4/20 Scott/Kelley/Reed


According to Scott, everyday forms of resistance have been seen to be used by low-class peasants to navigate a sense of humanness and control. As I was reading this, I realized this idea could be prevalent to low-wage workers in the United States. For instance, low-wage food service workers tend to act upon forms of resistance when there is an imbalance of employer to employee relationship. I have not experienced this firsthand, but my friend's employment at the Memorial Union Coho illustrates how they subconsciously use forms of resistance to make their work more bearable as they continuously engage in physical and emotional labor.

Similarly, Scott’s theory can be applied to Kelley’s McDonald’s working experience. Workers at McDonald’s tried to illustrate their resistance by turning their work into a performance. They used music for entertainment and then communicated their problems amongst each other in dramatic ways. However, Reed mentions not to romanticize this notion as sometimes these acts of resistance do not always lead to political change. Rather, Reed offers a solution in which the people must have an “interest-based” organizing tactic. This reminded me of a form of unionization as workers in particular unions have similar occupations and fight for similar issues related to their shared work.

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