Richard Mellor
A friend of mine who is also a public sector worker sent me this video. The Trump and all previous administrations have cut funding to public services including vital services to one degree or another, all in the interests of efficiency. Often it is the poorer communities that are hit the hardest. Trumps beautiful bill is nothing but a save declaration of war on public sector workers. Remember, we have too many holidays here in the US says Trump.
I remember when we had the Oakland fire here, or the Loma Prieta earthquake. When the latter hit Roger Martinez and I were about to go in to a union meeting not far from the corporation yard where we worked. Suddenly there was this thunderous sound as the quake brought down the Cypress freeway crushing huge semi’s like they were toys. We looked down the street and the lampposts shook and swayed back and forth as the road surface was lifted above the ground like a mat does when we want to shake the dust from it.
There were about four or five guys on the corner of the intersection that looked like they had a few too many drinks and fell to the ground as the earth beneath them shook.
We figured something was up and headed right back to the yard. We were joined there by our friend Marvin Cain who was also one of the key people in our union. I remember our boss making some comment about the three union guys (troublemakers bosses like to call union folk though not this one) turning up first. It was by chance as the quake happened right at the end of the day shift. But none of us hesitated to head in as the extent of the earthquake’s damage became apparent. We worked until we could work no longer to deal with the more than 150 water main breaks that the quake caused.
Some of us earned a lot of money that week but in emergencies like these money was not the motive. We worked alongside firefighters as well at times and we know turning up for work for them so often meant risking their lives to help others.
I got quite emotional watching this video. From what I understand these firefighters were primarily volunteers. If you go out in to rural California most of the firefighters are volunteers. As I listed to them and watched the scenes I couldn’t help comparing to the dedication and humanity of these working class people compared to the scum that float to the top of our society. The politicians that bury their snouts in the public trough and the moneymen that buy them. People who make the decisions and write the laws that harm working people and deprive us of security and a means to maintain a decent life.
With all our weaknesses, working class people are truly the salt of the earth. When we feel disgusted and embarrassed at those who have the power and wealth in society, that do no productive labor and talk tough when they blame immigrants, the poor and workers in general for the failings of a system they govern, remember who fights the fires, who cleans the streets, who cares for the sick, who teach our children who drive our buses and all those that make society function.
Governments are governments and the majority of those governed are working people. Most people no matter which country have little respect for those that claim to represent them.
When Tucker Carlson talks of us as Americans as all the privileged in society do, they stress that in order to include the working class, to imply that we are all equal in this society and have the same opportunity and the same values.
The folks in this video are American’s and they are Americans we can be proud of. We work with people like this every day. We can be sure we’ll never meet Tucker Carlson, Onan Musk Donald Trump, Jeff Bezos or any of their ilk when danger calls. They don’t fight wars and they don’t put our fires: But they do start both of them.
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