Before I could reply, the homeless man had reached me. Instead of giving him money, I asked if he'd like an apple (organic, to boot!) and he excitedly took it from me.
The train pulled into the City Hall station and I de-boarded. For the record: the homeless man was white, the passenger who cautioned me was African-American.
***
Upon reaching Foley Square, I joined with a couple of hundred kindred spirits for a short presentation about Lynne Stewart's life and then a march to the Federal Courthouse where the specter of "jobs" once again reared its ugly head. Firstly, we were surrounded by a variety of Blue Bloc members -- local and federal -- doing their job and following orders, e.g. limiting freedom of speech and expression.
Also, three times -- three different times in less than 30 minutes -- I heard indignant passers-by yell in our direction: "Get a job!" If only I could sit them (and so many others) down and pose a few questions"
Firstly, the most obvious: How do you know which of us does or doesn't have a job? Many activists balance a wide range of responsibilities in order to be present at such actions. This assumption that we're all jobless is based almost solely on corporate media propaganda and the intense social conditioning that "productive" people simply "don't have the time" to engage in nonsense like, say, helping a fellow human who is dying of cancer.
Another question: What does it say about our culture that having a job is one of the primary barometers of "success"? Of course, by "job" most people mean any paid position that is respected by society's current standards and affords said employee enough money to engage in conspicuous consumption, thus further raising his/her status within a culture hypnotized by materialism.
Question #3: Are you aware that part of what inspires many activists is a rejection of the destructive and alienating work-consume-obey model of human culture? In choosing the "get a job" tack, skeptics ironically ignore the economic and social issues that provoke protests while tacitly offering support for maintaining a rigged system based on rampant inequality and misinformation.
Going bigger picture here: Exactly what job would you suggest for a socially aware and compassionate human? The global economic system is based on perpetual growth and the relentless exploitation of what we've come to call "natural resources." By definition, such an approach is unsustainable and cannot be reformed. Thus, almost all jobs within such a lethal system directly or indirectly contribute to the looming ecocide.
Staying with the holistic perspective: Why do you choose to aim your anger and fear at a random protestor you believe may not have a job rather than at the global criminals responsible for consuming, poisoning, and killing our shared landbase?
And finally: Even if every activist was jobless and even if every activist immediately found fulfilling paid work in a non-exploitative position, do you realize it wouldn't do a damn thing to rescue our dying ecosystem?
***
Earlier that day, after Fruitvale but before the Stewart demo, I felt inspired to post this as my Facebook status:
"General, your tank is a powerful vehicle. It smashes down forests and crushes a hundred men. But it has one defect: It needs a driver." (Brecht)
Lesson: Don't be a driver. No matter what they offer or promise, DO NOT drive their machines.
One of the comments related to how modern-day drones only require the push of a button (following orders, doing their job) but this time, I pondered a different quote from the Nuremberg Tribunal:
"Individuals have international duties which transcend national obligations of obedience. Therefore they have the duty to violate domestic laws to prevent crimes against peace and humanity from occurring."
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