dickblack12
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Sean McGarvey - President of North America's Building Trades Unions (NABTU). This is pretty badass.
Personal note: The political class is trying their best to put us one against the other. Let me say as a delicate, office-working TRANSGENDER WOMAN I looooooooooooooooooooooooove, value and respect the (mostly) men that do the really hard jobs. People that climb poles in the middle of the night to keep my pampered booty warm, the people making the beautiful roads I drive on to do the silly crap I like to do most, like shop for clothes made for women 25 years younger than me and drink frou-frou drinks. The people building houses, restaurants and doctors offices that keep me happy and healthy:
*The carpenters
*The truck drivers
*The electricians
*The plumbers
*The sawyers
*The brick layers
*The concrete workers
*The firefighters
*The line cooks
*The assembly line workers
*The window cleaners
*The linemen
*and all the other things I don't even know people do.
If you wear a hard-hat, leather gloves, hearing protection, knee pads, thermal underlayers, welding masks, face-shields, safety glasses, steel toed shoes, etc. etc. etc. I LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU! I can never thank you enough!!!!!!
We need to stick together, love one another and fight the takeover of the g@#$^&#ed billonaires and support the unions.
(I called out men specifically because I know they get dumped on a lot. Some people think men are privileged. That's not true, 10 or 20%, maybe, I can't say with specificity, are hyper privileged. The rest are just getting by and the bottom few percent are dumped on the hardest)
shitheadtookmyname
Patriarchy doesn't benefit men. It benefits a small small small group of men. I learned this lesson in high school in 2000 when I had to read an essay about how feminism liberates men from unfair social expectations, too. Now I'm a stay at home Dad, cook and clean (and DIY home improvements) and support my wife while she goes to do the job she LOVES that puts food on the table. Free to do what we love. THANKS FEMINISM
Vungor
Nurse here, fight!
Kevinbfree
Gotta admire that.
BBQBourbonAndBeer
Sadly, I'd bet a vast majority of those building trades workers voted for Trump. If they are getting hosed over, they voted for it.
artie500
Who's the creep who can't be bothered at the end? He stood up because he'd have been shamed if he'd remained sitting. Check out his expression.
Eiladar
"There has to be an 'us', because now there is 'them'." - Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale.
pleaseacknowledgethecat
Thank you. We need to take power away from politicians and make them work for the salary they are paid by the people. Let the people’s opinions prevail
TsubakiTragic
First 15 years of my life I worked as a bricklayer's labourer, lab technician (cleaned sample bottles), operator in an oil refinery, TA on a power site construction and met some terrific and highly skilled men and women. Then, my life changed and I got to work alongside a group of white collar, very highly educated and competent men and women. There are fabulous people in all works of like, but the more damaging ass-holes tend to be higher on the social ladder.
MagmaCarta
GIMike1972
I just had to comment that you forgot HVAC (Heating and Air Conditioning folks) and Sheetmetal Workers (who put the air duct work in your living spaces and metal roofs to keep the worst weather away). The metal roofing I used to do could be guaranteed for 100 years. ALL of the real working class needs to WAKE THE FUCK UP!! Donald Trump and all his criminal cronies don't give a flying fuck about you as they rip your unions apart!!! And YOU VOTED FOR THIS!! Reap what you've sown fools...
Ultratoxic
In this capitalist society where everything is reduced to commodities, men and women age both exploited for their bodies, just in different ways (usually). The enemy is, was, and always will be the fuckin rich people pulling the strings.
RealRaceRiotsAreAboutGettingBlueshelledInMarioKart
Honing in on the '(mostly) men' comment: If you ever see a woman in a hard hat, she could break you. Either your back or in bed, maybe both. Seduce quickly but with caution. Best decision ever.
thedtp
As a trade worker myself… https://media3.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTY1YjkxZmJldmc0MTk3NzR1dDgxMmRhZ2IzZDRwbWF4MHBjdno1eHA0OXgxdXI1dyZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/jHtTeENOwKYjgvmQhB/giphy.mp4
BlueValentine99
Let's have a general strike then
kurvarVillain
petrovpoo
The biggest horror for any CEO, worker solidarity. JOIN A UNION! No union in your area? MAKE ONE!
