I've been reading so much lately about lay offs and bail outs and the general state of panic everyone seems to be in (has anyone else had friends blame ridiculous shit on the recession? I'm late because...well, you know, this recession.). It sucks. I'm with you. I'm really sad that some of my friends have lost their jobs, that my parents--who are on a fixed income--are worried about making ends meet for the long run etc.
In any case, I just wanted to say a few thank yous to the cosmic economic gods (not Milton Friedman, mind you, but some force more benevolent and wise).
1. Thank you for exposing the corruption and hubris of so many at the top of the economic food chain in a way that is undeniable and forces us, as a country, to face our own problem with greed that leads to so much inequality.
2. Thank you for making us re-examine our consumption practices. I hope that more Americans will realize that the explosion of storage spaces, consumer debt, and existential angst are not disconnected.
3. Thank you for the innumerable people who will be forced out of jobs that didn't fulfill them and inspired to creatively reinvent their lives so that, ultimately, they can be happier and contribute more to the world.
Got any thank yous you'd like to put out into the economic ether?
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Thank You Thursdays: Silver Lining of the Economic Downturn.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.feministing.com/cgi-bin/movabletype/mt-tb.fcgi/11401
I would like to believe that the economic crisis will make people realize that you can't compensate for a system which leaves so many people impoverished by issuing loads of bad debt. It just puts everyone in a worse position. Establishing and maintaining a living wage for everyone is the only long-term solution for economic stability. I would like to believe that this realization would result, but it seems pretty unlikely.
I'm sure you wouldn't have thanked anyone/thing for people being "forced out of their jobs" if it was your 64-year-old father who just lost his only source of income, thereby making sure that he cannot continue to do the other things that *do* fulfill him in life.
Here's one I hope to be thankful for in the near future:
Thank you for making it impossible for writers of self-satisfied, new-agey drivel--like this post-- that the writers think is so sensitive and yet is so damn offensive, to get publsihed anymore.
Wow. Maybe you didn't read the entire OP very carefully?
And it seems overly simplistic to claim that something as complex as our current economic situation is either all good or all bad. Are you saying that Courtney can't acknowledge the scary and depressing aspects of it while at the same time pointing out the potentionally good things that can come of it? That's a remarkably simplistic view.
And I tend to think that you can attack a person's claims without attacking them personally and/or their way of life.
Sorry to have offended feministinthecold. As I tried to make clear, I am thankful for people who are getting forced out of jobs they hate who might find fulfillment elsewhere but wouldn't have been able to make the leap unless pushed. I even expressed worry about my own parents' economic security. Sorry about your dad's job. It doesn't seem like the most constructive way to handle this economic climate is to attack one another.
No, I'm sorry for the uncalled for comment. Ad hominem critiques are out of line, and I was unfair to this post. I think I've just heard from too many people lately, who are in no way hurting, about how great this and other problems can be for the people they actually affect (which, with a little reflection, I can see was not the gist here).
That has to be some of the most insensitive commentary I have seen on this blog.
Expressing concern for your own family situation does not mean that the original commentary did not smack of elitist class privilege. It is not your belly that is going to ache with hunger, as people try and "find themselves". Is it you that is going to live without heat or electricity in the dead of winter. Will you be begging for an EDAR because your home has been foreclosed upon. Everyone would love to have fulfilling jobs but in the capitalist economy in which we live, the reality is that subsistence has to be the first priority. Only those with class privilege can afford to wax on enthusiastically about their fulfillment. Nothing brings reality home to bear like hunger.
Have you thought about the millions that will lose their health coverage when they are forced out of their jobs? How many will die from treatable illnesses because they cannot afford treatment or medication?
Have you thought about the fact that those people who you encourage to "rediscover themselves" are largely already living on the margins? Do you expect them to find themselves in the tent cities that are springing up all over North America?
Being out of work is not something to be thankful for in a society that cares little for the poor. Considering that women and children make up the largest percentage of the poor have you thought about what they should be thankful for? Have you thought about the POC who have to have above average qualifications for even the most basic jobs and the ways in which whiteness will function in economic times to protect its members?
You may feel attacked but instead consider yourself called out for posting that insensitive nonsense. Stop theorizing hardship and understand that for those living it, it is painful.
I'm kind of surprised to be in agreement with Renee.
