A glaring oversight in defunding public schools and putting children to work at such an early age? The sexual predators waiting for kids in the workplace...I should know. It happened to me.
I am of the opinion the initiatives to expand workforces to younger ages are intended to expand labor pool and create a lower wage category and enhance bottom lines, with the collateral damage being a lower economic class that stays lower longer. As a career educator who taught almost exclusively students on and in the socio-economic margins, I am all too familiar with the allure of choosing work over school. That, and the consequences of lower academic achievement when balancing work-school balance means ALL learning happens bell-to-bell and no time or resources are available outside the day. These laws these administrations are crafting are sold as a win-win for business and workers; however, those who need the work, those willing to risk personal safety and educational achievement out of financial necessity, and those who already see school as a nuisance when there is money to be made will simply be cast into a perpetuated lower class at the mercy of industry and government.
I’m in agreement with you to a degree; I see “collateral damage” as a bit more nefarious as it implies the kids are disposable and not considered in earnest; when the result is viewed as an “unfortunate outcome” it is reduced to “an obstacle” that can be overcome
by hard work, work ethic, and all other solutions aimed at blaming those impacted by poor legislation.
I too was victimized by my manager at Steak 'n Shake when I was 15... back in 1974 in a St. Louis suburb. I needed a ride home when the restaurant closed (I can't remember the reason for that) and instead of driving me home he drove me to a dead end cul-de-sac and pulled out a condom... I quit the next day and never told a soul. Good on you for reporting; I wish I had. I never even told my parents. Somehow I blamed myself. Young people should not be put in the hands of adult managers; I see your point about Republicans wanting to force people into a working class. You are an amazing writer; thank you for putting two and two together for me.
I knew there had to be more to the plan than just killing off public education. This is also why we can’t have a guest worker program or allow immigrants to come to work. And of course we need a huge supply of babies to keep the working class going. Healthcare connected to employers keeps us in line and unable to quit. Yikes, tax the rich and vote 🗳️ blue before it’s too late.
Thank you for telling this very personal and traumatic story to hopefully help others. This country has never really faced or brought to justice its dark history of male supremacy and greed, and erroneously perceived sense of entitlement through conquest and violence over using cooperation and respect. Until we own our collective trauma and tell the stories acknowledging the cost to our children, women, all workers, Indigenous people, all nonwhite people, all people whose normal sex and gender is not cis male or female, expose as wrong the seeming right to impose paternalistic patriarchal religions on those who reject it, can we begin to heal and continue the fight to evolve into the dream of a multiracial pluralistic equitable ,compassionate ,empathetic ,planet saving democracy. I am hopeful our species can evolve before we design our own extinction, but we are running out of time,
Your points are very valid. The school voucher system is a one-sided law in Iowa. I counted the private schools in southern Iowa once. In the area I grew up in there were about 3, the closest 30 miles away. The high majority were Catholic or Christian schools in the state. I don’t think there’s much of a choice there. But, somehow this is costing parents whether or not they have normal access to them. The 7,500 is lower than most annual tuitions charge. So, there is still a cost to voucher holders. The public schools need money, lots if it, to upgrade them to the standards we want for our children. This is a gimmick designed for who?
Education is EVERYTHING. We humans literally must learn every single aspect of our lives, because unlike other animals, we mostly lack instincts. This includes sex. Not having frank conversations with our young males and females, we do a disservice to them, leaving them unprotected or subject to risky behavior. There are untold numbers of predators out there, and the reticence of puritan-residual Americans to address human sexuality is irresponsible and the pathetic result of clenched religious strictures. Many Europeans and Scandinavians are worlds away from the average American discomfort with the human body. And so here we are in America, banning books that even hint about sex or nudity, shaming children before they even have any idea why, instead of educating them.
Thank you for sharing your experience, Jesse. It is the similar experience of almost every woman I have ever known, including myself.
Wow powerful piece-I too started "working" at about 14 babysitting and then a real job in the summer of my 16 year. I too was many times in vulnerable positions and felt powerless to be proactive about my situation. The right wants us to have babies but does nothing to actually support them once they are out of the womb. Its despicable....Good for you for turning that guy in..
I’m so sorry that happened to you, and that your father was mad about you quitting rather than what Mike did to you.
I had to resort to homeschooling which I never wanted to do as I was homeschooled so I could be abused and only taught things they wanted me to know. But the amount of bullying in public schools here that the “good Christian teachers” both do themselves AND allow students to do is bad.
We need public schools. Safe ones, which means we need to work to make that happen instead of working to destroy them.
