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A child understands NYC strike perfectly--what's wrong with you? Email Print

By nyceve
12/21/2005 05:20:02 PM EST

Cross posted on Daily Kos, My Left Wing and Booman Tribune

Tue Dec 20, 2005 at 08:35:06 AM PDT

I've read quite a few diaries about the NYC transit strike.  Seems there's not a lot of sympathy or support for the transit workers among some progressives.

Funny how my nine year old friend understands the national ramifications of the strike.

He was understandably elated that he would be going to school two hours late. He also understands the significance of the strike.

Here's our conversation:

Me: Congratulations, you got your strike, school is two hours late.

Child: Yea! Yea!

Me:You know why they're striking?

Child: Yeah. They're working in small, smelly, sweaty places.

Me: That's true. Anything else?

Child: Yeah. The government doesn't want to pay them.

Me: What do you mean?

Child: They need more money to live in New York?

Me: They do?

Child: Yeah. It's expensive to live here.

Me: Anything else?

Child: Yeah. George Bush only likes rich people.

Me: Brilliant. That's true. How do you know that?

Child: That's simple. I remember Katrina.

Me: What does Katrina have to do with this strike, I'm confused?

Child: Well, they're all poor people.

Me: Anything else?

Child: Health insurance.

Me: What about health insurance? How do you know that?

Child: I saw it on the news. They can't afford health insurance because the government doesn't pay them enough. So they can't go to the doctor.

Me: Anything else?

Child: I don't have to go to school until 10:30.

From the mouths of children . . .comes the truth.


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A child understands NYC strike perfectly--what's wrong with you? | 11 comments (7 topical, 4 editorial, 0 hidden)
Please (none / 1)
give your son a pat on the back and  a few extra cookies this holiday season!

Sounds like he's headed in the right direction:)

Political Cortex -- Brain Food for the Body Politic

by Tom Ball on 12/20/2005 02:58:49 PM EST

Cockles (none / 1)
Stuff like this warms the cockles of my Bush-frozen heart.

Thank you.

by Embolden on 12/20/2005 03:02:15 PM EST

Great story (none / 0)
Ah, to be nine again. Sometimes we get so bogged down in everything, it's hard to see a simple truth.

PS -- nyceve, your rec'd diary on dkos was really great.

Dissent Protects Democracy

by cscs on 12/21/2005 07:58:45 PM EST

The Good Strike? (none / 0)
Realize that I'm writing from St. Louis, where all news from the east coast is treated as more exotic than the daily brief from Iraq, so I'm sure I'm getting the highly compressed version of the reasons behind this strike.

However, it seems to me that these folks are out on strike in large part for reasons that do not even affect most of those who are working today, but only new and future employees.  If that's correct, then the fact that these people are willing to give up pay and risk jail to assure that future transit workers can have a decent job seems quite admirable.

by Devilstower on 12/21/2005 08:49:28 PM EST

Smart kid... (none / 0)

Guaranteed to be plastered all over the Internet
Drinking Liberally in New Milford

by Connecticut Man1 on 12/21/2005 11:25:15 PM EST

Oops (none / 0)
You forgot about the fact that children only repeat what they hear their parents say regarding politics....  :)

"Nora Roberts says 'You can fix anything but a blank page." And that's absolutely true. If you spend a day not writing, you've got nothing." -Eve Ackerman

by tomkat8403 on 12/22/2005 04:08:57 PM EST

A child understands NYC strike perfectly--what's wrong with you? | 11 comments (7 topical, 4 editorial, 0 hidden)
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