Re: RAT Scabs and other wounds in need of healing

[schedlinski <schedlinski@yahoo.com>]

To weigh in on the richard carter situation, though as
a not-even-an-actor, let alone a union one, I perhaps
have no right to, it seems a live and tense issue.

I think that the divisiveness created by both sides of
the issue here are exactly what plays into management
hands during a strike. Trying to get those striking
and supporting the strike to fight each other rather
than focus on the groups who are continuing to shoot,
who are fighting the legitimate demands of the union,
and who are (to cite a RAT list example) moving
production to South Africa only limits our power.

Yes, scabbing is a bad thing -- though I'd weigh in
that "selfish" is a better word than "inhumane," since
inhumane requires the kind of consideration that it
doesn't seem the actor used. Jonathan is right to tell
us, should we meet him, to speak to him, to let him
know he let people down. But by the same token, he is
deserving more of pity than spite, since he after all
made a difficult choice in a difficult position. The
only HUAC parallel that makes sense to me is one where
the actor is like someone called before the committee
who gave names, and in doing so saved his skin but
lost his friends. For that, we ought to feel sorry for
him, though we ought to feel sorry with no warmth.

In any case, during any strike there will be scabs,
and the scabs are really a distraction from the issue
at hand. In some strikes the scabs are people who are
so desperate that in order to marginally improve their
standard of living they must break the strike -- these
people are victims of management as well. It would be
an act of generosity on our part to view scabs in this
strike the same way.

And moreover, I hope we don't let our differences on
this issue interfere with our committment to the
grander issue at hand.

rm schedlinski

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