'Moloch!'
‘At lunch, the most common question, aside from “Which offensive d-ck-shaped product did you handle the most of today?” is “Why are you here?” like in prison.’
That line (in its original, unredacted form) comes from Mac McClelland’s ‘I Was a Warehouse Wage Slave’, an undercover report on what it’s like to work at a hellish hinterland packing facility for a certain, but unnamed, e-commerce entity. There’s a bit to unpack here (as it were), what with the dehumanized workforce rushing at breakneck speed to fulfill orders for products that objectify the human body.
‘I Was a Warehouse Wage Slave’ appeared in — sorry, Mr Webb — Mother Jones, whose website seems to be down at the moment. But Google caches of the article’s four pages are available here:
Also worth a look — or, if you’re pressed for time, even more worth a look — is Cory Doctorow’s featurette on ‘I Was a Warehoue Wage Slave’. Scroll down to find a comment thread that will be of interest to readers of Korrektiv. The first commenter, one Deidzoeb, begins the discussion:
How do they deal with sexual harassment in a place that produces “offensive d-ck-shaped products”, or say a person who wants to do the lighting on a porn shoot? Do we assume that employees become asexual if they agree to work on a sex-related job? For a while, part of my job included preparing journals like Playboy and Penthouse to be microfilmed. Playboy microfilm made enough money that we were supposed to check every page for missing pages, printing errors, things like that.
We had one of those sensitivity and sexual harassment workshops one day like you see on The Office, not quite as ridiculous. I asked the instructor how I can avoid creating a hostile work environment or an accusation of sexual harassment when my job could seriously involve asking my female supervisor what to do about a torn page or printing error on a centerfold.
The instructor seemed a little annoyed by the question. He said it should be clear from the context of the situation. […]
Okay, Angelico, you win. Here, from around 13 years ago, is another sorry excerpt from Augustine’s Member. Specifically, the section that deals with sexual harassment, workplace etiquette, and porn. I’m not saying it’s any good, but it is on topic.
That should read, “Okay, Angelico, you lose.”
Matt Lickona was wrongly resigned
To believe he had slipped, slid, declined;
He grew slowly obtuse
Through routine self-abuse:
Now, to his own virtues, he’s blind.
No apologies necessary. I used to subscribe…back in the day.
It all comes down to unionization. As long as the employees recieve living wage and benefits package all will be forgiven.
I put a dick shaped item in my mouth daily and set it on fire.
“A woman is only a woman, but a good cigar is a smoke.” – Rudyard Kipling
“Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”
– attributed to Sigmund Freud
I’m glad if you’ve had fun today, but I’m afraid I’m too tired to read what you’ve written.
Welcome back to the comments, ma’am! It’s a pleasure to hear from you.
If you’re too tired to read Korrektiv, I hope you at least enjoy the pictures.