|
I'm riding the Bus on my way home from work, one evening. I'm working at a museum at the
time. And Museum Employees don't get paid much. Anyway...the bus ride is fine, as usual. "Rear Door!" shouted a passenger when wanting to get off the bus at the Bus Stop. When the passenger was clear after getting off the bus, the bus driver (Hispanic) attempted to close the doors. The Front Doors closed. But the Rear Doors did not. The bus does NOT move with the Rear Doors open (the brakes release when the rear doors are closed - it's a 'Safety Feature' those busses had). After several tries to close the doors, the Bus Driver said '...everyone off the bus.' I was among the last to get off the bus. I told the Bus Driver to '...shut off the air supply to the doors.' He looked at me like I did NOT know what I was talking about. I insisted he do it. Reluctantly, he went to the driver seat and shut off the air supply for the doors. THE REAR DOORS CLOSED! And the Brakes, released! As everyone got back on the bus, I could hear people say '...HE (being 'Me' ) should be driving this bus.' There were 3 problems with that:
1) I had no Driver License at all.
2) I was not old enough to drive a bus, yet.
3) I did TRY later in the future to apply for jobs at the MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority). No Luck landing a job there. Last attempt was September 2005: 'Streetcar Operator'. How about THIS: At work, I was passing by the Main Elevator...I was unaware it had broken down & stopped between floors (it was between mine and the one below). As I got closer to it, I was told there were 3 people inside. Building Management did not know fully how to open the elevator doors. The Elevator Technician was still far from the museum. The concern was to get the passengers out of the Elevator. I remembered how Opening the elevator doors was done before. I started with the Outer Elevator Doors...got them open. Next, I got THE Elevator Doors Open. DONE! The people trapped inside all got out safely. Building Management was VERY Impressed and knew what to do next time. I got 'High Praise' that day. I felt, '...if I can do things like THAT - and like what happened on the bus - the Job Market WILL Take Notice.'I wanted a Higher Paying job. I felt I deserved it because of the hidden talent I have. Well, the 'Job Market' "Took Notice", alright. Black male. Living in the Inner City. A High School Diploma and later, some college credits. My annual Income has ALWAYS been
Below Poverty Level since my first job out of High School. I CAN'T afford a car at all! That potential talent I have and I'm seen as 'a threat' to the Job Market. As well as 'Cheap Labor' for them. Think about it. I'm a passenger on a bus, smarter than the Bus Driver. I'm a low paid Museum Employee smarter than the Building Management. ALL of that happened about the late 1980s. No matter what, even to those "higher paid and/or educated people", I'm seen as 'a threat' to them. Especially if THEY dropped out of high school. Working in the 'Technical Field' now, I STILL make far less $$$$ than what 'other technicians' get. NOT to sound Racist: IF I were a White Male High School Dropout (BONUS Points if I were a Non Black Immigrant) with that kind of talent, I would be making a decent annual income? Yes. This IS a known Fact. TRUE. My Income DID go up enough for me to afford a house. But what you don't realize is my Income DROPPED soon after, thanks to "The Corparate Greeds" out there. But how many people REALLY think about that? Remember these well known statistics: 1 in 4 White Male High School Drop-outs can still get a job. 1 in 8 Black Male High School Drop-outs can still get a job...and at LESS Pay than the White high school dropout! Known Facts! In 2002, I 'find out on my own' about the "Elevator Builders Union" (funny no one tells ME about them sooner). I took a test for that in early 2003. I'm not good at BIG Math Equations. So, I failed that part of their test. I have no idea what I got right, overall. It's funny people complained about "...And, The American Way" being left out in 'Superman Returns'. I'm just a Talented 6th Generation Black American that's seen as 'a threat'. See my other Blog: "Since You Like Trains So Much...".
Trackback(0)
|
TrackBack URI for this entry