Thank you for sharing your experiences as a young vulnerable teenager, Jess. Predators like "Mike" depend on the imbalance in power to take advantage of the more vulnerable. Thank goodness you found an ally!
And while I'd like to think the company did the right thing right off the bat, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if this guy had gotten moved from store to store before finally being fired!
So many white males, and then those two little girls on the left, one wearing a Moms for Liberty shirt…..what sad, scared little faces. I fear for their future.
My wife went through an almost identical experience in her later teens with a small boutique specialty food store owner and the owner's son. I was her boyfriend at the time and confronted the son face to face one evening while picking her up after closing. The abuse stopped but, they essentially forced her to quit through verbal and emotional abuse which followed. This was the early 70s. Harassment on the job was non-existent.
When persons of authority take advantage of young teens that is despicable. I hope you do not hold shame from your experience as that man owns the shame. I am proud of you for stopping the abuse before it went further. Many do not have that courage. Children are more vulnerable than any other worker as they usually are not there by choice. Rolling back child labor laws does not show a party cares for children. It is the same kind of despicable.
The saddest part of your narrative is that so many of us have had the same experience. Predators abound but by putting young inexperienced young women and men in adult situations does increase the likelihood of being targeted. Shame, fear and as you experienced concern for the predator is a scenario for lasting emotional distress. The isolation experienced by the victims. Who would believe me?
Child labor laws were a major advancement during the Industrial Revolution where working conditions were deplorable and children were literally worked to death. In factory settings and other dangerous work areas, children should not be employed. With such current high unemployment and strong job growth, the need for “bodies” has created potentially abusive environments.
The Republicans are pushing the defunding agenda and with unregulated home schools or private (often with religious affiliation) schools, public schools may not meet the community’s needs. This sounds like the kind of scenario in which poverty-stricken families found themselves decades ago.
It always amazes me how the corporate class can so casually exploit even young children without a second thought. Their kids don’t have to help pay for school clothes or school fees to join a club or play football.
Caring for the weakest of us is our duty. Setting children up for failure, exhaustion, injury or death isn’t not how we as a country should ever behave.
Once again, Republicans are advancing agendas that benefit them or satisfy their desires go control others.
I am of the opinion the initiatives to expand workforces to younger ages are intended to expand labor pool and create a lower wage category and enhance bottom lines, with the collateral damage being a lower economic class that stays lower longer. As a career educator who taught almost exclusively students on and in the socio-economic margins, I am all too familiar with the allure of choosing work over school. That, and the consequences of lower academic achievement when balancing work-school balance means ALL learning happens bell-to-bell and no time or resources are available outside the day. These laws these administrations are crafting are sold as a win-win for business and workers; however, those who need the work, those willing to risk personal safety and educational achievement out of financial necessity, and those who already see school as a nuisance when there is money to be made will simply be cast into a perpetuated lower class at the mercy of industry and government.
I don’t believe that a “lower economic class” is collateral damage. I believe it is the intended result, an easier to control populace.
I’m in agreement with you to a degree; I see “collateral damage” as a bit more nefarious as it implies the kids are disposable and not considered in earnest; when the result is viewed as an “unfortunate outcome” it is reduced to “an obstacle” that can be overcome
by hard work, work ethic, and all other solutions aimed at blaming those impacted by poor legislation.
Exactly
I too was victimized by my manager at Steak 'n Shake when I was 15... back in 1974 in a St. Louis suburb. I needed a ride home when the restaurant closed (I can't remember the reason for that) and instead of driving me home he drove me to a dead end cul-de-sac and pulled out a condom... I quit the next day and never told a soul. Good on you for reporting; I wish I had. I never even told my parents. Somehow I blamed myself. Young people should not be put in the hands of adult managers; I see your point about Republicans wanting to force people into a working class. You are an amazing writer; thank you for putting two and two together for me.
I knew there had to be more to the plan than just killing off public education. This is also why we can’t have a guest worker program or allow immigrants to come to work. And of course we need a huge supply of babies to keep the working class going. Healthcare connected to employers keeps us in line and unable to quit. Yikes, tax the rich and vote 🗳️ blue before it’s too late.
