Tuesday, August 2, 2011

WORKING CLASS HERO



Gary Russo is a hardhat, a New York City MTA construction worker building the 2nd Avenue Subway in the booming summer heat. He could use a summer wind. Maybe you saw him online. His video has gone viral. Anyway, Russo does a spot on impression of Frank Sinatra. Here he sings "Summer Wind" during his lunchbreak, and then he goes right back to work.

These days it's getting to be subversive to stick up for working people. Maybe it's no different from the old red-baiting days when saying anything about "the working class" got you branded a dirty commie out to start a class war. You'd think we'd be past that by now, but siding with the "commoners" still looks suspicious to a lot of people, and some folks even think it's patriotic to be AGAINST the working class. Look around. We've got union-busting Republicans stealing workers' rights nationwide, and "pro-business" tycoons hopping into bed with lobbyists and politicians to deregulate corporations and screw the common man (and woman), hoodwink the gullible, and rip off the consumer. Multinational corporations have the power to run roughshod over the workers and consumers worldwide, all in the name of "it's-good-for-business." The working people don't have the billions--or the batteries of lawyers, legal loopholes and tax breaks--of the ultra rich, for a fair fight. Besides, they have to get up every morning and go to work. But once in a while they sing.

the young Sinatra; a working class hero?

No comments: