Where’s the loyalty and commitment to an American company nowadays? Have we lost our minds for not supporting and buying American products? Or is it too late, as most of us continue to cut costs and budget our money by purchasing foreign made goods. Perhaps our income dictates our decisions. There was a time when I would not step foot inside a Wal-Mart. Then my wife (I can always blame her, right?) coaxed me into one of their stores. I jokingly said, "I’ve never seen so many people with tattoos and rotten teeth as I have at Wal-Mart."So I exaggerate. I’ve seen lots of tats and bad grills on the inmates I have contact with on a daily basis. But back to blind loyalty and a sense of pride for a job well done at an American company. Hey, prisons in the United States count too, don’t they? I remember an inmate tutor (D-prefix, meaning fourth time in the joint) with a Satan tattoo prominently displayed on his neck, braided horns sticking out like knobbed moth antennae, and long finger nails like Robert DeNiro in some bad movie I can’t recall--Angel Heart? I think--telling me a story. He said:
"The brothers at the Muskegon Correctional Facility was fighting over stumps, you dig? Administration had the maintenance workers cut down the trees in the prison yard and gave the inmates details guaranteed for so many hours work getting those stumps out of the ground. Well, they reached their maximum hours of pay, you dig?--and them stumps was still anchored into the earth. Soon, other brothers came to help and fights ensued. ‘This is our stump muthafucka! Get your own stump!’ So they worked for free. I don’t know what it was--boredom or wanting that feeling of a sense of accomplishment, but theys got them stumps out and that’s all theys talked about for six months straight."
We need to stand united and support our American workers. I leave you with a Ford song that says it all: The Way Forward.
18 comments:
Funny song and the writing about the inmate tutor had me laughing out loud...
Funny song. Is it you!?
The jobs are being shipped to China - even in Japan. We'll become a pure service economy...
Got to agree -- it's a difficult thing to convince people of, but really crucial. Love the stump story -- very true to human nature!
JR, We have the same problem in Canada. It's hard to find anything that was actually made here. NAFTA has been great for Mexico, but not so good for America or Canada. And most of the goods we buy in Canada now are made in China.
I enjoyed the stump story. That was probably the first feeling of accomplishment those guys had had for a long time.
Josie
Nice singing, Jim :-> Maybe it's time to go back to the Steinbeck view of things. Grim. Ford's Way Forward is about as nice and effective as Bush's Way Forward. The idiots on top get rewarded, the foot soldiers shafted -- all along the line. Blame the grunts for the commanders' mistakes. Now if I were a rich man . . . . .
" Amused with the song" but I hate that I would find humor so close to the truth when it comes to this topic.
Forced retirement with General Motors on the anniversary date of the 30 years of service...we aren't so bad off yet we are bitter. Flint,Mi. is a nice place for an Earthly enema after the big pull out of all car manufacturing and engineering for Buick. Oh wow! Stup! Nuff!
I could really stink up your entry with a rant...sorry.
Wiping my feet off...introducing myself.
Hi, I am TJ.
Also a Michigander...thanks for your comment in my blog.
TJ
http://paisleyskys.blogspot.com/
Great post!
I've always thought that I wanted a tattoo...not so much, after reading about "D" inmate's...
A good friend of mine works in the office at that Muskegon facility. I'm sure they are proud of the enduring work ethic his boys have. =)
I enjoy listening to his takes on "human nature in the joint" almost as much as I enjoy reading yours. There is a lot to be learned in the system.
If only they were as eager to learn from instruction as you are from observation....
there truly is something viscerally redeeming about seeing a hard job through to the end--even stumps. =)
thanks for looking out for my health. I always try(ied - poor now) to shop at local shops even if they were more expensive. Now its all down to the bottom line though, but I still find great deals at local shops (ok - not a big shopper - just have lots of animals that need to fed and would rather go to the corner market if they have what i want than petsmart. I live in miami, so the products (those non animal food types) are probably from south america - i can only hope the workers have good conditions and are treated fairly. But as Walmart demonstrates, you can work w/o that in america too. Walmart workers simply are not treated fairly. Starbucks, a chain i used to hate, really takes care of their employees. Now that I know that I dont spend guilty spending $ there. Barista Brat is a great read.
me again - American Apparel is 100% made here but I find them so overpriced for the quality. I am not ready to go back to 70's gym shorts. So there is an ALL american company that I think blows. Also, Levi's and everyother major name brand has virtually none of their stuff produced in the USA - but they do buy parts in the USA...that are owned by a japanese company...
Me AGAIN! must be bored and unable to sleep - started dating a great guy who hates cigarrets and has no balcony so I cant smoke around him. Looks like i might be quitting soon. Dont smoke that much, like 2 pks a wk, and dont take them out of my house... but its still a stinky habit, and there are so much sweeter things to smoke :)
Just stopping by to say hi. I see you have adopted a dog. Congrats. Your dog looks quite comfortable and at home with you there on the floor, from a few posts back. Pet Finder is a great tool for finding the "perfect" pet. Good for your wife to be persistant and finally find the one she really wanted.
I will only buy USA made products.
All the union websites have union made stores. Some stores (Sears is one) is beginning to carry made in USA products. I will not shop at WAL-Marts. A good web site to check out is the National Labor Committee. They call it "putting a face on the global economy." I support them and their tireless effort. Two good books to read are "Take This Job and Ship It. Why Corporate Greed and Brain Dead Politics Is Sellling Out America". Before James A. Michener passed away he wrote a book in 1998 I believe called "This Noble Land" his vision for America. Both books are good reads. Thanks for the post JR. MW
Jim, Like the stump photo as well as the convict story. Also, the Ford Way Forward song is actually true which just happened a couple of weeks ago. I buy American as much as possible. Everyone should see the DVD "Wal-Mart, the high cost of low price" which is at the local library. It probably would change a lot of people's mind about shopping at Wal-Mart! It tells the total truth which isn't good. --Bro, Ron
Jim, Oh, congrats! I see that you are over 6,000 comments on your blog since May 2006. Looks like you have a lot of readers out there. --Bro, Ron
It's easy to sing the praises of American produce..BUT....in a time when the corporations have gotten so huge as to become their own countries while trying to influence our's, that becomes more difficult.
I agree about supporting American goods and services, but it's hard to take that seriously when manufacturers continue shipping out to other countries to make things more cheaply. Ah slave labor. Ah child exploitation.
Even American auto companies manufacture most of their material out of the US and then bring it in the US to add some small part. That way they can claim US assembly or US as point of origin. FRAUDS.
What we need is a policy in this country that puts us on even playing fields. If something is to be sold in the US, then lets put restrictions on how companies can use labor outside the US and put tariffs on goods and services from India and China.
Let's do something to protect our industries rather than industries outside the US. Until then, I'm buying HONDAS. At least they're made in Ohio.
I hate to sound a sour note, but I've seen so much lousy work down here by American workers that I can understand people's attraction to foreign made goods. Shoddy workmanship, an uncaring attitude about the product, a get it done quick to increase the profit margin attitude, a fuck you, you aren't paying me enough to care approach. I know there are many good American workers who still take pride in what they produce and create, but there are a lot of the other kind as well.
I buy American!!!!!
In recent past it's been discovered that (in some cases,) sweatshop workers in other countries affix those little "Made in the USA" tags in or on products, so how do you know when something is ACTUALLY made in the US?
Some foods are grown in the US, but recent news stories revealed deaths related to germs in everything from spinach to peanut butter.
If Ford is any example of "Made in the USA," I think I'll stick with imports.
I support small, local businesses when I can, but we're so surrounded by huge, faceless, corrupt corporations it's a hard fight.
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