Monday, February 19, 2018

Another Day, Another Grève

Look, I'm a lefty. I get strikes. I believe in the power of strikes. Strikes are essential in this no-good, capitalist world in which we live to retain our humanity.
But I'm so over it.
After walking to work (as I do every day, since the buses are to slow in the mornings for me to get to work on time) and then back up the hill to my house, having mulled over this the whole way, I still don't get it. The ENTIRE bus line is on strike not because of wages, hours, benefits, vehicle quality control, or any other reason that I can reckon is the result of a failure of policy. They're on strike because a bus driver was assaulted - which is AWFUL. That's a terrible thing, and I hope the person is okay. But why are they on strike? Is there something that the bus company or a public office like the police could have done to stop that? I mean, I'm sure we could analyze the underlying reasons why racism and the alienation under capitalism might cause someone to rash out at an innocent bus driver, but that doesn't seem like sensible cause for a strike. Are they demanding better barriers between the passengers and themselves? (They already ride behind a locked door with a little window for change that can only be opened from the inside.) Are they demanding risk pay? If they're making any concrete demands, the public, via Facebook groups, news stands, and word of mouth doesn't seem to know it. It honestly just feels like they are, as always, the fickle gods of this island lashing out upon all of the humans present for the impiety of some single Odysseus among us. (Full disclosure: I think Odysseus was a jackass and the source of 98 of his 99 own problems.)
Other things I don't understand: why this iguana was out in the open as I was walking today from my school to the library.

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