While I agree 100% with Barbara in one respect...
"When someone works for less pay than she can live on ... she has made a great sacrifice for you ... The "working poor" ... are in fact the major philanthropists of our society. They neglect their own children so that the children of others will be cared for; they live in substandard housing so that other homes will be shiny and perfect; they endure privation so that inflation will be low and stock prices high. To be a member of the working poor is to be an anonymous donor, a nameless benefactor, to everyone. (p. 221)"
However, she reveals her true self when she describes:
The author, a Ph.D. educated journalist, found manual labor taxing, uninteresting and degrading. She described how the work required incredible feats of stamina, focus, memory, quick thinking, and fast learning.
Jobs that require incredible feats of stamina, focus, memory, quick thinking, and fast learning are taxing, uninteresting and degrading?
"Degrading". That attitude sucks. I was brought up to respect ALL work, from that of a toilet cleaner to a university president. In my mind, no work is degrading. The hooker who entertains men from the street corner is no different than the $1000 an hour fashion model who pimps the clothes that Barbara buys... both profit from their bodies. Barbara profits from her mind, which isn't much different than what Stephen King or the writers of trashy romance novels do.
Despite her accurate conclusion, Barbara can't seem to get her brain around the idea that no honest work is "degrading". |
