Laboriousness

so there's a labor strike in my building.

people are protesting peacefully just outside the doors. i'm fairly certain the protestors are not workers in the building but rather random people being paid by whatever construction union to picket.

i actually have no problem with this. i'm not going to stop working in solidarity or anything, but i think this kind of social expression is positive on the whole. people should call attention to employers who don't pay prevailing wages. it's important.

all this said, i feel like this use to be a much more common occurrence. i'm not sure if it's a function of late capitalism that strikes and picket lines are reduced, but i'd be willing to bet that it is. i think that while picketing and protesting are still perfectly legal, the discursive boundaries of late capitalism have contracted a bit, making this kind of speech act a bit more uncomfortable.

provocative.