Ok, so maybe this should be a book.Thankfully, it's not going to be. Trust me there are a hundred already.But I happen to be in a very interesting discussion at the famous- round table in office, which deserves to be archived.
So, here goes....
The apartment complex, where my boss lives had set some standardized pay slabs for domestic help working in the complex as expatriate residents were paying the staff exorbitant salaries, causing the other poor souls and pockets to suffer.
All of us but my boss concurred that it was a fantastic idea. Absolutely fair we thought.we happily congratulated ourselves for being the champions of equality, communism, transparency, etc.
Then, as usual my boss erupted...telling us we were sick, dogmatic, oppressive and had a slave mentality(all at once- you can pick the curse you like best).
He took his maid's example and said that he could only pay her 4000 rupees, but if someone could pay her 7000 he had absolutely no right to stop her.It's a free world!
So he made me think of my own mindset towards the staff that has been around me for years. I thought of all of us- well educated, middle class indian people, living in the metros, people who have never swept their own rooms, too busy licking their boss' ass, too busy climbing the ladder to success stamping on the faces of the less fortunate. We like the poor. We like social work.It shows our sensitive side. We are socialist when it gets all of us electricity or ration. We are capitalist when we sit in our shops devising the best marketing strategy.
Now that the middle class is flourishing and are elevated to the position of glorified servants in swanky offices someone has still got to do the dog work right? But we are sensitive socialists now...we believe in fixed salaries( presuming no skill is required in manual work.My mom can explain in detail how no two maids are the same).
Have a soul. Chose one.Right now we have only chosen to be selfish.