radical sanity: contradictory fluff by clueless woman

[joryuu]

When other readers comment that Wurtzel is spoiled, I really want to shake them-- the aforementioned "do not do the dishes" portion is is the only part of the book I can find that would (mistakenly) lead one to that conclusion. In any case, I'd hope that the chapters about being self-sufficient and not dumping your problems on friends & family

Comments

[lallabelle]

if there were no need for maids, then those women would have to find something else to do to make money. which for some could mean something better. physical labor is the easy way out, and a way to keep yourself from getting into a better position.

and at the end of the day, the dishes still need to be done... i don't know. i think people are better when they do shit for themselves. no matter what their stature is.

[ex_mimic736]

Sure there is always a need for physical labour, but it's not coincidence (or lack of motivation/effort on their part) that results in the majority of western domestic workers being women of colour from poor developing nations, or western women from poor and working backgrounds. Is it the 'easy way out' when their choices and opportunities are so limited? There are often few to no opportunities for work or career development in their home countries, and domestic work is one way to speed up the highly unequal immigration process (where a Brit might wait 18 months to immigrate to North America and a Chinese person, 8 years). I'm sure some domestic workers from these backgrounds are very happy with the work they do, and are not rushing to leave the system. But that isn't necessarily because they are lazy or unmotivated -- they might not have ever been taught that they had (or deserved to have) other choices

[joryuu]

rather than working on finding ways to change it for the better.

Not to mention refusing to believe it is valid work that deserves such "benefits" as health insurance or excess income that can be saved and invested so as to make greater oppurtunity for the next generation.

[ex_mimic736]

Yeah, and live-in domestic workers also risk having their workers' rights abused. They originally agree to a work week of a certain length, and certain duties, but if they live with their employers, they are often expected to be constantly on-call, and to do extra duties, like say babysitting when they were only hired to do housekeeping.

Sarah and Michelle, tag team domestic work advocacy. :oP

[joryuu]

SARAH MICHELLE.
Ha. Haaa.

Re:

[lallabelle]

wow, is that what you thought i wrote? i only meant that at the end of the day the dishes still need to get washed, and it's stupid to keep opressing someone when you say that you're against it. which i see you got, but i surely didn't imply anything else about immigration (the women in question had already moved, no

[ex_mimic736]

OK, I wasn't sure. I reread your comment a couple times and decided to err on the side of awareness-raising. :o)

Yeah, a lot of foreign domestic workers move in order to start their new jobs, arranged by an international agency. They don't have the same visas or immigration status as regular immigrants or regular foreign workers.

[joryuu]

physical labor is the easy way outPhysical work is neither easy nor a way out and anyway a majority of people within the physical labor industry are not in it because they picked it out of a vast array of choices. I'd say a majority of those within the labor industry do not have the luxury of choice, as they have little to no education, a lack of time and resources to even consider earning an education, and a lack of excess income that can be invested in an education for the next generation. It's incredibly fucked up that humans think that humans within the labor industry deserve to pay for their lack of time to sit and think about shit like poetry or essentialism because they're busy working for a crappy paycheck that goes entirely/barely into food and shelter and clothing. It's also thoughtless and a bit self-righteous to say anyone, including those who really do choose "menial" labor because perhaps they believe a "hard day's work" is only had after a physically challenging hard day's work, is a cop-out who is somehow asking to be

Re:

[lallabelle]

clearly another misinterpretation of what i wrote.

LIGHTEN UP, PEOPLE. it was a comment, not a manifesto.

[joryuu]

When a number of people misinterpret your comment perhaps you should consider the possibility you didn't phrase it particularly well, rather waving off everyone as stupid or uptight.