We Should Be Free to Say “Fuck You” to the Boss
As soon as we show up for work, our much-vaunted free speech goes out the window. But when we win full employment and don’t fear losing our jobs, we can tell the boss what we really think.
Leo Panitch pointed out that full employment enabled workers to say, “Fuck you, boss,” without having to fear the consequences.
A tweet by someone calling themselves “gnocchi mane” recently went viral, going like this:
Me when Bernie is president: Sorry can’t come into work too busy gaming.
My boss: That’s okay you may take a gaming sabbatical as the law allows.
Me: Fuck you.
My boss: I’m sorry sir.
Those of us who’ve had our fair share of shitty jobs (which is most jobs) know this feeling of wanting to say: “Fuck you, boss.” The tweet was funny because we have the same words on the tip of our tongue but don’t dare say them. But why not? After all, in modern societies, we all are equals, right? We have the same right to vote or be elected, the same right to speak, the same right to choose whichever job we want. This is capitalism, after all, not feudalism — or the dark ages.
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