set of society that are literally nothing but leeches; blood sucking, good-for-nothing, rotting carcasses of human excrement... they do fuck all except 'have money' and are happiest when someone dies for their profit margin...

Shareholders!

Put them all in the bin, seize their assets and redistribute them to the workers... problem solved!

 

[florduh]

There's one particular set of society that are literally nothing but leeches; blood sucking, good-for-nothing, rotting carcasses of human excrement... they do fuck all except 'have money' and are happiest when someone dies for their profit margin...

Shareholders!

Put them all in the bin, seize their assets and redistribute them to the workers... problem solved!

Well, at the very least maybe we should reconsider the idea that the only thing that matters in society is "shareholder value". That particular brain worm got placed into the heads of all of our rulers like 40-50 years ago. I'm not impressed with the results.

Hopefully this new wave of labor militancy will force corporate business elites and their pets in government to offer workers a fairer deal. Otherwise, you're right. There are other options...

 

[His_Highness]

There's one particular set of society that are literally nothing but leeches; blood sucking, good-for-nothing, rotting carcasses of human excrement... they do fuck all except have money and are happiest when someone dies for their profit margin...

Shareholders!

Put them all in the bin, seize their assets and redistribute them to the workers... problem solved!

Maybe we could cut some "shareholders" some slack....all shareholders are not rich and greedy. Many low and middle class folk save as much as they can into a 401k (For the employer match) or other tax favored investment vehicles so they can afford to retire. Parents invest in 529 plans when their kids aren't even in school yet so they are prepared and comfortable sending their kids to university.

If folks like that, me included, didn't have access to earning more on our savings we'd be in trouble because unfortunately, social security isn't usually enough and CDs, savings accounts and money markets don't pay shit.

How about we only put shareholders in the bin and seize their assets if they don't pass a needs test? I'm a shareholder and my car is a 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe with 2 square inches of paint left on it....if you're going to seize a shareholder's assets.....please start with my Santa Fe

 

[kel]

Hehe yep.... it's been done before!!!

Of course I am using hyperbole to make a point and the reality is that many businesses would not exist without the investment of capital from early investors. But yeah, there is definitely a lot wrong with it as it stands in general.

Personally I am not for the guillotine approach, I think they should be made to work in the same conditions that they profited from.... death is too good for them, make them suffer

Yes, shareholding does have it's place, I agree, I have even done it myself in a couple of instances to help others out. You hit the nail on the head with the greed aspect of it @His_Highness

 

[florduh]

Maybe we could cut some "shareholders" some slack....all shareholders are not rich and greedy. Many low and middle class folk save as much as they can into a 401k (For the employer match) or other tax favored investment vehicles so they can afford to retire. Parents invest in 529 plans when their kids aren't even in school yet so they are prepared and comfortable sending their kids to university.

If folks like that, me included, didn't have access to earning more on our savings we'd be in trouble because unfortunately, social security isn't usually enough and CDs, savings accounts and money markets don't pay shit.

How about we only put shareholders in the bin and seize their assets if they don't pass a needs test? I'm a shareholder and my car is a 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe with 2 square inches of paint left on it....if you're going to seize a shareholder's assets.....please start with my Santa Fe

I don't think when people are bitching about "shareholders", they're talking about people like you and me. I mean, I have a 401k and an IRA...but the CEO of Apple isn't exactly taking my calls.

A huge percentage of the stock market is owned by a tiny percentage of people. This was before the pandemic. I'm sure it's worse now.

 

[shredder]

I'm more willing to go after management rather than stockholders.

Owning a couple of mutual funds doesn't make anyone a villain. Especially when banks aren't paying shit for interest.

When a CEO makes millions, and the laborer makes minimum wage things need to be reset. And that is where I'd start.

 

[arb]

So start a company and pay your employees well.

 

[shredder]

So start a company and pay your employees well.

Eat the rich

 

[kel]

This last year I earned approximately 1/10th of a grain of rice:

 

[florduh]

So start a company and pay your employees well.

Some people do. I offered two examples. The problem is, we've incentivized paying employees like shit over the past 40+ years. So it's likely you'll be outcompeted by shitbags.