Anniversary

[Dennis Perrin]

> The poor among the working class are indeed browbeaten into thinking
> that they alone are to blame for the problems that oppress them, be
> they material or cultural deprivations.  In turn, the better off
> among the working class are encouraged to think of their conditions
> as matters of personal accomplishments only (talent, hard work,
> can-do spirit, etc.), rather than matters of social structures,
> functions, etc. subject to (even radical) change.  To some of the
> poor as well as the better off, analyses that clarify the social
> relations that create poverty may even come across as personal
> affronts, as such explanations may appear to take away a sense of
> personal achievement, a belief in ability to control one's own
> destiny, etc. that they wish to have


> Yoshie

Well, speaking as a guy who actually toils with black and white working
class people on a nightly basis, I can safely say that hard work is indeed
considered a virtue, and it should be. Most of the people I work with take
pride in their labor, consider themselves pros, and have made decent lives
for themselves. I'm afraid Leninist constructs about their "oppression"
would be completely alien to them, and I think it's safe to say this is true
across the board. There exists a camaraderie that no outside political agent
can break or even understand -- especially an agent from academia, head
filled with visions of American workers waving red pennants.

DP