David Graeber has put forward the notion of bullshit jobs in recent years, and I highly recommend that you watch his interviews and lectures on the subject. However there is another bullshit trend happening…
Stress and worry are some of the main causes of mental AND physical health issues. Prolonged exposure can change body chemistry and make an individual more prone to disease, depression, and anxiety.
Now let’s face it, most if not all life’s worries comes from one thing – money. Or to be more precise – security (or lack thereof). Human beings today lack basic security in just about all areas of life. Jobs are not guaranteed to last, and while they do the shifts are usually irregular and awkward. Zero hour contracts are common, so you could be let go at any time and for not much of a reason, so a lot of your time is spent either doing or looking for work which is either unpleasant and/or you have no interest in (work which doesn’t actually produce anything either).
The problem is that your landlord, your bank, your power suppler etc. does not give a single f**k about any of that, and they expect their rent and bill payments to be made on time regardless of your situation. This is the perfect combination to cause extreme stress and worry, so the first thing any sensible person does is look for help right? However, the help out there is usually thin, irrelevant and useless.
We are told by things like inspirational quotes, friends and the like to “Not worry about things we can’t control”. Spiritual types will say “Just go with the flow and it’ll be ok”.
This is all bullshit!
Even doctors are at it. A friend of mine went to see her doctor due to extreme stress from financial worries and she was burned out. The doctor offered to send her to counselling and handed her a self help leaflet with meditation techniques in it.
I’m sorry but none of that helps in the slightest. Talking to some counsellor or breathing deep in the lotus position for 30 minutes a day does not stop the final demands coming through the letterbox. It does not stop the landlord constantly calling trying to find out where their rent is, it does not stop the cupboards and fridge becoming increasingly bare, and it does not alleviate any of the root causes of the stress.
In fact, all it does is waste time which is yet ANOTHER weight on your mind.
Bullshit help is a thin and weak arm of social care which, while it may have good intentions, is really designed just to seem like there is help there when really there is nothing that anyone can do.
The system is cold, cruel and relentless, and it will have its pound of flesh no matter what or who you are.
All those things that you were told were important as a child don’t matter a jot. The system doesn’t care if you are a good person. It doesn’t care if you keep your home immaculate, it doesn’t care if you volunteer in your spare time, it doesn’t care if you are in tune with nature or love children and animals, and it certainly doesn’t care if you fall on hard times.
Basic security – a bit of food and a roof over your head – should not be considered luxuries that have to earned in the 21st century. Until they are provided by law to every man, woman and child in the world then we have absolutely no right to call ourselves “Civilised”.
A View From Askew 