The New American Boogeyman

I made the mistake of trying to sympathize with the man who runs my son’s daycare.

One of my son’s favorite teachers was leaving for a job that suited her interests better — something I congratulated her for several times before she left.

It was clear from the lack of an email to parents that this man didn’t feel the same way. If you’re wondering, yes, he’s white. Yes, he’s upper class. His one daughter is in her thirties, just got married, and is also his assistant manager. All facts, draw whatever conclusions you want.

So, in an act of sympathy, I brought it up with him. “Hey, how’s the process going replacing <my-son’s-teacher>? I hear hiring is tough these days, especially in daycare.”

“Job post has been out there. No one’s applying. I guess no one wants to work anymore.”

Huh.

Couldn’t be that there are better opportunities, like the one said teacher is leaving for.

Couldn’t be that the pay and demands that he puts on his staff — which several of them have mentioned to multiple parents — are unacceptable.

Couldn’t be that people would rather wait for the right opportunity than scramble for a paltry paycheck.

No, in today’s America, the Haves have found a new way to look down on the Have-Nots. Apparently there’s just a bunch of us out there who aren’t in management, making it harder for those who are, by simply deciding not to work. That’s right, we’d rather go hungry — or, so that it can be Biden’s fault, I’m sure — go on food stamps, than be responsible and support our families.

It used to be that this was a population that they always knew about that somehow kept out of sight. Those taking some mysterious government check that could be condemned with words like “Entitlements” or “Hand-outs”, but managed to stay out of the way.

Now apparently this boogeyman — or, if we’re being honest, boogeywoman, since all of his employees are women, and that’s who he envisions in these roles— is out to get him.

By not working.

What an inventive way to deflect blame for being a terrible manager. Or offering sub-par opportunities. Or sub-par pay. Or crap working conditions. Or any combination of the above.

Somehow this became a national movement — a narrative that those who hold the keys to job openings and paychecks are the only ones who are doing it right, and the rest of us have found a new way to do it wrong. It doesn’t take long to find examples (here ya go).

Should anyone be surprised? A country whose history is written by white men either claiming that no problems exist, or the problems that do are someone else’s fault — should we be surprised if the common thread is that whatever challenges occur, it’s because someone isn’t living up to their subservient, paycheck-to-paycheck, glass-ceiling end of the deal?