Literati

Last night I attended a reading by Barbra Ehrenreich from her new book “Bait and Switch” at the Unity Temple on the Plaza. While this sounds like something more intelligent that my usual routine of drinking and hollering at the TV, I tried to keep it lowbrow as I joked to my girlfriend that I was gonna kick her ass unmerciful(ly) in the midst of the liberal crowd of elderly hippies.

I’ve read Ehrenreich’s breakthrough book “Nickel and Dimed” and I admired her candid reporting on the plight facing the plebian masses of wage slaves working in the service industry. I had hoped that Ehrenreich was a writer sewing the seeds of class warfare or at least deep resentment. But much to my chagrin, hearing Ehrenreich spout off one piece of NY Times propaganda after the other it became apparent that she was nothing more than yet another liberal scribe who was surprised to discover something that Cheech and Chong noted more than two decades ago: “Things are tough all over.” I stopped listening when she touted the socialistic model of Finland as an alternative to the cutthroat capitalism practiced in this country. Sorry lady, this country ain’t never gonna be like Finland; take a walk with me to the East or West side of KC and I’ll explain why . . . as we dodge bullets on our merry way.

Ehrenreich's latest work seems to be merely a slightly more literary take on the lessons that were more humorously expressed in the film “Office Space.” Still, the book seems to promise many funny anecdotes about the ridiculous state of modern corporate life. The book details everything from corporate makeover consultants to insurance selling pyramid schemes.

Ultimately, she didn’t sound too enthusiastic about the reality of life in the corporate workforce. Long story short: There is no such thing as stability or job security for white collar workers . . . if your company can underpay, downsize or outsource you, eventually they will. Similarly, in “Nickel and Dimed” it seemed as if the struggle of the American wage slave was ultimately futile. Now that I’ve seen her in person I believe that this sense of hopelessness in Ehrenreich’s work is not based solely on the sad state of affairs in the American labor market but also might have something to do with that fact that she’s a grumpy, post-menopausal woman who might be prone to melancholy. Not that there’s anything wrong with that; reading my endless series of mean spirited rants you’ve probably discovered that I’m quite a bigoted, misogynist prick with a penchant (read: fetish) for white women. Still, while I don’t believe in any of that “pick yourself up from your bootstraps” Horatio Alger bullshit, I’ve talked with enough Mexicans to know that the deal here in the U.S. is as good as it gets.

Still, the evening was entertaining and informative and I can’t wait to read Ehrenreich’s new book. And while I don’t believe that the proponents of liberal (or conservative) political philosophies really give a shit about the American worker . . . it’s nice to know that Ehrenreich’s writing is at least popularizing the often ignored struggle of the American working class.