[lbo-talk] labor bitchiness

[B.]

I dunno, I have also found that even though I'm
working class in upbringing and social background
"labor" -- which I guess now only means folks in a
union or better yet working for one -- has really
jealously guarded its flocks and shot itself in the
foot many times by shooing away "labor geeks" aka
folks who are sympathetic to working folks' plight and
the struggle of unions. 

I don't know of many other left-type movements that
would really work hard to shrug off folks who support
them. For example, are there "homeless geeks," "free
speech geeks," etc. that free speech advocates or
homeless rights advocates put down? No, folks in
organizations working on those issues generally
welcome any support they get. But "labor" is a whole
different story. I guess "labor" just means "on a
union payroll" -- not folks in the working class
itself [like me]...? Or what? I've always been a labor
geek.

-B.

Doug Henwood wrote:

"Yeah, that too. I'm getting mellow in my middle age,
though maybe some would say I'm less left than I used
to be."

On May 24, 2007, at 4:46 PM, Mark Rickling wrote:

"I think your findings might be skewed by a small
sample size. I find 'laboristas' no more (or no less!)
bitchy than the left, broadly defined, in general."