I appreciate that what you are saying, Courtney, is not in itself a bad thing. Certainly anyone finding a better life is a good thing. But saying it like that is just generally socially frowned upon as a matter of principle. I'm sure that there was something good that came out of Nazi Germany, but we would tend not to think in that direction because it would feel like taking away from the gravity of the bad that came out of it. I think this is somewhat analogous. What you're saying may be true, but the fact you are even trying to find positives makes it feel like you don't grasp the seriousness of the situation, although I'm sure you do. It's just generally taboo to try finding good in awful situations, because it makes people suspicious that you don't appreciate how bad the situation really is.
What you're saying may be true, but the fact you are even trying to find positives makes it feel like you don't grasp the seriousness of the situation.
I'm not sure why you can't point out some positive result of a largely negative event without grasping the seriousness of the situation. That doesn't make much sense to me. Courtney probably should have worded it differently, but the fact is that historical events like this are complex, both in the causes that contributed to them and in their effects. What good does it do anyone to overimplify history or shame those who attempt to engage in some analysis of it?
@Rachel in WY: Because it smacks of "Boy this lifeboat sure is roomy now that those other people fell overboard."
Sure, but the very fact that she's pointing out something positive at all is not offensive. Our cultural practices should always be open to critique, and if a crisis like this causes social change, then I think you can be encouraged by that even as you acknowlefge the hardships it's also causing. Maintaining that nothing good can come of it just seems dishonest to me.
I agree that there's nothing wrong with looking for some good in a bad situation, and I understand the spirit with which she made her comment. I was just analyzing why I think people have the reaction that they do
I understand the spirit of what you are saying, and I usually strongly agree with every comment I see you make here, but I, too, was really taken aback by this post. I think Renee and baddesignhurts sum things up nicely, including baddesignhurts' point that even the idea that someone's job must be so fulfilling is rather elitist.
Your point about "Courtney probably should have worded it differently" is well taken, and I agree... She should have, and that's what the commenters are taking issue with. We'd do the same if it was over on the community site or found in a comment here.
Yes, I agree that we should never take misfortune and hardship lightly, and that we should try to be aware of the impact of events like this on everyone. My comment above was in response to doubleb, who said that we should not look for positive results from events like this.
That seems really extreme to me. I've known people who, after experiencing the painful loss of a loved one, for instance, reflected on some positive thing they learned about life or about themselves or their friends/family through the experience. I think it would be really inappropriate to reproach them for seeing anything positive in such a painful episode. So I don't think it's true that you can't acknowledge both the good and the bad that come out of some event, even if the event is overwhelmingly negative. I think to characterize it as only negative would be inaccurate at best and dishonest at worst.
i'm surprised to find myself right there agreeing with renee, too.
not to mention, i find the idea that everyone has to find their jobs/careers *DEEPLY!* *FULFILLING!* rather elitist, as well. plenty of people work for a living (at jobs they tolerate or even dislike) so that they can spend their free time painting, or writing, or raising their children, or what have you.
not only was courtney's comment offensive to the very poor, i think it's offensive most working people, as if what one does for money is the pinnacle of who we are as people. screw that. what i own and how i trade my labor for money don't come close to expressing the complexity of me as a person.
I hear you! At this point (having graduated from college over a year ago, and being jobless the entire effing time) it seems absolutely ridiculous to think that my "freedom" enables me to be open for when I stumble across an engaging, satisfying job. I'm a little more concerned with not having been able to go to a doctor or dentist in ages, and would take pretty much any job I could get.
doubleb, perhaps this is a bit off-topic but I really don't appreciate that Nazi analogy. True, you could call it a taboo - in German society at least - to highlight any "silver linings" there, but please bear in mind that this would imply comparing the importance of any such positive effects to the intentional and industrially organised mass murder of six million human beings considered Jewish according to the regime's classification (not to mention forced sterilisation of differently abled persons and people of colour; internment of political opponents, homosexuals, Sinti and Romanies, homeless people, etc.; I could go on but think you get the picture). The degree of cynicism involved is different.
Also, I don't agree it's taboo to try to find the "silver lining" in bad situations in general - what I personally found offensive about Courtney's last point was the word "innumerable". Perhaps this meant that we'll never know how many people the crisis will affect in this ultimately positive way but it sounds like, well, lots and lots of people (and I agree with the comments that have criticized this).