Rapbot20
Yet, he donated to trump and loves him
fyrekitten
As a female who does carpentry and masonry, thank you.
vanishinggirl
I like this guy!
john306326
I dislike anyone who says that their group is the “backbone” of America.
Lots of groups are important but thinking your group is extra special bugs me.
I have a relative who is a vet and is a POS. He expects everyone to kiss his ass cause he was in the army.
Ceardah
USW member represent!
SpectreA19
LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOO
ShiftyBat
I honestly have more respect for plumbers and garbage men than most other professions. A friend said something many years ago that stuck with me - "I complain a lot and think I have it rough, then I think of what it would be like hundreds of years ago; now I have a magic button that makes my poo go away and it's not so bad "
LittleDragon
I really hope he is still alive.
METROlD
It saddens me that IT isnt a part of this list. We really do need an IT union. We're fuckin everywhere and were the first to get shafted. We are thought of as a unfortunate business cost and not a business strategist and partner.
Amomani
All the white collar professionals who are anti union baffle me.
SecretAgentSuperBooger
NumptyDumptyLump
As a Chef as well, thank you.
dickblack12
Gospel!
Comet260
PRRRRRRREEEEEEAAAAACCCCHHHHHH!!!!!
vrockurmouth
We hired two new line cooks this month. They both walked out mid shift. My boys in the kitchen are amazing, and I always show my gratitude by bringing them a beer at the end of a busy ass night shit gets crazy back there
SecretAgentSuperBooger
Right on. Related painfully honest truth for MAGA From Bourdain's - The Nasty Bits. Sauce: https://archive.org/details/nastybitscollect0000bour
vrockurmouth
Ahh yes. They are all from Mexico
NotSomoneElse68
Did you actually read it?
WrongUn
Chef here, I appreciate that
tokenhooker
We appreciate you
Paithinzo
also a chef, i also appreciate that
Mr21782Man
This guy ain't your friend. He's doing this because its politically convenient and he knows he's fucked under Trump's policies. He opposed Obama era policies that would get you that job with debt and they've been in bed with the oil industry for a while. At best he's a temporary ally.
codenametrixie
I was surprised to see so many white males applauding something anti administration. Your comment makes sense to me.
RickO3611
Mu take? Most, not all billionaires are PARASITES. They take without giving and expect us to kiss their asses. Most of Stinkys cabinet are these. Hangings too good for them, throw the bums out
Tahroo
Laborers, Operators, Teamsters (union cdl drivers) in my job alone.. though whenever I go in for union training I hear horror stories about dealing with carpenters so I'm thankful I don't have to.. just gotta deal with the dump truck drivers who operate like Orange Cats. Only one of them get to use the brain cell. Watched a fully loaded driver back into a 4 foot ditch.. like how in eff are you going to get it out of there booboo? Now we gotta call the big boy tows.
Tahroo
Should point out that the teamsters union leadership was very pro-orange man.. idk where they stand now that he's trying to kill us unions off.
LoudBirb
This is an excellent sentiment, but you seem to have a misunderstanding of what the word "privilege" means in a sociology context.
Our male privilege doesn't mean we're automatically better off than all women. Our cis/het privilege doesn't mean we're automatically better off than all LGBTQ+ people.
It means that we don't face some problems that they do by default.
The side-effects from the hormones you take to transition? I'll never have to deal with them. The social persecution and...
dickblack12
That's not what I meant at all. I mean what I said a few men have it very well, and a lot have it very bad. The rank and file guys don't get a lot of credit sometimes, that's all. I have lived in both roles and my life is better now, even with all the added problems. Privilege is not an all or nothing thing. White western women have scores of it. I am lucky enough to have much of it now.
LoudBirb
White women have scores of privilege, but white men have even more.
And no, it's not a one sided thing. People think of things too often as black and white. Just because you have privilege doesn't mean you're guaranteed success. It doesn't mean you have no problems or obstacles to overcome.
