A Ronin Unhinged: A Shoot on the Government Shutdown, Wages, and More!
- Max the Ronin that Writes
- 13 hours ago
- 13 min read
Whats up y'all.
Another week has come upon us, and that means another drop.
I'll warn you now, I am not in the mood.
I have A LOT on my chest that I need to fire off.
I don't know what it is, and I may sound like I'm on repeat like a hit record on multiple popular radio stations, but I have been on one for quite some time.
Perhaps this emotional and deep thought wave that I am on is the path to transformation, or maybe its the way towards my deconstruction.
But whatever it is, Enough is Enough. I'm a Ronin about to go off: Unhinged.
Over the past few weeks, my longest running bestie and I (shout out to Miss Mack) have checked in and we've felt this sort of shift. She felt it more than me and she was giving me all of the smoke. I just nodded my head in respect, and at the same time it sort of awoke something in me like "Yeah! Fuck all this shit!" So maybe now it is my time. Maybe its my time to let off, and its been a long time coming.
I've got shit going on upstairs, inside, outside my home, in the news, all over and I'm gonna punch through the walls, even if it leaves me with bloody knuckles and people turning away like "What the fuck is wrong with him? Why is he yelling? Why so many swear words? I thought he was a peaceful guy, isn't that what Libras are?"
Heh...Libra shit.
Not always...and you're about to find out what the fuck has been on my mind and in the chest in probably one of my most visceral vent sessions yet. Nagh..fuck a session. This my friends, is another SHOOT!
These Damn Kids
I love my kids. Maybe not in the way a "good, by the book parent" is supposed to love them. I'm not a cookie cutter kinda Dad that hands them everything and makes their life super easy.
I'm the kinda Dad that will annoy the shit out of them, reminding them that I am far from their maid. Clean up your shit...wash your ass...put that fucking phone down and do what you need to do first!
I'm that kinda Dad...I just strive not to curse at them the way I did here. The kinda Dad that holds his finances tight to make sure they have something saved for their futures when they go out into the world.
The kinda Dad that does his best to give it to them straight and holds them to a standard before the world tells them what standard to follow when they are working themselves to death (yeah Imma get on that shit too). The kinda Dad that tag teams with their mom out of mutual love and understanding of the assignment. Family Shit.
I'm also the kinda Dad that is ALWAYS in his head as she just told me earlier, especially when shit goes left with the kids. The kinda Dad that feels like most of this shit is my fault even when people like Miss Mack tell me that I'm a hell of a Father...I just feel like I'm missing something. That there's something more I SHOULD be doing to be the best parent. But since when is this a fucking contest?
But these past few weeks have been difficult to deal with in an emotional, behavioral, and mental capacity. When you have a son truly challenged because of the lack of emotional regulation, you wanna help him calm down, but no matter what you do...you will fail! He will yell, throw things, stomp, curse you out, hit...all of it. As its going down, you can't help but do one of two things...shake your head and beat yourself up, or wanna go ratchet NYC on a kid that thinks he's a grown man and show him what the fuck anger and built up bitterness looks like! Man....there has been times!!!! The Bronx Boy in me be raging to go...and I ain't never had a scrap in the hood! But even if I would snap, It'd never be to hurt him. It'd be to demonstrate the difference between restraint and full on unchecked rage and the harm it could do IF YOU ALLOWED IT TO. I want to teach him coping skills, combined with medication and therapy...but when he loses his cool, its fast and furious like a Tokyo Drift in Miami...ain't no stop and think. Its..I FEEL THIS NOW!!!!!! And its fucking hard to sit and deal with that! I see the look on Mom's face, and I'm like fuck...I don't want her to wrestle with that. Let me deal with it alone..but truth is, and we both know this...it takes two; maybe even a village. It takes a cooler head to prevail, mine included. Its hard to let him rage out especially when he doesn't know what to do with all that fire. He could easily hurt himself in the process or destroy property, which guess who would have to pay for the holes already in the walls? Yep. Dad.
Then, add to it a daughter that knows it all and doesn't know how to watch what she says...knows no wrongs when it comes to her...she's flawless in every way without saying it...just saying (as she would say). Doesn't matter if she says something directly to my son or not, but there's always a reaction from him. When she gets checked for adding to the flames, she did no wrong...its not her fault..he could ignore her. She's not fully wrong, but he doesn't know how to because he sees her as a trigger. It started with her always snapping on him when they were younger. She planted the seed of him going off with the mouth...and YouTube content and TikTok trendy ass streamers added to that. So there's that lovey dynamic of chaos.
Oh, and the oldest...quiet as kept...feeble like a fawn...remaining quiet and agreeing to anything but what she actually needs to be doing like cleaning up behind herself, washing her hands, and fucking hygiene! It's like she has no backbone and no awareness outside of...you guessed it...that device she hyper-focuses on. But when Daddy comes forward with the put that shit down, you wanna grunt and be passive aggressive mad, like girl..you know who you trying to flex on? Fuck outta here.
