Presenteeism

Presenteeism is defined as the act of being physically present at work although mentally absent.

I have found this phenomena to be surprisingly widespread in office work places, people have all kinds of ways of avoiding work... i mean hey, it's 2:48pm and I be blogging.

By day, I "work" in the dizzying and illusive world of finance... money flows around the planet everyday, liquid, transient, in phenomenal quantities and "consulting" is an economic offshoot that really has little role other than to explain the ins and outs of that money whizzing past you, which they can't cause the market simply does not operate as they teach in Economics 101, ceterus parabus, latin for all other things being equal. All other things are increasingly unequal these days, not just where dollars are concerned but also access to rights, opportunities, respect, freedom, life, security, peace... and with those inequalities on the rise, isn't it funny that somehow we all come back to money - I'm taking repatriations here; saw a BBC clip on Tuvalu, islands off Japan that span 20,30,40 feet wide and are disappearing due to climate change and the inhabitants are suffering with heavy rainfall and flooding (which leads to some very fundamental development issues including access to clean drinking water, rise in waterborne diseases, etc.). Here this - the government of Tuvalu is demanding repatriations from developed countries who have contributed to (or caused?) climate change through nasty emissions and industrialization and all that good stuff - not a joke, they are asking that a fund be set up at the UN as they require enormous capital to rebuild their shores and address recent damage to ecosystems and infrastructure. I believe that some indigenous groups in Northern Canada have recently made similar claims as herd migrations and their natural habitat in general have been adversely affected changing temperatures, rising sea levels and flooding due to heavy rain...

I studied poli sci and int'l rels and I tell you, there's nothing more that I love than a good grievance, not that I enjoy injustice, but I love when people react and rebel and articulate what they are owed as human beings - beautiful.

Whaddya say black people, should we get back in the game? Maybe it's not too late, but then again, climate change may be too current, too cool (excuse the pun) to compete with...

Perhaps people of excessive privilege (significant consumers and contributers to climate change and therby alienation, destabilisation and oppression worldwide) are over-saturated by guilt to the point of numbness and apathy? Or maybe I'm being naive to assume their collective consciousness is disturbed by the enormous waste of getting their tropical produce in January (or the general inhumane fallout of western consumption and market laws - think subsidies - around the world) or by rising gas prices or failing public school systems or the death of the news... maybe they're laughing over the futility of hope and change up in their ivory towers, big belly laughs, fat from expensive french cuisine and the sedentary lifestyle of a flippin lush.

Maybe slavery just isn't as marketable, not as gut wrenching after all this time... any ideas? a catchy phrase? a fresh new motto?

speaking of slavery, i gotta get back to work!

be easy, jams