I've been tumbling the financial crisis/Nazi Germany analogy around in my brain for an hour or so, and I think -- even though I'm usually a bit reluctant to hear out comparisons to Hitler, etc. because they tend to be wildly overblown -- this one is right on.
Germany (and because of exportation, the world) benefited from the Nazi regime enormously -- like it or not -- in terms of new manufacturing methodology and new thinking about economics and the like. Hitler's regime was, on the other hand, enormously -- heartbreakingly -- destructive on an individualized level.
Same with the financial crisis: 'exploitation' (perhaps not literally, but in spirit at least) at a systemic level created massive burden for the individual.
No doubt, there is a silver lining here, and I think points one and two on Courtney's list are totally valid. The problem lies in the application of that same level of sensitivity to individuals.
Academics can and do study the Holocaust as a historical and economic series of events; however, when it comes to studying VICTIMS of the Holocaust, a greater degree of nuance is almost always applied, and generalizations tend to be avoided. I think Courtney's post would have benefited from that same sensitivity.
Still, I think in spirit she was more or less correct, and, while it obviously pissed people off to read that third point, I think the learning experience here is that topics that affect broad swaths of people on a very personal level shouldn't be generalized, but that doesn't mean we can't find a way to talk about them, or that she should be retaliated upon with ad hominem attacks and the lumping of all media types as overprivileged, over-educated know-it-alls.
If you're a writer worth your shit, you've probably, at some point, written something that's wrong, out of line, or both. There's no reason we can't keep a check on our critiques, even in that event.
I'm with Renee on this, Courtney. I appreciate the desire to find silver lining in bad situations, but the wide-eyed polyanna nature of the second point is a little much. Do you seriously know people who were stuck in unfulfilling jobs previously, who are now in a situation where they can afford to find something that makes them happy? Because I don't. Most people I know who lost their jobs are scrambling to find something even less fulfilling just to survive. If you do know people in that situation, you are around a very privileged and lucky crowd. And that's fine. But you can understand why people who are seeing some serious pain in the recession would be rubbed the wrong way by hearing about your fortunate circle...
I'll add that I'm not really impressed with the way you defend yourself when people question your tact or intentions on these threads. Just like in the thread with photos from the feministing event when someone thought you were saying someone was creepy because he was a black guy. "Isn't it more pleasant if we just don't attack each other" is never an adequate response from someone you're accusing of being sexist or racist, and it's not adequate from you. Sometimes you should just admit you're insensitive to your privilege and try to resist grumbling that those who are offended are being buzz kills at your feminist party.
Polyanna nature of the third point. Not second. My bad.
Wow, I missed this post the first time. Just want to say that damn, I'm glad we have a voice like yours, Renee. You are right on.
Sorry, Courtney, consider yourself called. We are say stupid things sometimes, and that was one of yours. Honestly, if it wasn't hard enough before the economy crashed, it's hitting the limits now.
But in the spirit of the post:
Thank you for forcing me to be grateful for what I have, and discard wants for needs.
I agree with point #2 in Courtney's post. I think it's really time to reexamine our consumption practices.
If you are interested in learning about destructive how over-consumption is - please visit this website and watch the short video called "The Story of Stuff." http://www.storyofstuff.com/
One of the most shocking things I learned in that video is that manufactures purposely make things (such as mops) at a low quality so it will break within a short amount of time, but not so short a time that you won't go back and buy the exact same mop again to replace the broken one. WTF.
The fact that our consumer lifestyle is so utterly unsustainable is something that I worry will never get through to people. You would hope that an event like this would drive that fact home, but I would bet that Americans simply find some way around the unpleasant fact that our consumption practices can't last forever.
Sometimes newer stuff really does represent progress. That old CRT monitor used considerably more power than an LCD of the same screen size; a large portion of its bulk and weight consisted of lead to shield the user from X-rays; it took a lot more energy and cargo space to ship it to the store; I, for one, find the LCD much easier on my eyes. (Of course, you still have the problem of figuring your break-even point for junking the old monitor and buying the new LED.)
Then, too, Annie couldn't have given us this video in the first place with an old DOS computer and no Internet. You could argue the problems we have wouldn't have been so advanced in that case, but we'd probably have found other ways to trash our world without the Internet to talk to each other about solutions.
