(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Waiting for Robin [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-02-22 A manly man in his jaunty tights. I’ve been thinking a lot about the bad guy in Robin Hood. The story’s mix of privilege, poverty and the inherent risk of relying entirely on law enforcement to solve problems - it all seems strikingly relevant today. And, depending on your preferred media bubble, who the bad guy is in the story may be different too. I think first of the road through Nottingham Forest, and all who travel it. I think of those travelers in particular, visitors, residents, merchants. The road serves everyone going into and out of Nottingham. This road is maintained by taxes, like all roads. By dollar amount (and not, say, a percentage of total income), it is the business leaders of the town whose taxes primarily fund the road’s maintenance and upkeep. This likely gives them a collective sense of ownership over it too. Then along comes Robin, and the road’s dynamic changes. Suddenly, when certain travelers to and from Nottingham go through Sherwood Forest, they find themselves accosted by homeless criminals. Robbers take their cash and valuables, while threatening them with the pointy end of an arrow should they resist. How dare “Those People™” do this on “Their Road™!?” “Their Road™” For the purpose of expanding public discussion, what if we were to imagine that this was the road leading to Nottingham? The road is clearly important! It can even be called essential to the whole town. Just look at that photo. Look at it! When criminals start acting so brazenly, that kind of behavior must be addressed. It just must. And what do you need in this situation? Why, a hero of course! And so the call goes out - The Sheriff™ must do what is necessary to get these criminals under control. Of course, we all know the real story of Robin Hood. He’s the hero. The sheriff is the villain. Oh, and about that hemming and hawing over retail theft, here’s a headline... NY Times - Walgreens Executive Says Shoplifting Threat Was Overstated Huh, now isn’t that a bit suspicious. Let’s take a closer look... CBS News - U.S. companies are stealing pay from low-wage workers, report says Denver 7, an ABC affiliate: Wage theft is the costliest crime in America Who’s Stealing from Who? Wage theft can be many things. The most straightforward and common is when workers are asked to do a few minutes of prep or cleanup work off the clock. Maybe the waitstaff is required to check/clean their station before clocking in, or retail staff have to clock in at their register after going to the back office and getting their cash drawer, and both could be required to help restock after clocking out. Or, maybe the waitstaff is assigned a food prep role, which is not a tipped position, for the first hour or so of work. If you recall the headlines of American Airlines saving millions of dollars by removing a single olive from their in-flight meals, then you can understand how a few minutes of worker productivity can also add up to millions of dollars just the same. This is somewhat similar to the plot of classic the movies Superman 3 and Office Space as well. Shave a few half-pennies and suddenly end up with millions. It happens every day. Unfortunately, the stealing doesn’t stop there. Let’s take a closer look at who is actually robbing who along the road through Sherwood Forest. Washington Post - Law enforcement took more stuff from people than burglars did last year. Again, for the purpose of expanding public discussion of news, what does this graph say about the reasons why the Sheriff of Nottingham and his minions were the bad guys? So employers are stealing from workers. Law enforcement is robbing folks at a higher rate than criminals. We all know what needs to be done at this juncture, right? Change the subject! One way of doing this is by making it about Personal Responsibility™, a tactic of distraction that often works. Those workers having their wages stolen, they should find a better job. And the folks being pulled over and robbed by police, they shouldn’t be giving probable cause to be pulled over in the first place. I mean seriously, what are “Those People™” doing living in Sherwood Forest anyway? Good ‘Ol Forest Living Yeah, about that. ABC News - Skyrocketing rents pain tenants as inflation rises CNBC - Rent prices will keep going up in 2023—here’s what to expect Washington Post - Rising rents were a crisis for tenants. For landlord Starwood, they were a gift ProPublica - Rent going up? One company’s Algorithm could be why So to recap... Employers are robbing the people. Police are robbing the people. Landlords are robbing the people. This leads to the final distraction... We Must Save “The Women™” and “The Children™”!! “Actually, Robin, I’m fine.” (probably) Maid Marian, a pretty lady lacking all agency, must be made safe against the hordes of transgendered drag queens hunting them and their sweet, adorable children in government run bathrooms throughout the land. Or, something like that. I’m going to forego links here. Of course, I feel that those most likely to read this diary already understand who is actually in the most danger when trying to go the bathroom (or do much of anything else) while existing in public. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/2/22/2154348/-Waiting-for-Robin Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/