5/26/2006
At the Foot of Olympus
[FADE IN on a little girl, sitting in front of an active television set. On the screen is nothing but snow and static, but she seems not to notice as she intently watches an image only she can apparently see. The little girl reaches toward the screen and places her hand on it, in some sort of communion with an unseen presence. Slowly she turns and looks back over her shoulder at the audience...
"He's baaaaaack..."]
Still here. Still whole (well, mostly...) And still trying to fight the economic winds. Unfortunately for my Gentle Readers, I'll no longer be talking specifically about my homelessness, because, well, we're not homeless anymore. But there are still things that should be talked about from the standpoint of poor people. In many ways, we down here in the mud are still trying to break through and make a way for ourselves and our children while up on the summit of Mount Olympus,, the CEOs, the High-Powered Financiers, the Politicians, the Movers and Shakers, and the Grand Poohbahs are clinking their champagne glasses together and making funny hats out of the stock pages and patting themselves on the backs about how many people they've hired (at minimum wage), how many jobs they've created (low-wage, dead-end service industry jobs), and how they've generally Benefited The Community (wow, we really did need those spanking-new condos with the view of the golf course, didn't we?)
I propose we scale the slopes of Olympus, you and I, and grab Zeus and company by the collar, give their consciences a good shake and shout in their ears "Hey! We're still here! We're still slaving away for peanuts and getting laid off and outsourced and assimilated by illegals and evicted! Oh, and by the way, the lottery and a hike in the minimum wage aren't the End Of Civilization As We Know It!"
Sound like a plan? Okay, let's get climbing...
"He's baaaaaack..."]
Still here. Still whole (well, mostly...) And still trying to fight the economic winds. Unfortunately for my Gentle Readers, I'll no longer be talking specifically about my homelessness, because, well, we're not homeless anymore. But there are still things that should be talked about from the standpoint of poor people. In many ways, we down here in the mud are still trying to break through and make a way for ourselves and our children while up on the summit of Mount Olympus,, the CEOs, the High-Powered Financiers, the Politicians, the Movers and Shakers, and the Grand Poohbahs are clinking their champagne glasses together and making funny hats out of the stock pages and patting themselves on the backs about how many people they've hired (at minimum wage), how many jobs they've created (low-wage, dead-end service industry jobs), and how they've generally Benefited The Community (wow, we really did need those spanking-new condos with the view of the golf course, didn't we?)
I propose we scale the slopes of Olympus, you and I, and grab Zeus and company by the collar, give their consciences a good shake and shout in their ears "Hey! We're still here! We're still slaving away for peanuts and getting laid off and outsourced and assimilated by illegals and evicted! Oh, and by the way, the lottery and a hike in the minimum wage aren't the End Of Civilization As We Know It!"
Sound like a plan? Okay, let's get climbing...
# posted by Cybermancer @ 6:18 PM 