You know, it was called Silver Lining of the Economic Downturn. That we all feel sympathy for those who struggle, those who have lost work, and those who never had it to begin with should be a given in this space of the internets. If we start there and then read this writer's opinion, it should be evident that losing one's job is never a plus-side, unless it serves to open new doors and create new opportunities. If we don't have that silver lining, then we truly do have nothing.
While obviously overall this economic downturn is absolutely devestating, I appreciate that you brought up point #2. It would be kind of cool if people grew their own food and reused everything to the point of unusability, all that.. but to be realistic, the entire structure of our economy, of our nation...would be incomprehensibly different. Do you think that could happen? I mean, to some extent it will, but can it be sustained and expanded on?
As someone who is already barely getting by, and facing having to tighten the belt even more, supporting a family with no health insurance, and an employer who probably won't be able to offer it any time soon because their income has gone down too, I'd love it if I were able to take this as an opportunity to find more creative and expressive work.
Honestly, I already work at least a 60 hour week (salaried, not hourly) just trying to hold onto the job that enables me to pay the bills and not much more.
Feel free to explain to me where, in between doing my job and taking care of my daughter, I have the time to start up a creative side business. For bonus points, tell me where in my coupon-clipping, bargain-hunting, scratch-cooking, thrift-store-shopping, maybe-we-can-afford-new-pants-next-month budget I can cut out my rampant consumerism.
Yes, some people will be able to reevaluate their lives and spending and bring some good out of this, I'm sure. But yes, this post also bleeds with class privilege.
The one positive I've seen so far out of all of this is that Utah won't be considering an abortion ban because court costs to fight it would be too high: http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2009/01/07/price-tag-dissuades-utah-legislators-abortion-ban
As an optimistic thinker, I can also hope that we'll see a decent universal health care system, worker protections, and more oversight of the financial world as a result. As a realist, I know that anything along those lines is likely to be a half-measure at best.
My grandma was always trying to tell me about the depression, and the social changes that came out of it, but as a kid I was pretty disinterested. Now I would love to hear about it from her perspective as the oldest of 13 kids during the depression, and as a young mother in the years right after the depression.
The ability to search for a fulfilling job is a privilege, and someone's privilege rarely increases when their economic situation takes a turn for the worse. In fact, it's usually quite the opposite.
With my father's job being cut, I'm watching my parents' life savings evaporate, as well as the several thousand bucks that I need to pay for the next term of school. And because our tax returns from last year still show us in good shape, I won't get any more financial aid until at least next year. My entire savings from my minimum wage job are not enough to pay it. If I don't have that money, I don't go to school. Simple as that.
My friend's mom just sold their family store. One of my best friends can't afford her anti-depressants anymore even when she's working 60 hours a week-- she had to make the choice between taking the meds and staying in school. Another friend's dad has been unemployed for months and is surviving on federal assistance. I can't even imagine what other people must be going through.
In light of all this suffering, it's hard to stomach a post that urges us to see the silver lining, even if it's meant in good spirit.
leshachikha, I think that you can let your school know about the current change in your family's income and possibly have your financial aid adjusted (mentioned under the headline How much aid do I get?). I don't know exactly how it works since I ended up not having to do it myself, but it seems like it's worth checking out.
I hope nobody finds this offensive, but one sunny spot in the dark cloud of the current economic climate is that rents have finally stopped going up and up and up in my Queens neighborhood. For the first time in 5 years, my roommate and I found a place to live this month that two non-profit employees can actually afford.
I like the intentions of the post and the class analysis in the comments. It is integral that we remember that there is some good that can come out of destruction and collapse and that is the potential for a much different system.
This does open up the possibility for new kinds of economic activity. Communities must work together to survive. Now is the time to cultivate community gardens so people have food to eat. We must remember that food really comes from the earth, not from big grocery stores. Hunger is a huge problem in economic depressions, but it will not be solved by continuing to support a mono culture that is simultaneously destroying the earth and the health of the people it feeds. (Read Michael Pollen for more on that)
Now is the time to skill share and work together. Now is the time to share. It is the time to support local businesses to keep money in communities instead of sending it elsewhere. There is struggle and hardship in these changes, but there is beauty in the connections that are made.
The only good thing to come out of this is that I've discovered how loyal my business' customers are and am remembering to be grateful for them (and their continuing employment) every day.
