The Cafe Question

Mark Morford writes: There are always choices we can begin to make, changes we can begin to invite, rules we can work to upset, angles of penetration we can try to explore. And if that’s not worth trying, well, what is? His article is about how we have become enslaved by society, trained to become … Continue reading “The Cafe Question”

Mark Morford writes: There are always choices we can begin to make, changes we can begin to invite, rules we can work to upset, angles of penetration we can try to explore. And if that’s not worth trying, well, what is?

His article is about how we have become enslaved by society, trained to become productive little monkeys. We cherish our weekends while at the same time laughing at those we consider to be corporate wage-slaves slaving away into the night because they just don’t get it.

Ever wonder if you got it? Does a 48 hour weekend constitute breaking away from the establishment?

He continues – “Any given weekday you can stroll by any given coffee shop in the city and see dozens of people milling about, casually sipping and eating and reading and it’s freakin’ noon on a Tuesday and you’re like, wait, don’t these people work? Don’t they have jobs? They can’t all be students and trust-fund babies and cocktail waitresses and drummers in struggling rock bands who live at home with their moms.

Harsh words.

The Cafe question he alludes to is the heart and soul of what I want to do with Infurious. Read the article and tell me that you don’t harbour a secret envy for the sister, the SO and the CEO. We don’t want to work in a cubicle, in a butt-widening chair, reporting to self-obsessed middle managers who like to check web logs to see if you’ve wasted company time reading the news or checking your bank balance. (Hi Ian, Hi Noel – this is you) Why would a manager of PEOPLE spend so much time obsessing about print quotas and web surfing if he wasn’t actually in love with the idea of victimising people. For too long Information Technology was used as a club to beat people down. Microsoft’s Zero Admin nonsense just made it worse. It’s the antithesis of what makes modern computing great. And if you need to force your people to work in this way then you really need new people and these unhappy workers need to take a look outside and follow their dreams. Yes, you say, but someone has to clean drains and someone has to pick up litter. That’s fine – if the individuals involved are happy doing it. But for your own sake, look at what makes you happy and re-arrange things for the better.

Not everything you do will set the world on fire. From bitter experience I can tell you that pushing for change and attempting to make a mark can end up with frustration, disillusionment, divorce and other bad words. Remember that you are the only person that you truly trust when all is said and done. Betrayal of the self is therefore that much more cruel.

I find it very pleasing that the subtitle of his article is:

“Is it maybe time to quit your safe job and follow your path and infuriate the establishment?”

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