On Sep 13, 2010, at 4:43 PM, Wojtek S wrote:
> Chuck: "of hard to be involved with any kind of activism if you are working
> several jobs or are unemployed, looking for work and money."
>
> [WS:] Or may be it is that activism is a delusion of social engineering for
> the poor - a belief that a group of individuals can change society if not at
> will then by pushing the right buttons without the backing of powerful
> institutions. Most people do not have such delusions, so they do not engage
> in what they see as pointless banging their heads against a wall, whether
> they are working several jobs or none.
If the BLS's time use surveys are right, the notion that people "don't have time" is nonsense. They're just watching TV.
<http://www.bls.gov/news.release/atus.nr0.htm>
--Employed persons worked an average of 7.5 hours on the days they worked.
More hours were worked, on average, on weekdays than on weekend days--
7.9 hours compared with 5.0 hours. (See table 4.)
---
--On an average day, nearly everyone age 15 and over (96 percent)
engaged in some sort of leisure activity, such as watching TV,
socializing, or exercising. Of those who engaged in leisure
activities, men spent more time in these activities (5.8 hours)
than did women (5.1 hours). (See table 1.)
--Watching TV was the leisure activity that occupied the most time
(2.8 hours per day), accounting for about half of leisure time,
on average, for those age 15 and over. Socializing, such as visit-
ing with friends or attending or hosting social events, was the
next most common leisure activity, accounting for nearly three-
quarters of an hour per day. (See table 1.)
--Men were more likely than women to participate in sports, exercise,
or recreation on any given day--21 percent compared with 16 percent.
On the days that they participated, men also spent more time in
these activities than did women, 2.0 hours compared with 1.4 hours.
(See table 1.)
--On an average day, adults age 75 and over spent 7.8 hours engaged in
leisure activities--more than any other age group; 35- to 44-year-
olds spent 4.3 hours engaged in leisure and sports activities--less
than other age groups. (See table 11.)
--Time spent reading for personal interest and playing games or using a
computer for leisure varied greatly by age. Individuals age 75 and
over averaged 1.0 hour of reading per weekend day and 26 minutes
playing games or using a computer for leisure. Conversely, individuals
ages 15 to 19 read for an average of 5 minutes per weekend day while
spending 1.0 hour playing games or using a computer for leisure.
(See table 11.)
--Employed adults living in households with no children under 18 engaged
in leisure activities for 4.5 hours per day, an hour more than employed
adults living with a child under age 6. (See table 8.)