But I'm a lot more cynical about what our country will actually learn from this. We apparently didn't learn the lessons of the Great Depression, or even the much-more-recent dot com burst of '99, so what makes you think we're going to learn anything from this?
I tend to be pretty cynical about this too, but maybe with a different administration in place we can hope for at least some change.
#2 is wrong. Hyper consumerism is actually not that bad. It keeps a lot of people employed especially those that would otherwise not have any jobs at all. The hoarding of money is done by the rich and middle class which in turn hurts the poor who are usually in the service and factory jobs that would be most impacted by a slow down in sales. The poor usually don't have a problem with hyper-consumerism as they need to spend their money on more important things like food and shelter.
"Hyper consumerism is actually not that bad. It keeps a lot of people employed especially those that would otherwise not have any jobs at all."
It is bad if it is unsustainable, in terms of growth, consumption of natural resources, waste and pollution; and exploits entire classes of people. This industrial way of life has only taken a couple of centuries to damage the earth and use up most of the readily exploitable resources such as crude oil or numerous species of marine life.
Nearly everyone in fact would have jobs if most of us online weren't part of some modern industrialized society. We'd most likely be involved in agriculture, or some other form of hands on labor, the way the species lived since most humans formed settlements thousands of years ago (and the way billions continue to live). There aren't a lot of idle bodies when one's own labor is directly involved in feeding, clothing or housing oneself, or caring for one's household and family members.
It is this consumer society, in fact, which requires most of us to work (for pay) in order to survive within that culture. Those who have the opportunity to embrace a simpler life may find they actually have more time, because they do not need as many material goods or money.
Speaking of privilege and being fulfilled at work, perhaps people here have read of the annual international surveys on happiness. Example:
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/aug2008/gb20080820_874593.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3157570.stm
People can find fulfillment or happiness, in things other than their jobs or wealth. For a number of years Danes have topped the list, which is not difficult to understand after the commentary or reports on attitudes and lifestyle. In 2003, the BBC reported that Nigeria, Mexico, Venezuela, El Salvador, and Puerto Rico topped the list of more than 65 countries. Some here may consider that a surprise.
In fact, "The researchers for World Values Survey described the desire for material goods as 'a happiness suppressant'." It is easy to understand why, considering how many people now realize how dependent we are on material goods to maintain our lifestyles, when that lifestyle is threatened by job losses or home foreclosure.
Wow. Nobody here is trying to shame the poor for their consumption practices. Many of us ar suggesting that if middle and upper class Americans didn't have such a massive sense of entitlement, partially caused by the consumer culture, then the poor would be much better off. Who is it that always objects to legislation supporting a living wage for all? The wealthy, who would no longer be able to exploit the poor to maintain their lifestyle.
Ugh, I can now totally see what you all mean about the wording. I didn't meant that ALL people who lost their jobs had been given a gift. I meant that for a lucky few, this would be the push they needed to be braver in their career choices. I just worded it really badly and I apologize for the confusion.
I appreciate the dialogue here in comments and see the point about class consciousness. I see that I should have made clear how empathic I am to those who are just trying to make ends meet and express that solidarity more clearly before making my point. In terms of class politics, however, I think that too often people perceive "fulfilling work" to be elite, when in fact plenty of people are fulfilled by jobs in the caretaking fields, by police work or civic jobs, by construction etc. etc. Let's not wholesale decide that no one with a lower paying job is fulfilled in this conversation!
"I think that too often people perceive "fulfilling work" to be elite, when in fact plenty of people are fulfilled by jobs in the caretaking fields, by police work or civic jobs, by construction etc. etc."
My mouth dropped open with the privilege dripping from this statement. To me, this is more offensive than the sentiment of the original post.
How so? Earlier comments in this thread suggested that only the privileged can afford to worry about how fulfilling their jobs are, since they aren't preoccupied with trying to survive and pay the bills. I'm not sure I see how noting that there are lower-paying jobs that may be very fulfilling for some people is necessarily a privileged comment. I have known people who have traded in a higher-paying job for a more fulfilling but lower-paying job. And as this post suggests, there is at least some of that going on in the current situation.
I don't see how this is worse than the original comment either.
