Comments on the first half of 2009 - part deux

In the last post, I discussed pressing issues on a world scale. Perhaps I'll go back to that in my next entry, but I feel I need to vent about some issues in my personal life that have been quite pressing, lately.

First of all, work. The job that I have currently disgusts me- We all know capitalism is exploitative, but I have never experienced such a rotten example of said exploitation.

I'm washing dishes at a Lebanese restaurant, also, sweeping, mopping, doing odd jobs, being called into the boss' office to spell-check his facebook posts. Honestly, the work isn't too bad- I can handle practically everything they throw at me. The problem lies squarely with the manager and owner- this guy is a total scumbag. Let me paint you a picture.

This guy is from Lebanon- a Lebanese christian, to be specific. When I first started the job, I was excited- Not only do I love Lebanese food, I enjoy the culture of the Muslim world; Anasheeds, Dabkeh, and the general tendency of people from this part of the world to be critical of U.S. foreign policy. Needless to say, I was quite disappointed. My boss is the typical petit-bourgeois expatriate; Of course, he still plays some Dabkeh in his restaraunt, but that's about the extent of it.

The Lebanese elections ocurred recently, and my boss was an avid supporter of the March 14 alliance- basically, the pro-west coalition, who I assume will try to 'reason' with the U.S. and Israel- the countries that periodically randomly slaughter civilians and drop bombs on the southern half of the country in their 'terrorist-hunting' escapades.

Of course, I can't mention I'm a communist, which on a side note, really says a lot about how hypocritical people are when they say we have 'freedom of speech' in this country. Sure, you can have whatever views you want, but if you're not supportive or at least ambivalent towards the American way of life, you have to keep your mouth shut if you want food on your table.

Anyways, the furthest I could go at work was suggesting that I liked March 8 coalition. My boss' eyebrows raise- "But they're terrorists, man!". If I hadn't been mopping, and if I didn't have to worry about getting fired, I would have facepalmed in disgust, but I had to settle for saying, "Well, that's what the U.S. government says, and I don't exactly trust them".

The man is a total hypocrite. I spend most of my work day in the back, working strenuously, but when I go to collect plates, I usually check to see what he's up to. Most of the time, he's doing one of three things:

1. Eating in the front of the restaraunt with friends of his.
2. Walking around scolding his employees.
3. Sitting on his fat ass in the office, posting on Facebook, occasionally calling us in to spell-check his posts, or making awkward phone calls to random girls he looks up- I believe I heard him on the phone saying, "You are my dream girl" or something ridiculous like that once.

As for a recent incident- We had an unusually busy day this Tuesday, and as per usual, I was working continuously from the beginning of my shift until close. Near the end of the day, it's my duty to mop the pretty much all of the restaraunt, save for the kitchen, where the cook has to mop. When it came to my turn to mop, the cook had only recently finished, and the water still looked usable, so in hopes of saving some time and sparing myself from more unnecessary scolding, I used the water already in the bucket.

Wrong move. I was halfway through it all when my boss blows up in my face, telling me he'll fire me if 'this shit ever happens again'. I am instructed to go to the back, put in new water, and do the whole thing over again. When I get back there, one of the garbage cans has tipped over because one of the wheels is missing and the boss is too much of a cheap-ass to get it replaced. Inevitably, I get blamed.

Well, I get back to mopping, and I finish up the front- Then something infuriating happens. My boss turns to me and says, "You are lazy".

WHAT.
WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY?!

No, I didn't say that. I said, "Your're calling ME, lazy?!". Then he shushed me, so as not to disturb the two customers that were still eating. I couldn't believe it. This asshole, who spends hours posting on facebook at work, calls ME lazy. I'm still angry about it, but there's nothing I can do.

Anyways, he pulled me aside for a talk afterwards, and gave me yesterday off. He said, "You feel really guilty, don't you?" I wanted to spit in his fat face.

So, I think I've come to a realization about the way he and probably thousands of other petit-bourgeois run their businesses. Since they know workers are easily replaceable, and they know we'll do everything we're told for a paycheck, they can work us hard, treat us like shit, and the second we show the least bit of dissatisfaction with the way we are treated, they can can us and hire someone else. We're like juiceboxes- they suck all they can out of us, then crumple us up and throw us away.

I've got to work today, but I've got to find some other work soon. I can't deal with this sort of abuse. I know all businesses are more or less the same, but there have got to be some out there in which the bosses aren't such hypocritical assholes.