Lots of white men have it very bad, but they'll never have to worry about choosing between dying of an ectopic pregnancy or risking the hanger in a state with a total abortion ban. That's a privilege.
dickblack12
You seem overconfident. Men have more privilege in some areas like I said. Affection for example is an area where men are very disadvantaged. Women are allowed and encouraged to share affection. Nearly 30% of men 18 to 30 are virgins. For women it is about 6%. 70% of the homeless are men. Men are considered disposable. 95% of prison inmates are men. 92% of deaths in the workplace are men. I could go on. One thing that is hard to quantify is the experience of daily living....
dickblack12
People (nearly everyone) are more pleasant to women. It is a much better experience.
dickblack12
The only people that have unconditional worth are women and children. Men have to earn it. I have lived this from both sides.
LoudBirb
Similarly, a person who inherited $3 Billion from their parents is undeniably privileged... but they can still suffer from clinical depression or incurable cancer.
"Privilege" isn't an attack. It's a simple acknowledgement of reality.
If you're in a race with a kid with 1 leg, it's not that you won only because of your 2-legged privilege. You worked hard! You probably would've won regardless!
But that kid undeniably had it harder than you. They were, baseline, less likely to win. That's all.
dickblack12
A black kid with loving, intelligent, wealth parents is more privileged that poor white kid with violent parents from a hell-hole area of the country. Period.
LoudBirb
Absolutely! There are all kinds of privilege, and they're additive. There's a lot of nuance to this conversation.
A rich black kid has privilege over a poor white kid because he'll never know hunger. That's class privilege.
A poor white kid has privilege over a rich white kid because a police officer won't strangle him to death specifically because of the color of his skin. That's racial privilege.
Class privilege often trumps racial privilege, but it doesn't invalidate it. All things...
LoudBirb
Anti-trans bathroom laws? The calls from certain aspects of society to "reeducate" or "convert" trans people by violent means if necessary? The calls to remove trans people from public life entirely? The bills to make it illegal to transition?
They don't threaten me personally. I will never have to deal with any of that shit myself. That's privilege.
Privilege is the set of problems that you can suffer from than I can't. And you can suffer from a much bigger list than I can.
dickblack12
The list is probably bigger, but it is not a one sided thing.
LoudBirb
It's a lot bigger, frankly. It's not even close. But yes, acknowledging that I have privilege isn't the same as pretending I don't have problems/or obstacles.
It's simply acknowledging that I have fewer pitfalls in my pursuit of happiness than you do. That shouldn't make anyone defensive. It should make them angry that others aren't afforded the same playing field.
OverthinkingThis
Fuckin ng 1000% this. As a straight white financially stable male I am not going to try and pretend I truly know the difficulties of, honestly, a majority of my friends. I make efforts to understand and support but I recognize I have and have had it easier than them through circumstance. It's not hard to do and frankly I find it sad when people in similar situations claim otherwise.
LoudBirb
Acknowledging this shouldn't be an issue that causes strife or disconnect. But some people get offended by the very idea that others have more baseline obstacles in their pursuit of happiness than they do.
But the first step in addressing systemic injustice is to acknowledge that it exists.
Otherwise, it doesn't matter how many billionaires we guillotine, systemic injustices will continue to exist.
BloatedGuppy
100% and well said, but a lot of people turn off their brains the second the word "privilege" is uttered. A lot of privileges, especially normative ones like cis/hetero or being part of a dominant racial group, can *feel* invisible.
I think if I wanted to pick where progressives have fallen down the worst on their messaging it is in failing to remember class privilege when it comes to identifying obstacles in people's paths. If you want a united left, it starts there.
RobBobertyYT
I've always thought it reaches more people if we try to frame it as some people having more obstacles than others having more privilege. The problem with calling it privilege is that oftentimes, those people are getting what everyone should get as a baseline. To me, privileges should be things like being born wealthy and similar.
LoudBirb
A comparative lack of obstacles *is* a privilege, though.
A kid from a billionaire family can have problems, too, for instance. They can have abusive parents or be bullied in school. Nevertheless, they will never have to worry about having to pay student loans. That's a privilege.
I do understand that the concept of privilege should be taught/communicated better... but we also shouldn't use that as an excuse to shy away from difficult conversations.
RobBobertyYT
Telling people they only accomplished something because of their privilege is often felt as a direct attack on them. But telling people that other people couldn't accomplish the same thing because they had additional obstacles puts the blame on where the problem really lies.
Saying "you could only get that loan because you're white" is a lot different than "those people couldn't get the same loan because they're black.