Backlash and memes, but not enough introspection and interrogation
Some of the memes around the L&T Chairman’s 90-hour work week / ‘wife staring’ are hilarious. I fear, though, we’re missing an opportunity to have more serious conversations about collective bargaining power for employees, and interrogate social-reward systems that such lines of thinking make it to the top of our social structures (and possibly many more things). Didn’t this thing start with someone asking about why they have to work Saturdays?
Mr. L&T person is the norm, not an outlier. I get the subversive element of other ‘captains of industry’ metaphorical nod by referring to spending times with their wives. I do think there was opportunity for them to do/say more. For us to push them to do/say more.
This is just one example, but if you look closely enough, this thread runs through most elements of public discourse. By and large, we micro-focus on a limited, or entirely wrong part of the conversation.
So, by all means, let’s make the ‘funnies’, but in the process not miss out on the deeper questions we need to ask. There is room for both, let’s make it.
I get that this is hard, all of us have a lot going on. But until we do this, things don’t get substantially better.
For now, I am calling this “Participatory ’unserious’ness”
What’s that? What does my being fun at parties have to do with this?