A lot of people think that people turn to a life of drug dealing to make money, but most studies show that drug dealers make less than working at McDonald’s.
The real reason people become drug dealers is that they find it less humiliating than working at McDonald’s. The sting of subservience is so bad they would rather take their chances in a violent tournament.
The ghetto McDonalds are all staffed tho, there isn't enough menial jobs to go around, because inner city political machines enact extensive licensing, zoning, regulation, min wage, etc, that prevents legal entrepreneurship, but the Bloods are always hiring.
"The most striking fact about Malcolm’s life is how early it begins. By fourteen, he’s a grown man with a job. By eighteen, he’s traveled the Eastern seaboard, personally met many of the legends of jazz, lived in Boston and New York, and had a series of girlfriends. Despite his eighth-grade education, he has no trouble mastering new occupations – and making decent money – in a matter of weeks."
This is an interesting observation that I hadn't made.
Our world seems to infantilize people and swaddle them in protection/comfort/convenience. Sometimes I think we are blind to how fast this has proceeded and how far it's gone. I was listening to a YT presentation about the life of Frank Herbert and the same thing occurred to me. The world used to have more violence and risk but it also used to have more adventure and more FREEDOM. I suspect that the two factors which have downregulated these things are managerial bureaucracy, and feminism.
This overview is fascinating! Thanks for writing it out.
It's obvious to me he has intense trauma from his childhood situation. Dealing with a father who was murdered, and then watching your family devolve like that has got to be brutal. No wonder he turned to drugs.
I do think that the "middle path of honest industry" you mention here requires a level of psychological stability which Malcolm it seems just didn't have. He likely turned to drugs and alcohol in order to handle the mental load. Not necessarily justifying his behavior, just pointing it out.
> "middle path of honest industry" you mention here requires a level of psychological stability
There are not enough people in the world that reckon with the fact that conscientiousness is often not a virtue, and often a sign of mental and bodily slavery.
The older I've gotten in life, the more I've realized that this:
"[T]he main difference between charming customers for tips and pickpocketing is that charming customers is humiliating..."
is more true than is ever admitted by general consciousness.
There are too many who view subservience to authority as just, especially when that authority is the one signing your checks, or handing you cash.
I never thought I would side with Malcolm X, and I'm way better at managing my money than he is, but I would be lying if I said I didn't admire his absolute refusal to bend even a little bit toward those he holds in contempt.
If you are being subservient in exchange for money, you aren't really being subservient. You aren't serving someone because they are better than you, you are doing it to make them give you something you want. If the money ends, so does the service.
I also admire Malcolm's uncompromising attitude, but it seems like it was misfiring if he viewed being nice to customers he would likely never meet again as something humiliating.
A lot of people think that people turn to a life of drug dealing to make money, but most studies show that drug dealers make less than working at McDonald’s.
The real reason people become drug dealers is that they find it less humiliating than working at McDonald’s. The sting of subservience is so bad they would rather take their chances in a violent tournament.
The ghetto McDonalds are all staffed tho, there isn't enough menial jobs to go around, because inner city political machines enact extensive licensing, zoning, regulation, min wage, etc, that prevents legal entrepreneurship, but the Bloods are always hiring.
This assertion has literally zero empirical backing.
You should try going into these communities and actually observing things, rather than trying to speculate on theory.
I'm a slumlord in 99% black North St. Louis since 2010, bought and sold 200 properties, and toured over 10k.
"The most striking fact about Malcolm’s life is how early it begins. By fourteen, he’s a grown man with a job. By eighteen, he’s traveled the Eastern seaboard, personally met many of the legends of jazz, lived in Boston and New York, and had a series of girlfriends. Despite his eighth-grade education, he has no trouble mastering new occupations – and making decent money – in a matter of weeks."
This is an interesting observation that I hadn't made.
Our world seems to infantilize people and swaddle them in protection/comfort/convenience. Sometimes I think we are blind to how fast this has proceeded and how far it's gone. I was listening to a YT presentation about the life of Frank Herbert and the same thing occurred to me. The world used to have more violence and risk but it also used to have more adventure and more FREEDOM. I suspect that the two factors which have downregulated these things are managerial bureaucracy, and feminism.
https://jmpolemic.substack.com/p/risk-taking-and-conformity
Link to / title of the YT video on Frank Herbert’s life?
This overview is fascinating! Thanks for writing it out.
It's obvious to me he has intense trauma from his childhood situation. Dealing with a father who was murdered, and then watching your family devolve like that has got to be brutal. No wonder he turned to drugs.
I do think that the "middle path of honest industry" you mention here requires a level of psychological stability which Malcolm it seems just didn't have. He likely turned to drugs and alcohol in order to handle the mental load. Not necessarily justifying his behavior, just pointing it out.
> "middle path of honest industry" you mention here requires a level of psychological stability
There are not enough people in the world that reckon with the fact that conscientiousness is often not a virtue, and often a sign of mental and bodily slavery.
The older I've gotten in life, the more I've realized that this:
"[T]he main difference between charming customers for tips and pickpocketing is that charming customers is humiliating..."
is more true than is ever admitted by general consciousness.
There are too many who view subservience to authority as just, especially when that authority is the one signing your checks, or handing you cash.
I never thought I would side with Malcolm X, and I'm way better at managing my money than he is, but I would be lying if I said I didn't admire his absolute refusal to bend even a little bit toward those he holds in contempt.
If you are being subservient in exchange for money, you aren't really being subservient. You aren't serving someone because they are better than you, you are doing it to make them give you something you want. If the money ends, so does the service.
I also admire Malcolm's uncompromising attitude, but it seems like it was misfiring if he viewed being nice to customers he would likely never meet again as something humiliating.