But I don't think that the privilege perception was as a result of the status of a particular job, but the idea that one would choose at all. If someone loses their job, they aren't going soul searching to decide what they should do with their lives next; they go looking for anything they can get so that they can keep paying their rent or feeding their kids. If anyone has the choice and the opportunity to really consider fulfillment in their next job, that's privilege right there.
Sure, that is generally the case. But as the post I linked to demonstrates, it's not always the case, and I have a friend who lost her job and then accepted the lower-paid NGO job she had been intrigued by to begin with, so it's certainly not impossible.
Does your friend have more mouths to feed than her own?
I'm not sure I get how that's relevant. If you read my earlier comments, you'll see that in more than one place I acknowledged the hardships that many people are experiencing due to the current economy. My point in this particular comment was that it's not impossible for someone to find a more fulfilling job that pays less than the one they have, and that you can note this fact without coming from a privileged position.
She's a hispanic single mom with shared custody, who recently finished law school, if it's so important to you.
You might notice that many of the comments in threads like these make more sense if you read them in context. Then your "gotcha" point doesn't really work all that well anymore.
I didn't mean that to be a "gotcha." My point was that there is a certain level of privilege in feeling free to take a lower-paying job that is more fulfilling on some personal level. It's one thing to elect to voluntarily reduce your own standard of living; it's another thing entirely to inflict it on those who depend on you. Ask my kids how appropriate it is for me to put the entire family into a one-room tenement flat and Goodwill wardrobe so I can pursue my dream of singing. (In my case, that would be at the local train station, since that's about as good as I can sing.) I do have a certain level of responsibility to these people, and voluntarily accepting a job as a gas station attendant because the stress levels are lower than software nerd is not living up to those responsibilities rather severely.
Second, deciding to take that path because my well-paying software job just laid me off doesn't make it any more excusable. If I thought it was such a good idea, I should have quit years ago.
And third, to reiterate what others have said, what percentage of those forcibly laid off are really going to embrace the loss of income as an opportunity to go in some other presumably more authentic direction, versus what percentage will view it as a straightforward setback to their perfectly legitimate career choice? For whom the first available minimum wage job is a necessary evil to keep shingles overhead and shoeleather underfoot -- not a refreshing change of pace?
Your argument seems to be "Well, occasionally it works out just fine." I don't absolutely take issue with that, though I have some specific reservations that will disqualify it in many cases. The original article seemed to imply that it will be a blessing for vast hordes to have their standard of living forcibly reduced. On occasion, people can make it work to their advantage. At the aggregate level, I just don't buy it.
I see the original poster has replied and admits regretting the word "innumerable" as overstating her case. With that proviso, I'm not so far out of agreement with her (or you). I've been chased by circumstance out of a number of cozy positions, in most cases landing somewhere more advantageous (not necessarily monetarily). The realization of the improvement came only in hindsight, and the transition was always unpleasant and scary. But I have to admit, it was an improvement.
My argument that occasionally it works out fine was simply in response to those who maintain that is is never appropriate to look for anything positive in a an event like the current economic crisis. I'm sorry, but this stance still seems absurd to me. And, as we say in philosophy, the existence of even one counterexample disproves a negative argument...
I agree that it's the adult's responsibility to think about how their career choices impact the children in the household, but I also think that our consumer culture and falsely inflated economy has produced a lot of kids with horrible consumption habits and a massive sense of entitlement. I must admit that I wouldn't feel all that bad to see some of my snotty, bratty freshman who think it's impossible to survive without the newest iPhone, laptop, incredibly ugly boots, and a brand-new car each school year, learn how to survive with last year's laptop and a used car. Heaven forbid they have to take a part time job to help their parents pay the bills, the existence of which they seem to be blissfully unaware.
That doesn't mean I think it's great that people are getting laid off, or that most of them will find jobs that are more fulfilling as a result. But I do find it puzzling to assert that this could never happen. And I recognize that those who do find more fulfilling but lower-paid jobs will have to adjust to a lower standard of living. My friend has had to request gov't assistance with her daycare bill (which I also received when I was working on my dissertation and teaching as an adjunct for slave wages). But in the end she does think that the experience she gets here will be invaluable. So again, I'm not convinced of the impossibility of this happening.
Well, here's a good thing: I decided to put together an improvisational performance series to benefit local non-profits (like, for example, our local food bank), and SEVENTEEN performers signed up to donate their talent on extremely short notice. So cool.
http://firstsundaysimprov.org/about/
"I think that too often people perceive "fulfilling work" to be elite, when in fact plenty of people are fulfilled by jobs in the caretaking fields, by police work or civic jobs, by construction etc. etc."