Its exhausting and a never-ending story being a parent...let alone a parent of three. But even in this, I can make a difference. I always wanted a family of my own to raise them right and love them in a way that fills them as well as me. I just hope that I haven't failed them and its not too late!
Government Shutdown
I don't even know where to start with this. I shake my head and I ask myself, why the fuck would anyone want to stay loyal to a country that is divided and playing petty games with people's earnings like this? I'm not saying that because I hate it here. I served this country for 13 plus years in uniform so I don't want to disgrace where I call home...but by loyal to country I mean loyal to all the yuppies in office that are in it just for themselves and their families. To the ones that have money stockpiled in several accounts and don't have skin in the game. To the ones that say no to something that can truly help those that need it, all because their needs aren't met.
How the fuck are we okay with an administration that is basically kicking out anyone that don't look like him and his yes men and women in office? But yet, we are throwing money at Israel? We're throwing money at Argentina? What about the troops that gotta feed their families?
Oh nagh don't worry bout that, the troops will get back-paid.
Thats cool, but you wanna prep and send soldiers to War for no real reason at all other than to flex America's Great Might as a spectacle of Chaos? Make it make sense!!! Y'all give money to other countries and place tariffs on others for what? When 9/11 happened where the fuck was Israel? Where was Argentina? Don't get me twisted on here, I have no hatred for any man or country...just bullshit masked as being a selective patriot because "I got mine"
This government shutdown...this administration...like so many before it in their own way, are full of shit. Now people are being held hostage and left in the wings of the unknown to trust and hope that tomorrow this thing will come to an end because of their loyalty to the colors. How do we know this ain't some ploy to get votes to get some more mealymouthed dumb-asses in office to further fuck us? Or to get a bill passed into law that will ultimately screw us all? Think about it...y'all celebrated COVID payouts but bawl so hard over years of inflation!
America is a fucking business out for itself. They are gonna make their money and then some by taking it from you! "Oh but we had money to buy things...Obama and Biden wouldn't ever do that..."
Yeah, but that was to energize the economy to pay back other countries for the debts we owe...that's why we shut down now y'all! Debt!!!
So I ask all of you in power...all of us that went out to vote for yuppies, tax evaders and criminals in suits...what the fuck are we doing y'all? What the fuck are you thinking?
To those of you saying this is baseless opinions and not factual, GOOD! This is my platform! I can say and think what I want. Maybe if you actually sat down and thought for a minute you'd see this as worth digging into, rather than ignoring the names on the ballot and voting because you don't want the other party to win.
When Wages Can't Keep Up with Living Expenses
This is somewhat related to the shutdown, but has been going on for quite some time. As a man that was homeless TWICE in his life, this one hits home to me.
I saw an article recently about the city of Wilmington seeing more homelessness in the streets. The mayor of Wilmington was blaming Philadelphia for the influx of people from their city migrating here. I shake my head at this because its easy to point the finger and blame. But we're not looking at the problem, let alone how each party is contributing to the issue at hand. Sure, we can say Philly doesn't have shelters or the infrastructure to house more people that either can't afford rent or their mortgages because of inflation and rising costs, but neither does the state of Delaware, which is well documented. Big cities have high tax requirements and rates of inflation, lets not play dumb here.
A critical piece to the equation is what corporations and places of employment are willing to pay to balance out the uptick of living expenses. Why you may ask? Because... Gotta make the shareholders happy (those fortunate enough to invest lump sums of money), followed by giving customers the instant gratification they seek. It's that and then their taxes, utilities etc., then we will pay you - For all your hard work (maybe). All your hours put in amounts to a fraction of the pay you truly deserve. A fraction of pay for the amount of shit you have to do and deal with to make things faster and more efficient.
Well why don't you get a College Degree?
It'll raise your income... All while you pay off your student loan dept for a piece of paper and clout with an institution that may or may not land you an average entry level position that'll sustain a lifestyle for you and your family! How many people with degrees struggling out there right now to make ends meet? Quite a few. Not the answer at all.
Why don't you find another job? Do a side hustle...Or two...Or three?
Oh sure let's talk about Hustle Culture saying just get all the skills you can and market yourself...hustle hustle hustle. It was a thing back in 2020, when money was tossed around to get us to buy shit we don't really need aside from the essentials... But now? Pfft. Spark is supposed to be a gold mine. So is Amazon and all the other apps they throw at you on TikTok and YouTube to hustle more and make more money off your attention spans... Why you think they are on those platforms? To get fucking paid at the expense of TIME!! You jump in your vehicle crack of dawn (which is trash by the way because Y'all don't clean your shit), turn on all the apps and wait. We'll even take family and our kids with us to have help and this shitty version of quality time just to wither away behind the wheel and scramble for fucking pennies if we're lucky. Oh and the mileage doesn't add up either... The math ain't mathing...but no one else is hiring right??? We're so afraid to be broke that we'll scramble to turn everything into money, even if it means we kill our values and ourselves in the process. Why Y'all? Why are we okay with this shit?
