Thursday, March 17, 2011

The only reason unemployed people look for work…

I’ve got a lot going on these days with the readings and the writing (and I’m sure there’s bound to be some ‘rithmatic in there somewhere) but today I thought I’d focus on something that happened at a job interview I was at recently.

We were going over my resume and the woman said, “I see you’ve been doing some temp work? Some contract work? Trying to keep busy? To keep the skills in shape?”

Yes, that’s why I was working temp and contract jobs. To keep busy. Because I was so bored. It had nothing to do with paying my bills or having food to eat, you stupid bitch.

Of course, I smiled and nodded like they expect you to – because, at this point, I’ll endure any indignity if there’s a paycheck in it. But the idea that this woman’s worldview was so myopic as to think that unemployed people look for work simply out of boredom, for something to do, is so disturbing I just don’t know what to think.

Is this why stupid people so often think of the unemployed as lazy? Rather than hungry? We have plenty of incentives to work, believe me. We like the roof over our heads and would like to keep it there. Honest.

Oh… and the welfare mom down the street is not driving a BMW, either. (Just thought I’d get that out of the way while I was here…)

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