There is a policy that most American grocery stores strictly enforce, which is that cashiers (and all other department employees) must stand for the entirety of their shift.
Thank you for such a courageous take on what I have always looked with suspicion. In Canada the stools are there, but people don't use them. And I think this is why. Probably they are told by the job culture they shouldn't.
I wonder if a costumer campaign doing bad reviews for places where employees don't have a place to sit or don't do it as a job culture could change the frame.
Thank you so much for this. The history of who was allowed to sit and who couldn’t was brand new information. Also that the “built-in obsolescence” applies to people as well as appliances is something I hadn’t thought of before.
There are far fewer entry level jobs here in Britain, due to unrealistic expectations (such as needing 5 years experience when applying for a first job, or going through many tests to get a job working in retail etc) and AI being used to do the jobs people used to do. Then the powerful and the wealthy (especially our politicians) complain about how many people are not working. And they say we are lazy, worthless and undeserving. But where are the jobs they want us to do?
I believe it is structural eugenics. Having had my disability benefits removed, I swear the DWP (the government branch that oversees work, pensions and benefits) are trying to kill me. The stress has probably taken years off my life. I definitely couldn’t do a job that requires stamina, energy and strength. Who will employ someone who needs “reasonable adjustments”?
What value does a person have in this life, and in this hostile environment? Politics and economics think we have none. But, we have family and friends who love us, so we are worthy, but it is so easy to internalise the messages sent to us so we end up feeling like it’s our fault that we are unable to work. There’s always someone saying “well, I knew someone with [insert chronic illness of choice here] who worked a forty hour week and they were fine”. Implying we just aren’t trying hard enough.
I didn’t mean to write an essay, sorry. Maybe I could use this as an inspiration for writing a long form essay.
I've got an interesting question I'd enjoy your take on, because it may end up being relevant to my work:
If you had a Congress made up entirely of working-class citizens beholden to neither major party, what kinds of laws would you prevail on them to pass, to make things better for disabled Americans? What would your priorities be?
Ooo I love these questions! I don’t have the mental energy to fully give them the responses they deserve but I can’t wait to come back to this tomorrow and answer more fully.
Great questions and the answers are also needed here in the UK. I’d strengthen public services, start to repair the NHS, invest in public health and prevention of disease, take private companies out of essential services and infrastructure (water in particular) and make employers unable to pay the absolute minimum, ban zero hours contracts and introduce a universal basic income.
And now waiting for someone to pop up and tell me all of that is impossible because it’s too radical and will no one think of the billionaires 😉
Sometimes, the only answers *are* the radical ones. (Don't worry, I'm not talking about violence here—violence isn't an answer per se, it just changes out the problem you had for a different one.)
In my experience, people who say that some social problem or other is "impossible" to solve aren't lying or even mistaken, it's that they're stuck in their context. I haven't personally done any research yet on how things are going on your side of the pond, but I'm put in mind of the people who say there "aren't enough homes in America to house everyone."
The question of whether or not they're correct is irrelevant, because we're also the ones who decide how many homes to build. (I've then heard people claim there aren't enough people to BUILD those homes, which is especially hilarious when they were complaining about a lack of available jobs just minutes prior.) If a problem is impossible to solve in the existing system, that's not a reason to avoid solving it. That's a sign that the system itself must be changed until the problem CAN be solved.
Everything you've listed is feasible, yes, we both know that, but the question of whether it's "possible" is irrelevant next to the fact that it's necessary. After all, people said Brexit was impossible too (and it absolutely was, based on the system that existed at the time). There's a lot to be frustrated over around Brexit, but for better or worse, it proved that when the system says one thing and the people say another, it's the system that gives way first. All that's needed is a way to get the "will of the people" out into the public eye in a way that can't be ignored or brushed aside.
I don't know how to do that for Britain, not yet, but you're absolutely on the right track, cousin. I hope that some of the work I'll be doing will help to inspire similar change over there, or at the very least get the US to stop tipping the global economic scales so horribly. I can't imagine that our dysfunction over here is making things any easier on you! ❤️
Thank you, Danielle. I appreciate your support. We are far closer to the US way of doing things than I am comfortable with. I just read an article in Disability News Service (an independent publication) that has me horrified.
I am honored, thank you! And you're so right how awful the US way of doing things is. We spend so much money making things harder for people to access critical services, all in the name of fighting fraud that doesn't exist.
It’s the same here. People moan about fraud in the benefit system but the fraud for the benefit I was receiving (Personal Independence Payment) is practically zero. But the assessors and the decision makers come from a point of suspicion and disregard rather than that of a duty of care and compassion. It is awful. The stress I have been under since my benefit was stopped has been incalculable and has not made me suddenly find a job but has actively made my health worse.
No problem, Danielle. I try to support people on here and learn new things and see other people’s perspectives ❤️
Super interesting. I’m disabled. Bit before I was, I worked as a clerk for a number of years, with 3 different companies/bosses. Despite the fact that these were niche market stores that spent most if every day empty, it was always made clear that employees had to be standing unless they were doing something that needed a table, or stocking and the like.
The system feels invisible when you’re the shape it was built for. When you’re not, you realize the friction isn’t accidental.
Thank you for such a courageous take on what I have always looked with suspicion. In Canada the stools are there, but people don't use them. And I think this is why. Probably they are told by the job culture they shouldn't.
