The Choices Are Limited: Fight Back or Go Down. Jet Blue Flight Attendant Gets Support Despite Their Attempts to Denegrate Him

‘We’re in the ditch, we’re in the ditch –
‘We’ve got to get rid of the rich’.

Paul Potts, Poem to Man, 1945

Capitalist economists are not too optimistic about the future.  They're having to get out the "Hail Mary" passes writes John Hilsenrath in the Wall Street Journal. But there doesn't seem to be much in this playbook.  The best Hail Mary option, Hilsenrath suggests, may well be "Do nothing and hope the economy heals itself."  (1)

These great economic minds of society, the strategists of the ruling class, the people whose actions determine whether we can work, have a roof over our head, or how the resources of society, both human and material are allocated, suggest that the best option they have might will be to do nothing.

But the economic crisis not only refuses to go away, it is deepening.  Employment remains stubbornly high and the owners of capital are still on strike.  As we have pointed out previously, government stimulus is not an easy option given the record deficits. The housing market doesn't offer much hope either.  Business Week (2) reports that foreclosure filings rose in the second quarter in Idaho, Illinois, Utah and Colorado over the past year. "The number of homes seized by lenders at least doubled in 19 states and more than tripled in seven" the magazine states.

The shelter that people need to live a decent life is "seized by lenders".  We should think about that. Moneylenders, people who do no productive work, are forcibly taking people's homes from them. People aren't losing their homes, they are still there; people are being dispossessed of them.  What sort of civilization is it that leaves shelter unused and enacts policies that increase the need for it?  It is the same system that cannot utilize the Labor power of millions of people, cannot put people to work,  because there is no profit to be made in it.  

We should not underestimate the depth of this crisis and the effect on people's lives.  "The numbers are exploding due to unemployment and economic displacement" says one realtor with regards to the mortgage crisis in the midwest.  Idaho's chief economist, Michael Ferguson reveals the level of concern the bourgeois have about the economy and the future, "This is an off the chart, extreme financial event." he tells Business week, "I wasn't  around for the Depression but in the last half century there has been nothing like this." Idaho has lost thousands of jobs and furloughs have been forced on those public workers still employed. Boise, which has one third of the state's population has been particularly hard hit.

We have to think about what these statistics mean in terms of human suffering, the misery index and the effect this is having on consciousness. The fact that within two days after he slid down the emergency chute of a Jet Blue airliner, Facebook pages set up in flight attendant Steven Slater's defense received 180,000 fans.  The big business media has in many ways, subtle and not so subtle, tried to denigrate him.  Business Week reported that when the cops came to arrest him he was "Lounging in bed with his boyfriend.."  This attempt to portray him as a bit of a waster and to appeal to the homophobes out there is not an easy sell given his steady work record and the man's dedication to his parents. They are very worried that the smallest action could set of a spark that ignites the anger that exists out there.

The crisis and its aftermath have ushered in a new period. The bosses have no alternative but to continue their aggressive offensive. They are concerned about the social repercussions as are the heads of organized Labor who also have little room to maneuver; there's little space for compromise and they will be more open in their collaboration with the employers. Neither have much choice.

It is not easy to figure out what will happen except that, barring an explosive social movement arising,  capitalism will emerge from this crisis as it does all previous crisis but it will not be the same.  Many workers still employed and getting by are hoping they can keep their heads above water until the tide turns.  Union leaders will be offering to roll over contracts in the hope that their members can keep what they have until the good times return.  For the Union hierarchy, there is no alternative to capitalism so going on the offensive is not an option, there's no point in fighting it, damage control is the only strategy.

When I was active in my Union and workplace I used to tell co-activists who said that the members will never get active that increased activity is inevitable at some point because the boss won't stop.   Unfortunately there is no alternative but to fight, I told them that also,  but that is a hard lesson that will have to be learned by some.


(1) WSJ: 8-09-10
(2) The Crisis Climbs Over the Mountains, BW 8-16-10