The rotten core of Stage 4 capitalism and people like Donald J.Trump and Betsy Devos are telling us the only way to save the oligarchy is to put other people's kids and their useless overpaid Blue voting teachers back into their classrooms while a global pandemic flashes and yearns. Bonus points if you caught the Berryman reference.
Conveniently, what passes for a democratic government here is
making no allowances for parents and pressuring them too to return to work whether they have school age kids or not. And with a government that unequivocally states it has no intentions of helping out minority owned businesses, parents of school age kids and anyone else of lesser status, parents are naturally insistent that schools open to watch their kids since they've got no other choice. The hostility of parents for what they perceive to be pampered and/or uncaring teachers is pre-packaged and part of the larger plan. Hard not to blame some parents for it as they've been put in a lose/lose position. Rather than taking the side of teachers who insist on children's and their own safety above all else, some parents have adopted the attitude of If I'm going to get corona so the hell can my kid's teachers. What's lost in this is the very real possibility of their kids catching it too as well as spreading it at home and through the community.
Today's news tells of a device shortage caused in part by the massive shift to online pandemic schooling, complex supply chains that involve several sources to build devices topped off with Trump trade sanctions against China where a lot of these devices and their component parts are produced. And to the surprise of nobody low end laptops and tablets are becoming more expensive because you know supply and demand and all. In places of low supply teachers are creating the dreaded learning packets that some parents equate with guaranteed proof of learning taking place. In others kids are using outdated laptops, misfiring ipads and their own or their family member's smartphones to stay connected and learn.
Have we all by now seen the pic of the little girls sitting on a curb in the Taco Bell parking lot with their electronic devices trying to take advantage of the free wifi while Bezos, Gates and Musk are stacking their Coronavirus billions? France has just committed to paying workers between 70 and 85% of their wages until July so the country can stay together, people can stay in their homes and nobody has to kill themselves out of sheer desperation. Imagine a place where the government takes active measures to look out for its citizens and puts its money where its mouth is.
We are experiencing an unprecedented event in post modern America. We can safely say that Late Stage capitalism has failed Americans miserably. The forces of this failed system are mustering now to push students and the adults who teach, feed, and drive them back into school buildings that are often poorly ventiated and lacking basics like hot tap water and windows that open all the way. Extra protective gear, cleaning supplies, personnel and sanitizers as well as drastically reduced class sizes, and social distancing will be required for schools to even hope to experience a safe reopening. But instead of additional funding to meet these Herculean requirements most schools are seeing their funding cut. Did I mention the U.S. military set a new record for the size of their latest budget?
I'm hoping to find some worthwhile messages in this mess. Hope you'll come along for the journey. Wash your hands, wear your mask and spread out.
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