Throughout the years classes have been defined by how much
money they make. Once that parameter is
established, words such as “blue collar,” and “white collar,” are introduced to
further segregate the masses.
Since the earliest forms of labor, we have been subjected to
being pigeon-holed into one or the other of worker category mentioned
above. The blue collar people have been
portrayed as the brawn, while the white collar workers are seen as the
brains. And ne’er the two shall meet.
Much of this categorizing is self-inflicted and self-policed
but, it still exists.
Blue collar refers to the uniform shirts once used by many
laborers. They were colored to more
easily hide grease and other stains acquired while performing daily duties.
Conversely, white collar is descriptive of the management
side of industry, where workers are not subject to getting their togs soiled by
anything more than a pen.
People gravitate to either of the two categories because any
number of reasons of identity. Simply
put, it is the education factor that usually determines where we all head to
work.
Those kids who didn’t do well during their school years
usually wound-up working in blue collar jobs, while those who were more astute
settled into white collar positions.
Those were likely individual choices, or options dictated by intellect.
Nonetheless, the blue collar crowd seems to perpetually
resent the white collar workers, and vice versa.
Having been on both sides of the issue, I reached out to
everyone whose side I was not on because each was not mutually exclusive.
White collar people need someone to unclog their toilets or
fix their cars or paint their homes.
These workers get paid for their duties, some to the tune of $90 per
hour as plumbers or auto mechanics.
The odd part is that when the blue collar people require
white collar services akin to writing resumes, banking, or generally solving
problems, they resent having to pay for those services. Resentment comes from not seeing the
‘smarter’ worker covered in dirt, although they didn’t witness the scholastic
struggles and cerebral torments for being nerds. They quickly forget who repairs those
virus-infected computers.
Operating a shovel, broom, or mop requires little skill;
driving a truck or forklift requires a bit more. Drilling and cutting with a five-axis milling
machine takes even more skill, accompanied by copious training and discipline.
But, developing a thought process of memory retention and
astute problem solving, coupled with rational contemplation is often viewed by
the blue collar group as inequitable.
Since blue collar folks fails to see dirt beneath white collar people’s
fingernails, they think “lazy,” or “inept.”
They never think “too busy helping blue collar slobs.” Then, they like to overcharge the white
collar crowd out of principle and spite.
If that’s the case, figure out your own problems, write your
own resumes, and I’ll unclog my own toilet.
