The complacency of the majority leads to the entrenchment of capitalist power.
When the small retail establishment I worked for found out they weren’t getting government funds during the Covid pandemic to pay the salaries of their employees, they laid several of us off. I made a vow to myself never again to work for a place that calls their employees their “family” or their “team.” Those terms are a sham. But, the place reopened with fewer employees, in compliance with local health rules.
Then one of them tested positive for the virus. As this is a small store, you would think that the prudent thing to do would be to shut down for a couple of weeks while everyone got tested for the virus. But that would mean a loss of revenue. So, they took another approach. They were told to stay quiet about it. Most of the employees decided to get themselves tested, but those who read Reddit and watch Youtube and thought the virus was a hoax, or that testing was a Bill Gates conspiracy, declined getting tested. As a foolproof precaution against spreading the disease, they were asked to check their temperatures on their own before work each morning, which they all pretended to do.
To be fair, the Fox News believing crowd was only three of about 12 employees. The rest were scared and angry. I communicated with some of them. They all wanted to be sure that I didn’t tell anyone outside the store about what was going on. It may upset their boss. Sure, they had complaints about their labor being exploited for mediocre wages so their bosses could continue to amass wealth. They had all sorts of resentments that had built up over the years regarding how they were treated at work, the long letters they were forced to sign in order to keep their jobs during the pandemic. The letters were filled with rules for behavior both at work and outside of work. The rules were clearly written in consultation with an attorney as a future defense against liability if a customer should contract the deadly virus. But this store has a history of intrusive rules, including forbidding employees from sharing housing with one another. Whatever. It’s a pretty good job, all things considered. At least they had work during the worst economic crisis in generations.
I told them that they should simply inform their boss that if they didn’t shut the store down while awaiting test results, they would let the world know that their safety was being risked for profit. Since this store exists on its reputation as a caring, progressive, local business that has the wellbeing of its employees and customers at the forefront of their business model, it would not be able to survive such negative publicity. In other words, the employees had a lot of potential power.
As I spoke with them about this, the general response was agreeing with me but then getting defensive and telling me to just be quiet about everything. I understand not wanting to risk your stupid job. I also understand wanting to please your boss at a small, intimate business. I was the same way — I wanted to prove my loyalty all the time. Extra work? I’ll do it! Pay me a raise later, if you think I’m worth it.
Even when taken advantage of, people are generally too comfortable — or too scared to lose their jobs — to want to rock the boat. The result is that the lack of power, the lack of enfranchisement among workers, trickles down to the lower paid workers as well. If no one stands up for their rights, no one’s rights will be protected.
This is an especially American phenomenon. In a lot of other countries, workers will take to the street at the drop of a hat, or at the drop of a pension guarantee. But in the United States, we’ve witnessed the weakening and even demonizing of unions over the decades. Even though unions exist solely for the benefit of workers, many workers don’t trust them. It’s like young people who never learned the true definition of “feminism” and think it’s a bad word. It’s also like people not trusting the political party that fights for their interests and instead voting for the party of the wealthy and powerful.
Although there is a culture of complacency among the US workforce, it could easily switch to a culture of mutual advocacy. One only has to look at the vast participation of ordinary White people in recent Black Lives Matter protests. It’s a matter of inertia. Things stay the same until suddenly there’s enough of a movement for everyone to safely join. If there were large, widespread workers’ rights marches right now, I’m pretty sure that my friends at work would join them.
There is a related cultural phenomenon at play. In America, people generally don’t want to stick out. Play it safe; go with the flow. It’s why the weird kids get bullied, not the jocks. It’s why Darren and Tony don’t want the world to know that their wives are a witch and a genie. Don’t reveal that you are different! Kind of goes against the myth of American individualism, but therein lies the conflicted essence of our culture, and that’s why cultural and political progress is so slow and halting.
The good news is that although people are afraid to stick their necks out, they are willing to join in when the tide is turning. The same people who spat on me when I first demonstrated against the war in Iraq joined in opposing the war when polls showed the country turning against the war. And we always have brave leaders, people like John Lewis during the Civil Rights Movement, people like the youth protesting against the destruction of the climate, and people like the organizers of Black Lives Matter marches.
What it takes to get the majority to join movements for change, movements whose goals will benefit them, are the first followers. Those are the people who aren’t the first ones out on the street, but are the second and third ones. They show that it’s safe to get out there. Once the first followers take action, the rest can join in. I may not know you personally, but I’m guessing that like me, you are a potential first follower — someone who will bridge the gap between the leaders and the rest of the pack.
If ever there were a time of potential meaningful change in the Unites States, and in the world at large, this is it. So please, if you aren’t doing it yet, get up off your ass and show the rest of workforce that it’s safe to stand up for their rights. Let’s not squander this opportunity.
