May Day: The American Holiday They Don't Want You To Celebrate
Be it Fight for 15, teacher strikes, tree-sits in the path of pipelines, outcries against police brutality or the #metoo movement, it's clear that tensions are high and the gaping chasms between the haves and have nots, the oppressors and the oppressed, the rich and poor – are more and more visible to those on the losing side.
It's getting harder for the powers that be to make excuses for gross inequalities – the pressure of oppression is reaching a breaking point – and the question is, who will break??
And I'm no blind optimist – more so a realist with hope and an appetite for historical connections.
Without history to explain the present, we move into the future blind – we build on foundations we know nothing about, rehashing old mistakes, unaware of what worked and what didn't.
That's why it's so important to recognize and learn from May 1st – because what was born in 1886 gave rise not only to that eight hour work day and weekend that you enjoy today but to worker fights worldwide - and workers rights suppression here at home.
Thank you for this post. The origins and importance of May Day have been forgotten by most people. It is important to remind them why they have this extra holiday from being a wage slave for a day.
I love the question "who will break?". Life is getting extremely harder and harder for more Americans. The one thing these increasing difficulties do as a result is make people far more resilient. I honestly think most at the top would break simply living the lives most of us live from day to day.
Absolutely agree. Politicians are so deeply out of touch with the average American experience. It's how they're able to pass such abhorrent legislation.
1.Getting worse:
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/apr/20/world-bank-fewer-regulations-protecting-workers
2.Or:
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/apr/20/yanis-varoufakis-marx-crisis-communist-manifesto
Yep. There's no incentive for the top to govern on behalf of the bottom - never has.
Agreed. And democracy is currently just a fig leaf...
A scene from athens;
Citizen: Please dont do it
Politican: Who are you to tell me what to do?
Citizen: Who do I have to be!?
If you have the time...
https://www.russellbrand.com/podcast/ep-49-yanis-varoufakis-euro-power-man-knows/
Thank you for Acting Out!