June 29, 2007

WHY IS MANUAL LABOR IN ARMENIA SO DESPISED????

It might be that I'm wrong in asserting that a large percentage of what appears to be able-bodied males in Yerevan spend their waking hours in an imaginary pursuit of "unearned income". This process involves constant cell phone conversations with who knows whom that mostly take place with their cronies at some cafe or such place. It's an endless series of meetings and conversations leading to???? Your guess is as good as mine.

It seems that the need to appear as if one is a "player", whether imagined or real is more important than actually achieving something. God forbid, actual work was involved or their hands were dirtied or their shoes scuffed.

No wonder it takes so long for simple road work or other repairs to the infrastructure to be completed. There's one poor soul in the ditch digging away and ten guys in suits watching and talking on their cell phones. It appears that when it comes to "public works projects" ANYTHING GOES!!!!! The picture is reversed when it comes to constructing a store or another private establishment. You'll see people at the work-site till late into the night making sure that all progresses correctly.

And you'll never see, or mostly never see, guys working at the various cafes in town. It's all women and young girls. At the larger establishments there's usually a guy walking the floor keeping an eye on things.

Maybe i'm just not with the times...But sometimes I long for the days when there were civilian work brigades DOING ACTUAL, PRODUCTIVE, TANGIBLE WORK. But that would be described as a violation of one's civil rights, or some such nonsense......

1 Comments:

At June 30, 2007, Blogger Sheikh Koskhol said...

I suspect the answer has something to do with them not liking the idea of selling their time, acting as a beast of burden, on the one hand; and the other hand, them enjoying looking like they are buyers of other people's time.

It's capitalism, and what it brings out in people.

 

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