Our school lunches where I work are a lot better then this but were also a petty good district in the state with decent funding.
Our school lunches where I work are a lot better then this but were also a petty good district in the state with decent funding.
Woah, I didn’t expect such a thorough answer (well I didn’t expect any tbh), but that’s one of the things I love about this community.
People out of nowhere just posting really detailed and/or obscure facts or just sharing their unique experiences from all over the world. Really gives me insight into things that I probably would’ve never gotten elsewhere.
Because you and I have much more in common than we have differences, comrade. That thought you expressed is something I’ve chewed on in my own head for a long time. I’ve been screaming into the void about how people abroad have services that are better for less for over a year. And frankly I just don’t see a fat bank account being worth stripping the copper from the walls in society - I’d rather an honest living in a good place.
I was more or less in shitposting-mode when I wrote that
But your response really made me think, because I’m very poor (for someone living in the EU), like I don’t even have an income or ever had a job because of health issues. So I’m not even among those that are fighting for the slop, I’m just in the background watching the carnage. Yet because I live in a country that has somewhat of a safety-net, I’m mostly at peace with my situation. Of course I desire some things that others have, but I’m still fine with a modest life.
I keep seeing other comrades talking about the issues in their lives, and even though they objectively have a better life than me, I still get the feeling that they are worse off, because they have to constantly fight to survive, to not end up homeless or to run out of meds. If everything is going as planned, you can have a really nice time in places like the US but if something bad happens, you’re screwed. No solidarity, no cushion, no nothing. Everything has been stripped away by the greed of a few.
So I definitely prefer living in a country that maybe doesn’t have all the potential luxuries that Amerikkka has to offer, but instead has services that aren’t optimized for profit but made to help people. I don’t want to be stuck in a bottomless, golden cage where I constantly have to cling to the bars to not fall off and it makes me sad that the achievements of the labour movement from the last century are being eroded bit by bit in so many countries.
If basic needs aren’t being satisfied then how can we even think about implementing all those nice extras that you mentioned in your previous comment? Of course you could argue that technological advancements could make things better or that politicians could hand out a couple of treats, but then I would respond that as long as the whole system is set up to exploit everything, all those niceties always have either a catch or just a thin veneer. In the end profit comes before humans and their quality of life.
So fuck billionaires and their cronies! Leave my buses and trains alone!
In my head I was trying to form some pontification about how the treats are nice if they’re not exploitative. And I think what we’re ultimately doing a dance around socialism being the key and that a better world is possible. I once heard, and I think I was a high schooler in philosophy class, that a just society could place you in any position in that society and you’d be able to go “yeah my conditions are X,Y, and Z but it feels fair.” Like if you were put into society as a slave you’d be like “this is bullshit!” or if you were the poor child In Omelas you’d be like “wtf you guys!!” so they wouldn’t be just societies. If you were infirm in one way or another but you weren’t homeless or made to do manual labor it seems just to be like “this isn’t ideal, but I get it.” Cause we’re not exactly trying to iron the waves out of the ocean, just responding to our material conditions together. It would sure feel good to know, even if I were the laborer, like 999 times out of 1000, my work can trace its origin and motivation towards the good of the society in which I’m living instead of some bullshit like OEMing cheap plastic products marketed towards people who have mobile gambling app winnings to spend. Or, all too commonly, being a warm body for some suit to show how they manage X amount of people to some board of directors. Because I sure as shit would rather contribute to and be part of a society who takes care of everyone instead of all coming together to decide that 19 or 20 people get infinite purchasing power and full discretion over how we create and spend our surplus labor value. And, circling back, I know this because even being in places that are not good, but obviously less shitty, was rejuvenating.