|
Here's a little blue collar philosophy for you all. I have no training in philosophy so forgive me if I err. Here we go.
I am sometimes perplexed by coexisting, seemingly opposite qualities in the same person. I'm talking about things that seem like they would cause great conflict in a person's mind but outwardly don't seem to cause them any trouble. It's probably unfair to make absolute statements about a person; we all probably have positive and negative aspects to our personalities. It is a rare person who is absolutely good or absolutely bad. But, for example, how do altruistic and racist qualities exist in the same person? It seems like they would be totally at odds with each other, but I've met several people who possess both of those qualities.
Some people don't think. Maybe that's how all that works. Some people think I think too much. Maybe I'm over-analyzing things. Recently, I was sitting in the break room at work on my lunch break and reading a book. A co-worker sat down next to me and told me that reading will make you dumb. I kind of chuckled but then I realized that he was serious. I then told him that I thought the opposite was true. "Oh, no," he said, "reading will make you dumb."
I'll just go with what I know here and talk about the people I run across in my daily duties as a trucker. They are mostly working class people and very few of them have any education beyond high school. Several of them didn't even make it that far, and I've run across many who have a seemingly jealous disdain and mistrust of those who possess a higher education. I think that might have something to do with the answer I'm looking for.
I work with a bunch of white men. They range in age from mid-twenties to mid-sixties. When I’m with a group of them I feel transported back to a high school gym locker room. I never fitted in back then and I still don’t now, although I’m better at warding off verbal jabs meant to establish dominance in a thinly veiled group hierarchy. Some scientists think that is a natural element of being human left over from our ancestors’ more primal days. My behavior seems to put me outside of the group, but at the same time it earns me some respect. I’m friendly with everyone, but I don’t let anyone get under my skin. I do not submit, but I also have no interest in climbing the group hierarchy.
There's a guy I work with who is probably in his early sixties. He's been with the company for about thirty years. He is the senior driver there and he is the one who gave me my pre-hire road test. He seemed friendly enough to me on first impression and he put in a good word for me when the owner of the company was considering hiring me. He has also complimented me for doing a good job. At the same time he is one of the worst when it comes to the locker room scenario. I’ve heard homophobic, racist, and sexist words come out of that man’s mouth, sometimes all in the same sentence. He has a tendency to lie to make himself appear tougher and more virile than he really is.
The man who told me that reading will make me dumb is also one of the kinder people I work with. He’s one of the few people there who I feel I can really talk to without the ceremonial verbal wrangling. I’ve never heard a bigoted word come out of his mouth if you don’t count his anti-reading bias :). But he does become suspicious of people who demonstrate a higher degree of refinement and education than what he is accustomed to. I find that to be a common theme among most of my co-workers. A lot of people who simply don’t understand something will take a defensive posture instead of admitting their ignorance and attempting to learn something new. I think that has a great deal to do with pride. It is also willful ignorance.
Then we have the owner of the company who many seem to regard as the alpha male. No matter where you stand in the hierarchy, this man seems to inspire fear in everyone. No one wants to have to talk to the guy and when they do they are clearly in a submissive position. Even when this man is obviously wrong, no one seems to have the guts to try to set him straight. This has resulted in several policies that the company has that don’t make much sense from a practical point of view. I should point out that the company has been quite successful, so from the point of view of a business person things are going quite well. But if the owner were to talk to any one of his drivers with an open mind and a respect for their expertise as professional drivers he could save himself quite a bit of money and improve the morale of his employees. But there is no real communication with him and the drivers because he’s the top dog and won’t even consider the idea that those lower in the hierarchy would have anything good to offer besides their backs.
I should also say that I work at a non-union company. I think many equality issues could be resolved with the introduction of a union, but there is really no chance of it becoming a reality simply because the workers there are not interested and are also too afraid for their jobs to try to organize.
I think when you look at the company through the lens of social hierarchy you can see how those contradictory qualities in people can be expressed through dominance and submission factors. It all seems to be rooted in fear to me, which is a state of mind that is not conducive to introspection, inquiry, equality, and open-mindedness.
|
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