Thank you for telling this very personal and traumatic story to hopefully help others. This country has never really faced or brought to justice its dark history of male supremacy and greed, and erroneously perceived sense of entitlement through conquest and violence over using cooperation and respect. Until we own our collective trauma and tell the stories acknowledging the cost to our children, women, all workers, Indigenous people, all nonwhite people, all people whose normal sex and gender is not cis male or female, expose as wrong the seeming right to impose paternalistic patriarchal religions on those who reject it, can we begin to heal and continue the fight to evolve into the dream of a multiracial pluralistic equitable ,compassionate ,empathetic ,planet saving democracy. I am hopeful our species can evolve before we design our own extinction, but we are running out of time,
Your points are very valid. The school voucher system is a one-sided law in Iowa. I counted the private schools in southern Iowa once. In the area I grew up in there were about 3, the closest 30 miles away. The high majority were Catholic or Christian schools in the state. I don’t think there’s much of a choice there. But, somehow this is costing parents whether or not they have normal access to them. The 7,500 is lower than most annual tuitions charge. So, there is still a cost to voucher holders. The public schools need money, lots if it, to upgrade them to the standards we want for our children. This is a gimmick designed for who?
Education is EVERYTHING. We humans literally must learn every single aspect of our lives, because unlike other animals, we mostly lack instincts. This includes sex. Not having frank conversations with our young males and females, we do a disservice to them, leaving them unprotected or subject to risky behavior. There are untold numbers of predators out there, and the reticence of puritan-residual Americans to address human sexuality is irresponsible and the pathetic result of clenched religious strictures. Many Europeans and Scandinavians are worlds away from the average American discomfort with the human body. And so here we are in America, banning books that even hint about sex or nudity, shaming children before they even have any idea why, instead of educating them.
Thank you for sharing your experience, Jesse. It is the similar experience of almost every woman I have ever known, including myself.
Wow powerful piece-I too started "working" at about 14 babysitting and then a real job in the summer of my 16 year. I too was many times in vulnerable positions and felt powerless to be proactive about my situation. The right wants us to have babies but does nothing to actually support them once they are out of the womb. Its despicable....Good for you for turning that guy in..
I’m so sorry that happened to you, and that your father was mad about you quitting rather than what Mike did to you.
I had to resort to homeschooling which I never wanted to do as I was homeschooled so I could be abused and only taught things they wanted me to know. But the amount of bullying in public schools here that the “good Christian teachers” both do themselves AND allow students to do is bad.
We need public schools. Safe ones, which means we need to work to make that happen instead of working to destroy them.
But the billionaires want us all uneducated.
Thank you for sharing your experiences as a young vulnerable teenager, Jess. Predators like "Mike" depend on the imbalance in power to take advantage of the more vulnerable. Thank goodness you found an ally!
And while I'd like to think the company did the right thing right off the bat, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if this guy had gotten moved from store to store before finally being fired!
That photo of Sara Sanders in Arkansas……..
So many white males, and then those two little girls on the left, one wearing a Moms for Liberty shirt…..what sad, scared little faces. I fear for their future.
I’m not liking the fact that this happened to you, but your courage in discussing it and advocating for youth today.
My wife went through an almost identical experience in her later teens with a small boutique specialty food store owner and the owner's son. I was her boyfriend at the time and confronted the son face to face one evening while picking her up after closing. The abuse stopped but, they essentially forced her to quit through verbal and emotional abuse which followed. This was the early 70s. Harassment on the job was non-existent.
Harassment on the job was very much existent; we just didn't have a name for it.
Somewhere that's not nearly hot enough, Reagan is smiling.
That is an incredibly miserable looking group of people in that photo.
When persons of authority take advantage of young teens that is despicable. I hope you do not hold shame from your experience as that man owns the shame. I am proud of you for stopping the abuse before it went further. Many do not have that courage. Children are more vulnerable than any other worker as they usually are not there by choice. Rolling back child labor laws does not show a party cares for children. It is the same kind of despicable.
The saddest part of your narrative is that so many of us have had the same experience. Predators abound but by putting young inexperienced young women and men in adult situations does increase the likelihood of being targeted. Shame, fear and as you experienced concern for the predator is a scenario for lasting emotional distress. The isolation experienced by the victims. Who would believe me?
Child labor laws were a major advancement during the Industrial Revolution where working conditions were deplorable and children were literally worked to death. In factory settings and other dangerous work areas, children should not be employed. With such current high unemployment and strong job growth, the need for “bodies” has created potentially abusive environments.
The Republicans are pushing the defunding agenda and with unregulated home schools or private (often with religious affiliation) schools, public schools may not meet the community’s needs. This sounds like the kind of scenario in which poverty-stricken families found themselves decades ago.
It always amazes me how the corporate class can so casually exploit even young children without a second thought. Their kids don’t have to help pay for school clothes or school fees to join a club or play football.
Caring for the weakest of us is our duty. Setting children up for failure, exhaustion, injury or death isn’t not how we as a country should ever behave.
Once again, Republicans are advancing agendas that benefit them or satisfy their desires go control others.