I wonder if a costumer campaign doing bad reviews for places where employees don't have a place to sit or don't do it as a job culture could change the frame.
I'm in this kettle and I don't like it.
Thank you so much for this. The history of who was allowed to sit and who couldn’t was brand new information. Also that the “built-in obsolescence” applies to people as well as appliances is something I hadn’t thought of before.
There are far fewer entry level jobs here in Britain, due to unrealistic expectations (such as needing 5 years experience when applying for a first job, or going through many tests to get a job working in retail etc) and AI being used to do the jobs people used to do. Then the powerful and the wealthy (especially our politicians) complain about how many people are not working. And they say we are lazy, worthless and undeserving. But where are the jobs they want us to do?
I believe it is structural eugenics. Having had my disability benefits removed, I swear the DWP (the government branch that oversees work, pensions and benefits) are trying to kill me. The stress has probably taken years off my life. I definitely couldn’t do a job that requires stamina, energy and strength. Who will employ someone who needs “reasonable adjustments”?
What value does a person have in this life, and in this hostile environment? Politics and economics think we have none. But, we have family and friends who love us, so we are worthy, but it is so easy to internalise the messages sent to us so we end up feeling like it’s our fault that we are unable to work. There’s always someone saying “well, I knew someone with [insert chronic illness of choice here] who worked a forty hour week and they were fine”. Implying we just aren’t trying hard enough.
I didn’t mean to write an essay, sorry. Maybe I could use this as an inspiration for writing a long form essay.
Anyway, hugs, as always xxx
I've got an interesting question I'd enjoy your take on, because it may end up being relevant to my work:
If you had a Congress made up entirely of working-class citizens beholden to neither major party, what kinds of laws would you prevail on them to pass, to make things better for disabled Americans? What would your priorities be?
Ooo I love these questions! I don’t have the mental energy to fully give them the responses they deserve but I can’t wait to come back to this tomorrow and answer more fully.
By all means, please take your time! Leaving this comment so it will pop up in your notifications as a reminder. ❤️
Great questions and the answers are also needed here in the UK. I’d strengthen public services, start to repair the NHS, invest in public health and prevention of disease, take private companies out of essential services and infrastructure (water in particular) and make employers unable to pay the absolute minimum, ban zero hours contracts and introduce a universal basic income.
And now waiting for someone to pop up and tell me all of that is impossible because it’s too radical and will no one think of the billionaires 😉
Sometimes, the only answers *are* the radical ones. (Don't worry, I'm not talking about violence here—violence isn't an answer per se, it just changes out the problem you had for a different one.)
In my experience, people who say that some social problem or other is "impossible" to solve aren't lying or even mistaken, it's that they're stuck in their context. I haven't personally done any research yet on how things are going on your side of the pond, but I'm put in mind of the people who say there "aren't enough homes in America to house everyone."
The question of whether or not they're correct is irrelevant, because we're also the ones who decide how many homes to build. (I've then heard people claim there aren't enough people to BUILD those homes, which is especially hilarious when they were complaining about a lack of available jobs just minutes prior.) If a problem is impossible to solve in the existing system, that's not a reason to avoid solving it. That's a sign that the system itself must be changed until the problem CAN be solved.
Everything you've listed is feasible, yes, we both know that, but the question of whether it's "possible" is irrelevant next to the fact that it's necessary. After all, people said Brexit was impossible too (and it absolutely was, based on the system that existed at the time). There's a lot to be frustrated over around Brexit, but for better or worse, it proved that when the system says one thing and the people say another, it's the system that gives way first. All that's needed is a way to get the "will of the people" out into the public eye in a way that can't be ignored or brushed aside.
I don't know how to do that for Britain, not yet, but you're absolutely on the right track, cousin. I hope that some of the work I'll be doing will help to inspire similar change over there, or at the very least get the US to stop tipping the global economic scales so horribly. I can't imagine that our dysfunction over here is making things any easier on you! ❤️
Thank you, Danielle. I appreciate your support. We are far closer to the US way of doing things than I am comfortable with. I just read an article in Disability News Service (an independent publication) that has me horrified.
https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/dwp-secretly-exposes-150000-pip-claimants-to-new-assessment-system-that-is-recipe-for-disaster/
Systems need to change and we need people like the Mayor of New York to show that it is possible.
What is a human being worth if we are only being measured by productivity and money?
I’ll pop over and subscribe to your channel and I look forward to reading your work ❤️
I am honored, thank you! And you're so right how awful the US way of doing things is. We spend so much money making things harder for people to access critical services, all in the name of fighting fraud that doesn't exist.
It’s the same here. People moan about fraud in the benefit system but the fraud for the benefit I was receiving (Personal Independence Payment) is practically zero. But the assessors and the decision makers come from a point of suspicion and disregard rather than that of a duty of care and compassion. It is awful. The stress I have been under since my benefit was stopped has been incalculable and has not made me suddenly find a job but has actively made my health worse.
No problem, Danielle. I try to support people on here and learn new things and see other people’s perspectives ❤️
Super interesting. I’m disabled. Bit before I was, I worked as a clerk for a number of years, with 3 different companies/bosses. Despite the fact that these were niche market stores that spent most if every day empty, it was always made clear that employees had to be standing unless they were doing something that needed a table, or stocking and the like.