From my earliest days working, I have been subject to different standards. As a new employee, of course, they expect less during the learning curve. What I find counterintuitive is when people with chemical addictions get smoking and drinking breaks, but when I try to take a break I am told to go back to work. When we reward people for aberrant and abhorrent behavior, more people will engage in those behaviors, and consequently they spend more time on their addictions and increasingly less doing work, particularly when those behaviors are related to the stress of work.
People have long argued about pay disparities such that the oppressed have now become the oppressors. This week, I read about the Paycheck Fairness Act, and we’ve heard ad libitum about the Lily Ledbetter Act, which both talk about ostensibly equal pay but are particularly worded to give special attention to women and minorities who are apparently always at a disadvantage. The fact of the matter is that, when the data comes out later this year, it will show probably that all of my female coworkers outearn me despite the fact that I have been “in grade” longer because they have been state union employees longer. If they meant equal pay, then I could use those acts to force my employer to justify that their higher pay is because they do superior work. It’s probably really because of my disparate melanin or testosterone content more than the content of my work character.
I have been a conscientious worker, and it has rewarded me to a degree. The rewards are not always things that I value. Sometimes, they are paper accolades while other people receive pay increases and special accolades for things I do all the time. While working for Wal-mart, my supervisors gave a commendation to a coworker for wording that essentially congratulated him for showing up for work on time. I told my manager that such an award cheapened the value of the commendation I had, especially since mine was for performance. In fact, a few years ago when a friend asked my opinion of working for Wal-mart, I told him that he would have to work harder than people of other demographics just to be competitive. I ran at 130% of expectations every week, even the week I had diarrhea, and I was passed over for promotion, and they rewarded me with more work for the same pay. From each according to his capability is a tenant of Karl Marx. In fact, when they promoted another person to a management position, he was promoted precisely because he was exactly like me.
Equal rights is a double edged sword. As they clamour for perfect equality, they run risks they may not consider. Women are granted maternity leave, and employers are required to hold their job for when they return. They may rue the day when MEN convince a judge that this is unfair. Women want to be able to serve on the front line of combat when it suits them, at least some women, but when they are drafted and forced to go their against their will because a few people were pissants about it, they may rue the day that a minority established that tyranny.
Speaking of tyranny, equality is often a matter of expediency. the argument exists that our gun rights are only for muskets. If they really mean equality, why do we not have the right to the equal protection opportunity the government has? I could really use a tank. They claim that women deserve free contraception, for which I have to pay, and that I must see a doctor. What if I want an abortion? Aren’t we all equal? We are NOT equal. It’s about equal opportunity, not equal outcomes, rewards, pay, care, or whatever. I haven’t had a pay raise for years, but I don’t worry because I know I exist to serve the people, that they can get along without professors, but that I can’t get along without them. Government is actually the lowest part of our society. If they really are the best among us, they should be serving us, not we them. Yet, they have the greatest of preferential treatments as they exempt themselves from gun control, health care, and a whole slew of things they insist apply to us.
I have good friends and good coworkers of all backgrounds. While I agree with Dr. King’s desire that we be judged on the content of our character, I think he would be dissatisfied with the manner in which people are treated today, that it is still about the color of their skin with the scales weighted differently. He asked for a different scale altogether. When we do not provide the best person or product possible, we cheat everyone. If you put garbage in, you get garbage out. We are setting up a system that makes toys that are already broken because the raw materials of which they are made cannot stand the stress. It seems like everyone feels unfairly treated and demands assistance from someone else. They all demand special attention when there is nothing special about them except for the accident of their birth. Truly, when everyone is special, nobody will be.
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