Exploited Worker Syndrome

My roommate and I were discussing his recent work situation, which has essentially required him to work through the weekend and extended hours (15+) during the work week.  He works for a small software company that is developing a product for a customer whose arrival to view the demonstration is imminent.  My roommate feels uncomfortable asking for time off because of two reasons: 1) there is the expectation that he can delay his time off to "take one for the team" and 2) he is depending on the company to help him get his worker visa.

It is customary that the company will absorb the costs of applying for the visa for their employee, but in his case, they are withdrawing the funds from his paycheck to pay the estimated $4500 needed to procure this visa.  It was an unexpected expense, but what can he do?  Of course, he is "free" to quit his job and move back to his native country, but he does not want to do this for reasons relating to social stigmatization and prejudice-related problems in his country.  Further, after paying a large sum of money to finish his education here, he now needs to earn enough to repay his parents for their financial assistance.

His boss has also said that he should expect to work through another weekend to complete this project.  He took a slightly extended lunch a couple of days ago (1.5 hours instead of their standard 1-hour lunch), which was noted by the HR manager, but all of the hours that he has worked overtime but did not report went unnoticed and unappreciated.  Now, he is suffering from physical injury; his eyes are not focusing as clearly since he is spending hours staring at a monitor, and his wrists are sore from typing all day and evening.  The company quickly notices it's own "loss" when he took a little extra time for lunch, but completely disregards the effects this situation is having on its employee, a human being.  Still, he has little choice, especially right now when his visa is being processed.

We spend so much time focusing on amassing more wealth, and for what purpose?  To have a better life.  In the meantime, we ride roughshod over those qualities that make life better.  Balance, health, creativity, and consideration for others are all subservient to profit.  Is it really a surprise that we create a sick society in this process?  To cope, people turn to medications or other drugs, which again, is another profit-driven not healing-driven industry.  What does it take to make us all aware of the hell we are creating? Only when this is understood, can we begin in a new direction.

Commander Mike Hamel's Response to Banner Event

I spoke with Irvine Commander Mike Hamel this morning regarding the confrontation we had with the police officers who told us we had to remove our banner shortly after displaying it a few weeks ago.

Mike seemed genuinely concerned that our free speech rights were trespassed upon and he assured me he would speak to the officers involved and re-educate his force on the regulations relevant to free speech rights. He said it would not happen again, but if it did, I would need to request to speak with the Supervisor who would sort it out for us.

Surprisingly, I was not questioned about the nature of the banner nor the ZMOC group.

He confirmed that as long as the banner was not affixed to any fence or edifice, we are well within our rights. He did say there was a caveat relating to a traffic safety issue, but that it would be very unlikely that this restriction would apply to our circumstance.

A World Without Geniuses

Most people recognize the profound influence a particular genius has had on human society, whether it be technical, philosophical, or artistic. I watched a biographical film last night about Beethoven and one of the circumstances that was highlighted was the fact that Beethoven was not a member of the aristocracy, so he had to do compose piano sonatas instead of full orchestral pieces because that is how he got paid. Beethoven was lucky because his parents were musicians, so they taught him to play music when he was young. It was most likely the only skill they could pass along to him so he could earn a living. Of course, he flourished in his training, and eventually, he created a revolution in musical composition that has made him one of the most famous names in classical music to this day. In fact, there is even a Beethoven scholar--a man who is spending his life studying about the life of another man! Imagine that.

Now Imagine This:

I just plucked many great geniuses out of history. Beethoven, Babbage, Buddha, Aristotle, Da Vinci, Darwin, Einstein, Shakespeare.....all gone! Since this is just a thought experiment, we can try to stretch ourselves over two realities in which they exist and they don't exist. You come upon the feeling of what a great loss that would be to humanity to lose all that insight and creativity. It's more difficult to imagine what the technological loss would be.

My reason for putting you through this is to consider that this reality of absent geniuses is the world we live in. The people mentioned above all had some "chance" at life in the societies they were raised in. I mean they had enough financial means for them to grow their talents. Ultimately, they were able to earn a living from those talents, but they needed to start off with some opportunity to develop their genius, which is why we know about them (or their works) today.

Another Beethoven may have been born a few years ago, but sadly, his parents couldn't afford to feed him and provide him with health care, so he's dead now. Women geniuses haven't been afforded the educations they needed to bring out their talents, and even then, they had other duties to attend to. In a monetary system where everyone must compete with each other for resources, we have missed out on much innovation.

This will be corrected in a resource-based economy. The understanding that each human has a certain set of talents, grand or simple, will be valued not by how much money it can make, but because it will contribute to the health and growth of humanity. We don't feel the loss of these absent geniuses because we can't really be in two realities, but we can realize that this current system produces this absence, and we can work to disentangle ourselves from it.

Banner Event Sept 8 Culver Overpass Irvine

After lugging the banner to the place where northbound traffic could see the sign, we unrolled it and battled the wind for about 8 minutes. Suddenly, a police car arrived and we were told to take down the sign immediately by two armed police officers. About a minute later, a second police car arrived and a third, civilian-dressed officer demanded we remove the sign. Dustin engaged the police in a discussion about laws relating to peaceful demonstration and he produced a copy of the code. The police maintained their "non-negotiable" attitude. Dustin demanded they provide a copy of the legal code which supported the alleged prohibition against our banner demonstration. After several minutes, one of the officers came back saying he couldn't find it. The civilian dressed officer said it was a safety issue. Later, he said we would need to get a permit from the business license department. This is rather odd because why would they issue a permit to allow us to be a "safety hazard." I am trying to get more information, but the Irvine police department has not responded. It appears to be a case of harassment.

During the argument about whether or not it was lawful for us to peacefully demonstrate at that location, we tried to educate them on the mission of the Zeitgeist Movement.

Quitting

I quit my job last week, after 4 years of diligently working to meet the unending demands of the company and the customers. My career history has felt long and has taken unexpected turns, but in the end, each job reminded me of the fact that indentured servitude is very much the norm today:

An indentured servant was a worker, typically a laborer or tradesman, under contract to an employer for a fixed period of time, typically three to seven years, in exchange for their transportation, food, clothing, lodging and other necessities. (wikipedia)

When the news of my resignation spread among my colleagues, many of them revealed their frustration with the conditions the job imposes upon them. A sense of envy was noticed in their voices for wanting to be able to quit as I was doing, but they were quick to point out their defeat by the current system which requires them to pay for their mortgages, kids' education, food, and other bills. I sympathize with their situations, but sadly, I haven't enough money to release them from their indentured servitude. I'm merely taking a necessary reprieve for myself, but I know my servitude will be required once again. The best option I have at this point is to cooperate with the Zeitgeist Movement to open people's minds to the current conditioning of the economic/monetary system and to suggest a more responsible system of meeting human needs.

In comparing the responses of my coworkers to the definition from wiki, it's easy to notice the remarkable similarities. In fact, not one said, "Oh, the job is rough, but I am just passionate about what I'm doing so it's worth the frustration."

Indeed, there are some people in jobs that they love and for them the current system is good enough. However, to isolate oneself from the sorrow created by the current system is merely an exercise in creating dullness. It's like shuttering yourself in a room to avoid the Outside, but that ultimately limits perception and the fullness of life's experiences. All you see is the decorations of your own mind. The creature comforts of your own thoughts will soon become your prison. I feel glad when I hear a story of someone who is enriched by the work they do and they earn enough to live on, but I don't think they are necessarily opposed to any change, even if they can only see that change as a benefit to others.

While working with the Zeitgeist Movement, I will also be focusing on finding a way to carve out a new way to earn a living. I need to do this for me. I may fail, but I must try.