this post was submitted on 09 Dec 2024
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I don't blame the worker either. I don't know their story, but if someone told me that I could either keep my mouth shut or feed and care for my family, I'd probably get chatty too. $60K isn't enough to feed you for life, but it's enough to get reliable transportation, clear a little debt, and buy a little time and cloth to interview for a job that pays better than McDonald's.
What I'm saying is that it's really hard to live by high standards when getting fired from your shitty-ass job could destroy, yet it doesn't pay enough for you to escape. Once again, class solidarity is for those who can afford it.
The middle class income ranges from $17k per person up to $90k per person. I hope you don't think that I'm trying to belittle anyone. Someone making 90K can definitely afford to not be a bootlicker; a family of four averaging nearly $17K per family member is gonna have a much harder time.
The year that I lost my shit-paying job only to find an even worse-paying job with more hours was really fucking tough. If you'd offered me $60K legally when I was making $12K and scrambling for rent, I'd've had a really hard fucking time saying no to that. Back then, I was living alone and had very little to live for. Drop me into my current living arrangement and sub that situation: I'm saying yes to the money 80% of the time.
I wish I could say that I'm better than that, but struggling in a capitalist society makes you sick, scared, and desperate really fast. I'm not saying that people with lower income deserve lower expectations or should live by lower standards. I'm just saying to reserve your judgement before shitting on someone and labeling them a snitch before you know whether they could have afforded anything else.
For those of us who can afford class solidarity against the top 1%, we need to remember that the most vulnerable need to be helped up, not stepped on. Instinctually blaming this McDonald's worker helps the billionaires class far more than many of us may realize.
Maybe I'm off-base, but ultimately, this act of betrayal is unlikely to have an effect on the momentum of this potential movement. Whoever killed Thompson is unlikely to act again, their message was unlikely to be heard while they were in hiding, and if they are the hero everyone believes they also likely would forgive someone who was trying to de-shittify their life a little bit.
If you want this to move forward, pull those below you up so they can join us, not attack them for being on a lower level. Class solidarity is for those who can afford it. It sounds like you and I can afford it, so help someone else be able to afford it. Don't shun people who are too scared of starving to fight. Feed them.