My mouth dropped open with the privilege dripping from this statement. To me, this is more offensive than the sentiment of the original post.
About a month and a half ago, the business I worked for put me on 'temporary leave' due to the decline in the economy. I have been on it ever since, and have a big hunch that I am going to be laid off in the next few weeks.
At first I saw this as an opportunity to find a more rewarding job, because I know I can do better, but after filling out over 20 applications, I have gotten not one call back. It's starting to be hard to see the silver lining in all of this.
Although I don't have a silver lining right now, I do trust that things will get better over time.
I really don't think times of economic crisis are good for finding a more "fulfilling job" or conducive to going "soul searching". I was not satisfied with my job and began looking for a better fit right when things started to get bad and couldn't find anything because I believe times like this cause people to take less risks and cling to the job that they have. My brother just graduated and can't find work at this time and until things improve or he gets lucky will be forced to work a job that is likely not even in his field. Me, I took on more hours at the job I have and stopped looking for awhile because I am thankful to have work, period. I am trying to save money to move to another state but that dream too has been postponed because of my fears of and the difficulty of not finding any work when I get there. I look forward to things getting better so that I can once again begin seriously searching and hopefully find a more fulfilling job. Also, I agree with the other poster that when most people (except the very wealthy) lose their job that they scramble for anything to pay rent and feed themselves and families, they don't take time to search their souls because they can't.
I think that last one is generally something the individual undergoing the transformation feels thankful for after it's a fait accompli.
Yes, I think more people would be thankful for the incentive to change their way of life AFTER they have settled into a new one, and NOT in the middle of feeling their job or way of life threatened. I've been unemployed twice in my life, coincidentally, for 14 months each time. (And yes, I WAS in fact, seeking work during those times, applying to all manner of jobs. The only other job offer I had other than my nursing position was at Costco, for $12.50 per hour, 26 hours a week, as a custodian. But after the first day of orientation at Costco, the nursing job came through.) And as of 7:30 a.m. tomorrow, I am either on unpaid leave to go back to nursing school, or out of a job once again. My family is living on a bank loan, because technically (but not on paper) I was bankrupt around October of 2007.
It is fulfilling to work as a nurse, assisting in care of people unable to live independently. But fulfilling is about all I can say about it, because when local cost of living is taken into account, living in Japan was much better. I could support a family of four and save on even $32,000 a year, in large part because the government took care of a lot of things like health insurance, education, public transportation, and kept taxes low. I had money saved for a house, my retirement, and my children's education. My lifestyle in Japan would not be threatened even by a financial crisis such as this one. Moving home to become a nurse is financially the biggest mistake I have ever made, because it's all gone. Even my mother is forced to sell property to get by, because her property (vacant land) does not generate income.
I'm usually a big fan of Feministing posts, but this just strikes entirely the wrong note. There is NOTHING pleasant about being out of work. It does not give you time to rethink and reconsider your life direction. Rather, you're likely to end up working in any job you can find out of sheer desperation, probably doing something you don't want to do, and something that drains your energy so much you can't even think about taking on new creative endeavors. That's if you're lucky enough to find any work at all. In any event, it's demoralizing and humiliating to go from being able to provide for yourself to having no income. I have been out of work, and it did not let me re-imagine my life direction. It just left me wondering how I'd make my student loan payments and buy food. I ended up taking the first job offered to me, which was not in an area I enjoyed and left me stressed and drained. Unemployment is a time of panic, not dream fulfillment.
Lots of people today have become jobless since recession has hit our country. There are lots of speculations why we are facing this kind of crisis but before blaming anyone on our present situation we must find ways on how we are going to cope up with our present situation. Necessity is the mother of invention, and that is why a lot of people do things a little differently during periods of economic slowdown. The economic slowdown has been pretty hard on banks, and other first line lenders of credit. During this financial crisis, people have begun saving money instead of spending it, and laying off the credit cards. Instead, the number of payday loans that are taken out has been going up, and it isn't exactly surprising. It's a small loan that you pay back quickly, usually on your next payday. You have to be responsible if you get one, as cash advances aren't a reliable long term solution to economic slowdown.