inoasJul 22, 2023
Ned Yeung

Boss made a dollar
I made a dime
That was a poem
From a simpler time.

Now boss makes a thousand
And gives us a cent
While he's got employees
Who can't pay the rent.

So when boss makes a million
And the workers make jack
That's when we strike
And take our lives back.

Jul 20, 2023 at 7:16pmWeb
Show threadkatieresistanceJul 21, 2023
@ned I totally agree! We are the suppliers, we are the consumers and the taxpayers! Without us they are nothing!
Show threadC.S.StrowbridgeJul 21, 2023
@ned
While reading this poem, when I got to the word "strike", I didn't think of unions, but of guillotines.
Show threadCondoritoJul 21, 2023
@ned
Show threadAlexJul 21, 2023
@ned decades of hustle culture has put us here. Note that not all countries work like this, but also note that those countries have a much better social net and tougher employee protection laws: not "nicer bosses" perse.
Show threadEVHasteJul 21, 2023

@ned Excellent modern take on a classic.

I’ve been staring at the “I” in “I Make”, in which you’ve substituted “|” . I was wondering why you did that? My first guess was watermarking or sabotage throw off AI scrapers.

Or should I interpret it as relating to the theme of the poem somehow?

Show threadMark CrockerJul 21, 2023
@Haste @ned good eye 👁! I hadn't noticed until you pointed out that the parent post poem has a "pipe" character "|", in a place where a capital letter "I" might otherwise be expected.
Show threadNed YeungJul 21, 2023

@mcrocker @Haste
Haha! This is a common issue with the Detect from Image function for alt-text. I often use that to do a quick OCR of text from an image, which works well most of the time but always uses a | instead of an isolated I (as in "me") but can properly recognize an I when alongside other letters (ie, AI). :D

I try to correct this manually (along with spaces, carriage returns, etc.), but sometimes I miss some, as they are quite visually similar. Fixed now, along with a missing return.

Show threadEVHasteJul 22, 2023

@ned @mcrocker

That’s so interesting. Thanks for teaching me!

Show threadCozyJul 21, 2023
@ned @squeevening This is great. You should get Geoff Castellucci to do a reading, just imagine https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fzlT80jQ3lo
SIXTEEN TONS | Low Bass Singer Cover

YouTube
Show threadZathrasJul 21, 2023
@ned @lisamelton And now Florida Board of education is grooming students to think slavery wasn’t only not so bad, but gave slaves skills that they benefitted from? What is their end game? A return of indentured servitude?
Show threadMartin LepageJul 21, 2023

@ericwelch @ned @lisamelton

A *return* of indentured servitude ? It never left the US, it just took on a different form.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/dec/24/us-prison-labor-workers-slavery-13th-amendment-constitution

Movement grows to abolish US prison labor system that treats workers as ‘less than human’

Hundreds of thousands of incarcerated people work in US prisons as part of their sentences, often without basic protections and for little to no pay

The Guardian
Show threadNed YeungJul 21, 2023

@M0untainG0at @ericwelch @lisamelton

Capitalism is all about indentured servitude. That's just what you get when you reach the end of the scale. The end of the scale is called "billionaires".

Show threadMartin LepageJul 21, 2023

@ned @ericwelch @lisamelton I always felt that capitalism was more akin to a classic pyramid scheme than anything else. Like the Tupperware clubs of old, only a select few ever make money in that system and it always needs new recruits to feed those on top.

The more capital you have (money and resources), the more you can leverage that against those under you.

Show threadZathrasJul 21, 2023
@M0untainG0at @ned @lisamelton Yep, and Amway. Had some friends who kept insisting Amway wasn't a pyramid scheme. (Notice I said, “had" friends.)
Show threadMark CrockerJul 21, 2023

@ned @M0untainG0at @ericwelch @lisamelton Although I can't find the original post, because it's Mastodon, I came across an interesting argument that in most cases where we complain about billionaires, we should be using the word "oligarchs" instead.

The claim was something like "not all oligarchs are billionaires, and not all billionaires are oligarchs". I'm pretty sure there was some push back on at least part of that, but, I do think it is worth disambiguating to emphasize the behavior.

Show threadM-Democrats-BLMJul 22, 2023
@mcrocker @ned @M0untainG0at @ericwelch @lisamelton Corporate Oligarchs -Thank you I have a new word to add in fighting White Collar Criminals-Corporate Oligarchs Wage Theft. It’s a huge business for them and almost never punished if ever caught. That is so wrong. Put them in the streets to be shot and killed or suffocated to like black men. At least they should be put in general population prisons. #StopWageTheft. That would help all
Show thread🥥 Tucker Carlson's Nuts 🥥Jul 21, 2023
@ned
🥥 I'm so here for this poem, Ned, and for the coming #GeneralStrike or its reformist political equivalent. 🥥
Show threadNed YeungJul 21, 2023
@JStatePost Hear hear!
Show threadantifa supersoldierJul 21, 2023

@ned Feel like I'm obligated to share this song that was made live on stream inspired by this poem:
https://javier-diablito.bandcamp.com/track/lets-go-on-strike

By @javitrino
his stuff is good, y'all should check it out

let's go on strike!, by Javier "diablito" Albarrán

track by Javier "diablito" Albarrán

Javier "diablito" Albarrán
Show threadNed YeungJul 21, 2023
@delve @javitrino I love it!!
Show threadantifa supersoldierJul 21, 2023
@ned Full transparency, one of the lines was actually written by me, so I am a little biased, but Javi's music is still really good on its own.
Show threadNed YeungJul 21, 2023
@delve Double the goodness!
Show threadM-Democrats-BLMJul 22, 2023
@delve @ned @javitrino if they hadn’t of stood up for themselves think about where we would be today. Stay strong
Show threadAviva GaryJul 21, 2023
@ned nice ✊