the Mentalities of Disinherited Workin’ Folks
Right off the bat, I am going to knock off the notions of Socialism, Marxism, and Communism because I am thinking in terms of the United States. My silly theory as to why these ‘isms’ never took ground here is simply put, the language used to describe their concepts were foreign to American Workers Ears. PROLA-WHAT? BOURGEOIS-WHO? I will concede that the idea of a Union in Favor of Workers, MADE SENSE.

     A quick glance at the attitudes of worker’s groups show feelings of Righteous Indignation, leading to Cynicism, and resulting in a Quest for Social Justice perverted by an overblown sense Idealism, that can lead to the disintegration and inner betrayal of the cause. Sometimes, I get pretty damn cynical.

      An attitude of the workers is that Democracy gets used as a Weapon of the Rich to exploit and oppress them. The oppressed, every four years, get to vote and elect representatives from the privileged classes who are to REPRESENT AND OPPRESS THEM. (ain’t that funny, maybe I’m one of the cynics.) Once in office, they get to ‘stack the odds in their favor’, packing the courts, making the laws, etc. Elections that give Freedom to the Oppressors, a Government of the Wicked.

     When a nation doesn’t completely disavow the rights of it’s workers, the workers will reward the state with their patriotism and may give a surprising amount of it. As long as the workers are not completely disinherited from the nations, you can expect their loyalty.

     Nations gain their truest self-awareness when in conflict or interaction with other nations. A working class does so in the same manner. The more a class conflicts with another one, the more it becomes self-aware. The awareness oversimplifies the realities in life, cutting thru the bullshit, making the group stronger, more resolute in nature.

     The class is enbibed with a natural cynical reaction to the lies and sentimentality of the rich. The workers assign Virtues and Universal Values to their group which are out of proportion to the realities of it’s actual existence. It is a conflagration, a misrepresentation. The Privileged assign values to themselves which do not exist. Now, it is the same sort of self-deception, different group. “Damn Humans! Goofin’ Up, Again!”

     Working Groups develop a “WE ARE THE ROBINHOODS COMPLEX.” WE ARE GONNA OVERTHROW THE RICH AND GIVE TO THE POOR, as Billy Joel sang, ” IT’S JUST A FANTASY, IT’S NOT THE REAL THING.” The Working Class Cause becomes overblown, biblically out of proportion. These groups can be vindictive. Their egotism is manifested due to the slights, the anger of what has been inflicted upon their individual members. They got treated CRAPPY, they’re PISSED, and “WE’RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT, NO! WE AIN’T GONNA TAKE IT, WE NOT GONNA TAKE IT, ANYMORE! YA CAN TAKE THIS JOB AND SHOVE IT, I AIN’T WORKIN HERE, NO MORE.”

They deify their class by representing social inferiority. “Anyway, who better understands BANKRUPTCY, HUNGER, IMPRISONMENT THAN THEM? WHO BETTER WITH PASSION CAN CHANGE THE WORLD FOR GOOD,” they decry.

Vengeance is dangerous. One cannot build a better society by ANNIHILATING everything around it. Conflicts to ‘right a wrong’ create more wrongs that needed to be ‘righted’, creating further wrongs, I’ve said this before, ad infinitum. Understanding the complexities of social life with Hope and Co-operation, rather than destruction, seems like a better option.

Social ideals are sometimes the converse of the social realities in which people live. The disinherited of every age has dreamt of a just society. The Temptations of Riches can be too great to overcome, makes people dishonest, makes prostitutes of men. “Aint that a Bitch?” I’d like to believe the romantic illusion that with the destruction of privilege, No One Will Use Power Selfishly. Folks with Power should be Distrusted, I’ve heard said.

Working Classes want equal justice but must be careful of the MEANS thru which it is IMPLEMENTED. Looking at Inequality, OUTRAGES THE CONSCIENCE. Reminds me of the Doom Sayers with Placards on the busy street corner, that says, “THE END IS NEAR!” singin’ “I’D LOVE TO CHANGE THE WORLD.”

HOW DO WE CHANGE SOCIETY FOR EQUALITY WITHOUT DESTROYING THOSE QUALITIES THAT EXIST THAT ARE WORTH PRESERVING? don’t ask me, i’m just too busy sittin’ here, pickin’ my nose…