Today’s Earnings: USD0.00
Posted on Mon, 5th December 2005 at 02:32 under General, Life, Humour, Job SeekingOr “Libertus rants on the subject of poverty”.
It may seem like a tiny change to the site but the appearance of that little “Google” logo over the search bar can mean only one thing. Yes folks, I’m getting desperate and I need to get it off my chest. Christmas is approaching. I’ve been back in this country for half a year and can I find work? Can I buggery. So tell me, how does a decent, honest, hard-working, mysteriously odd guy earn a decent, honest living around here? I know for sure it would be simpler in Malaysia and wouldn’t involve lowering my standard of sexual and intellectual behaviour.
I must admit to having a certain festive cheer knowing that I now share something with the majority of the human race. I earn bugger all, by any reasonable, civilised measure and Santa is not coming to save me. From the coca farmers in Columbia to the coffee farmers not so far away, from the paddy farmers in Thailand to the poppy farmers in Burma, from the brickies in China to the boot-lacers in China, from all over the world, from all walks of life, there’s one thing all the poor people know for sure. We all earn bugger all, do a sterling job despite that and get no fucking thanks for it. And almost always, somewhere nearby, lurking in the shadows like boogey-men in business suits, or maybe Santa suits, there are people making a fucking fortune.
But that’s OK. It may seem cruel but the poor, well, most of them, know their place and aren’t any trouble. They’re perfectly happy being poor. There is the occasional anomaly. History is riddled with them. Some people know, just know, that they are not supposed to be poor and will go to extraordinary lengths to prove it. Some even succeed. I shall not name names. It should suffice to say that I, for sure, know I am one of them. I am not supposed to be poor and it is pissing me off something chronic.
But have no fear! In defiance of the spirit of all those great unjust paupers, I won’t be any trouble. I have principles and, most of all, I have a loving family and community of friends to support me. It just bothers me that there are people out there with earnings infinately greater than mine who use their buying power to inflict unnecessary harm on other people, sometimes without even knowing it.
For example, can’t you just stop and think about buying fair trade products once in a while? If you can’t find them in your preferred supermarket, ask for them. Don’t give a fuck about the price. You don’t need to ask, of course you can afford it. You may be surprised at the quality. You don’t need to buy it all of the time, just some of the time and preferrably most of the time. Even the slightest change in our habits and sometimes, scarily, our beliefs can effect the most remarkable beneficience upon those less fortunate than ourselves. They’re out there. We know it but too few of us choose to take notice. More and better, please. The status quo simply isn’t cutting it, these days.
Wake up and smell the coffee! Does that taste more like porcelain or pig-shit to you?
Oh, by the way, if anyone was actually using the search feature on the site and I’ve gone and broken it, please let me know and I shall fashion some repair.
Ali said: December 6th, 2005 at 15:34
It`s all your own fault, your letting those pesky ethtics get in the way of screwing perfectly innocent people out of large sums of money. Next time you are offered a job where the project is unfeasible or undoable, just smile sweetly and tell them your the best and are on the case, take their money and do the best you can. It`s really their fault for not knowing that the project they want, can`t be done.
As for Fair Trade products, I bought quite a lot of them while in the UK, but some are better than others. Their is a perception problem that they are cheap, low quality crap at inflated prices in order to give some lazy farmers more money. The facts are of course very different, but those companies who produce and promote these products need to do more in terms of positive marketing.
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