Date:  May 16, 2013

Subject:  How Lazy Are Poor People Really?

OP-ED by John

My Dad was poor as a church mouse and he worked his living rear end off for his Right Wing task masters all his working life – - – 8 to 12 hours a day and was on call 7-days-a-week in every kind of weather – - – and he never earned more than $35-a-week digging graves in the Republican-Owned cemetery in the Republican-dominated county and village where we all lived until I was of age and when I left home to go out in the world and become – - – a Democrat!

That’s how “lazy”my dirt-poor Daddy was – - – and yet he idolized the ground the Righties walked on and they looked down their noses at him and treated him like he was nothing but a useful pile of shit.  I will never understand what motivated my Dad to kiss Right Wing buttocks – - – allegorically speaking – - –  with such devotion but he did and that is that!

My Dad and my Grandfather both worked in the same place for most of their working lives and they endured some of the most gruelling and physically demanding work conditions imaginable and they never complained except when they would occasionally come up with some little gem of “wisdom” such as, “The poor man can’t ever hope to make it in this world as long as those rich union SOBs in Detroit keep on getting those raises.  Every time some union dick working in a car factory gets a raise, it makes it that much harder on us poor folks.”

I heard that from both of them until I was old enough to fly the coop and when I finally did manage to escape that form of voluntary slavery for slave wages and killer working conditions you know what I did?  - – -  I went to Detroit and became one of those “rich” SOBs who kept on getting those union raises and you know what else?  - – - I was damned glad I was able to get that union job and make those wages because I was able to give my family a decent standard of living – - – and that is something I had never known for myself growing up in the backward, regressive pit of depression that passed for “The Town” where I grew up.

You know what else?  My Dad was more than happy to have me help him pay off the bills he had managed to run up here and there over the years – - – and I was more than happy to do it with my “rich SOB raises from the car factory where I worked.”

Daddy changed his tune about us “rich SOBs in Detroit” after that but he never did let go of his embrace of what I considered to be the false promises of Conservatism. He remained a staunch Republican til the day he died although I am pretty certain he never quite understood why – - – except maybe it was something that his parents had done before him and he considered it to be the honorable and honest thing to do.

Yes I learned early on that some of those that the Re-thugs consider to be “The Lazy Poor” are the ones who work the hardest and often for the least return.

I decided a long time ago that some of the fat cat Ree-Pug-lickins – - – the ones who spent a lot of their time out on the links or skiing down the slopes of aspen while their lackeys stayed at home task mastering their “Lazy” 47 percenter hourly indentured servants – - – I decided they were the really “lazy” ones and believe me when I tell you that I have also learned that this kind is usually never reluctant to put the demands to those employees whom some of them talk like they are “Taking to raise” or “taking care of.”

In my experience I have discovered that it is some of these “Better Than Anybodys” who are the hardest to work for and who always seem to feel like their employees aren’t worth two cents or that they are – - – somehow – - – stealing from them – - – or aren’t worth the time and effort to keep them on and pay them good hard cash for “what little they do.”

I have had my time being brow beaten by some fat-tailed Right Wingers with a lot of money and a big business where they can Lord it over their employees and trust me when I tell you that a whole helluva lot of them seem to get off on doing exactly that!

Posted by John at 1:45 pm