Oh, that makes sense but if its a problem be your own boss
Yet another escape plan. One often used when you're at the bottom of the barrel and tired of making chump change. Or, you pull the entrepreneur gene out your ass pocket because you have all the skills to run it and you want to say fuck your old boss and make more than them, taking all their customers and throwing it in their faces. The sweetest revenge ain't it?
My dude Agent F put me on to a job he jumped into; a start up business as a Pressure Wash Technician. Didn't bode well for him. Why? Because the plan was rocky at best how the business was run and the how the workload was planned and handled. It was like there was no plan. Hire a manager that wasn't manager material for that field. Withheld proper pay because of last minute shit decisions on whether staff would be hourly with overtime for those last minute jobs or lose out on overtime by remaining salary. This highlights an issue with those that think running a business is all about making money off the customer... It's not. You gotta plan for and take care of your people. Makes me wonder if that's even taught or passed down through the entrepreneur channels, let alone College.
If you're a start up CEO and run your shit with care for everyone and not just the cash flow, paying debts, and kissing the asses of the board members and your shareholders, good for you and I respect you for that. But for those of you that don't give a shit about service and only want a fat take home check... For those that don't care about their employees and write them off whenever they suggest something because you can't read the room.. Y'all gotta pull your head outta your ass. Balance everything, not just your ambition to put your brilliance on the map and take advantage of the 'baby buy-buy-buy' state of the economy (it rhymes so it musts be true). Don't be one of those bosses that says it to themselves, writes it down, pitches it as part of their one of many business plans and then when rubber meets the road you tell everyone piss off it's your show and you do what you want because you have and make the money.
But what about AI taking Our Jobs Away?
Yeah... I'm going there too. It can be a touchy subject but this was inevitable. Because of the increase in demand for volume and heightened (damn near superhuman) productivity, bots and AI are now taking away mundane tasks that us humans poorly executed when we were getting paid to do the job, even if it was for pennies on the dollar. This is a double edged sword.
Good in a sense of improving certain functions like spending time to compile data. Personally that isn't something I enjoy. The other side of this is... We fucked that up with the wrong people working the wrong jobs with no potential for growth... Work ethic of an increasing number of people has become trash.
Call out regularly with any excuse not to come in, people with attitude problems, people doing poorly on quality and/or metrics because they don't wanna do shit but get paid for their sloppy services, etc.
But here's other reasons why AI/Bots are the wave of the future for more jobs we fought to apply for.
You don't need HR or Training for Bots to do their jobs without much fault or supervision. You don't need to worry about Bobbie Bot calling out because he doesn't feel well. Bots don't need to be offered benefits or healthcare packages which save these corporations money to keep the shareholders happy, because that's what its all about.
It's Easier for management to 'manage efficiently' and still have time off to do what they need to do. All that's needed is a maintainer and your business will thrive effortlessly. What does this do? Save money to make money... To an extent (also gotta factor in utility costs to keep those bots charged and running).
Enough is Enough, for Now
Beneath the surface of the gloss of million dollar smiles of leaders and their chosen ones in ads and town halls, the message glares even more now than it has in years past:
Employees make us money...thats it. Fuck what they need. They don't matter in the grand scheme.
The customers we obsess over serve only as a means to an end.
The happier the shareholders, the more reach we have which means: More business and money for us...
but NOT for US, the common folk.
The ones that don't want to hustle til we drop.
The ones that don't mesh with the traditional approach of getting multiple degrees and getting into debt for credentials you wont ever use.
The ones that don't look or think like the 'yes men and women' that get hired just to get a rep.
The ones that have to work two to three jobs plus gig-economy and side hustles while sacrificing time for their families in broken homes.
The ones that sacrifice all their time only to get laid off due to restructuring, downsizing, consolidation, or new business ventures for the organization under the guise of pay raises for the CEOs and the members of the board.
Is this what it all comes down to? Political and Corporate Games? Question and rebel against a shattering system and begin your demise because we need them more than they need us? So you crash out and build a legacy based on fear, revenge, and scarcity so you can replace them one day or point to yourself and say look at me...I defied 'the man' and took his place?
Fuck outta here. That's not the path I want to walk anymore. I'm fed up and I want out - my way!
And maybe this is it. Maybe I really start digging in and not playing nice. Not playing fair. Say what I want when I want because this is America and we have freedom of speech right? Until we're placed in martial law constraints and have to pay for those said freedoms we're "allowed"
I have a lot more to cook up but this is already a long one..so I'll spare you and break this up into a Part Two. Take a breather and get ready. You haven't seen the last of me, only the beginning.
And if I am alone in this be it, a Ronin alone is still a force to be reckoned with.