Thursday, May 01, 2008

My chinese friend Danny wished me a happy labour day... I found that amusing.

You see... May 1st is now a day celebrated by laborers in countries all over the world - a day celebrating working men and women who struggle and toil... but not here. No - in the country actually responsible for the day, responsible for the celebration, we see May Day as some sort of awful unamerican day...

Now you might ask, 'gee mr peabody - whats all this about labor unrest and america' and i'd say 'well sherman...' then - remembering your name isnt sherman and you probably have no idea who tennessee tuxedo is i'd just go on...

Once upon a time, the american worker didnt have an 8 hour workday. So, lacking that, he protested - it was 1886 according to the wayback machine, and tens of thousands of workers in chicago and new york were fed up with the long insufferable hours their employers demanded of them. So they picketed... at one point after a couple days of reasonably peaceful protest (oh there was scuffling - of course there was...) - some dumbass threw a pipebomb - and the cops fired into the crowd (and mostly into each other). After the smoke cleared - they rounded up some folk they considered leaders and malcontents - trying them for murder on the basis that by encouraging the protest they were guilty of the crime.

This trial has gone down in history as one of the most unfair, absurd, and preposterous miscarriages of justice ever perpetrated by a US court. Judge Gary would sleep at the bench - and spent the afternoons talking and playing with his children... in the end - several were hanged. Big Business was king in America - and money ruled the justice system. It's different these days... the rich are a little more circumspect about getting away with their abuses (or at least they had been before W's administration)

So to make a long story short - every May 1 people gathered to protest for the 8 hour workday - which the unions forced on employers - and as a result May 1 has long been held as the day the people triumphed over the absurd callous and uncaring demands of corporate interest. Is it any wonder that a day like that is most assuredly NOT celebrated in modern america?

Still - it's good that people the world over still celebrate and honor the brave actions of those young americans who stood up to their money-grubbing overlords. That we dont honor our own just demonstrates how little we deserve the freedoms our current administration is busy taking from us and we're so very willing to give up.

2 comments:

GreatGoblin said...

oh the irony

robyncz said...

Nice! Was there a signing statement?