The Rant: Continued
062706
1136 Hours
Okay, where was I, something about my generation (Talkin’ bout my geeeeeeneration!) Oh yeah, maybe it’s the sting of my first and only political loss, but it looks to me that we will, as Natives of this fine land, always be stuck in a rut. Change is what I hear being asked for, yet none is being done. Being out of work for the past 2 months (by choice) has shown me what it’s like out there for the unemployed. There aren’t many opportunities around Red Lake. All of the jobs are taken. Simple math will show us that. I figure, now this is just a rough (and I mean gravel rough) estimate. The last time I heard, there were about 5,000 or so members living on the reservation. We have 2 casinos within a 55 mile radius, so that’s about 300 jobs. Other programs in Red Lake, that’s about another, hmmm… 300-500 jobs (if we’re lucky.) So we’re looking at around 800 members with jobs in Red Lake… give or take a few hundred. Now remember, this is all off the top of my head. I don’t know the exact number of people employed in Red Lake. But a few years ago, I did a 10-page paper on the Red Lake economy at BSU (and I stayed at a Holiday Inn once) so I know what I’m talking about… a little bit. That leaves me to ask, “What is everybody else supposed to do?” We have around just fewer than 4,000 people that don’t have jobs. How are they supposed to feed their families? What is being done? Shouldn’t drastic measures be taken to ensure the welfare of our people? We have some handy people around here that are resourceful. They can build houses, make clothes, and use their creativity to come up with ideas for other ventures. Lack of faith from those that control the works is what keeps us from doing this. Then again, maybe that lack of faith is because of the way we live. It’s all an endless cycle I suppose. People don’t have jobs so they find ways to stay occupied, picking up bad habits. Then when they get hired, the bad habits will always be there, keeping the success rate low, thus beginning the lack of faith in workers.
Wait! What the hell did I just say?! I have no idea where that came from! This was supposed to be about my generation (Talkin’ bout my geeeeeeneration!)
This is all from experience, baby! My 401k lasted for a few weeks, I liquidated some assets… you know, business stuff. But while waiting for the word on a few jobs, I’ve pondered business ventures. Not the pyramid stuff I’ve been offered when I said I wanted to work from home (thanks for the offer, Chris J.) My grass was pretty long and turned into hay so maybe I could sell hay. Anybody know of anyone wanting to buy some hay? Anyone? Maybe I could do an underground card room like in “Boiler Room.” Or maybe I could run moonshine and have my nephews take it around the county like Uncle Jesse had Bo and Luke doing for him in Hazzard County in the 70s. Would “runnin’ shine” and bootlegging be considered the same thing? Maybe I could bootleg and capitalize off of the addictions of my people after hours. There’s nothing wrong with that, is there? At least it’s not crack/coke/meth. Oh, there is? Well, why did… never mind.
Good lord, I would’ve been an awesome representative.
1136 Hours
Okay, where was I, something about my generation (Talkin’ bout my geeeeeeneration!) Oh yeah, maybe it’s the sting of my first and only political loss, but it looks to me that we will, as Natives of this fine land, always be stuck in a rut. Change is what I hear being asked for, yet none is being done. Being out of work for the past 2 months (by choice) has shown me what it’s like out there for the unemployed. There aren’t many opportunities around Red Lake. All of the jobs are taken. Simple math will show us that. I figure, now this is just a rough (and I mean gravel rough) estimate. The last time I heard, there were about 5,000 or so members living on the reservation. We have 2 casinos within a 55 mile radius, so that’s about 300 jobs. Other programs in Red Lake, that’s about another, hmmm… 300-500 jobs (if we’re lucky.) So we’re looking at around 800 members with jobs in Red Lake… give or take a few hundred. Now remember, this is all off the top of my head. I don’t know the exact number of people employed in Red Lake. But a few years ago, I did a 10-page paper on the Red Lake economy at BSU (and I stayed at a Holiday Inn once) so I know what I’m talking about… a little bit. That leaves me to ask, “What is everybody else supposed to do?” We have around just fewer than 4,000 people that don’t have jobs. How are they supposed to feed their families? What is being done? Shouldn’t drastic measures be taken to ensure the welfare of our people? We have some handy people around here that are resourceful. They can build houses, make clothes, and use their creativity to come up with ideas for other ventures. Lack of faith from those that control the works is what keeps us from doing this. Then again, maybe that lack of faith is because of the way we live. It’s all an endless cycle I suppose. People don’t have jobs so they find ways to stay occupied, picking up bad habits. Then when they get hired, the bad habits will always be there, keeping the success rate low, thus beginning the lack of faith in workers.
Wait! What the hell did I just say?! I have no idea where that came from! This was supposed to be about my generation (Talkin’ bout my geeeeeeneration!)
This is all from experience, baby! My 401k lasted for a few weeks, I liquidated some assets… you know, business stuff. But while waiting for the word on a few jobs, I’ve pondered business ventures. Not the pyramid stuff I’ve been offered when I said I wanted to work from home (thanks for the offer, Chris J.) My grass was pretty long and turned into hay so maybe I could sell hay. Anybody know of anyone wanting to buy some hay? Anyone? Maybe I could do an underground card room like in “Boiler Room.” Or maybe I could run moonshine and have my nephews take it around the county like Uncle Jesse had Bo and Luke doing for him in Hazzard County in the 70s. Would “runnin’ shine” and bootlegging be considered the same thing? Maybe I could bootleg and capitalize off of the addictions of my people after hours. There’s nothing wrong with that, is there? At least it’s not crack/coke/meth. Oh, there is? Well, why did… never mind.
Good lord, I would’ve been an awesome representative.
posted by Jonny R. at 12:17 PM
1 Comments:
Hey man, let me tell you what a pyramid is, it is when you cannot make more than the person whos on top of you. In the business ventures I am in, you can make more than me, some people have.
You know where you can't make more than the person on top of you....at a JOB!!! Let me break it down 4 U...The real "pyramids" are at the jobs that you so seek. You have the director, under them the manager, under them the supervisor, under them the employees. Each will never make more than the person above them.
Am I right or am I right? Pyramids are also illegal, which we are not. Totally legitimate operations that allow you to add a few dollars to your name. On the other hand pyramids are also the most soundly built structures there is, ask the Egyptians.
You ask what people can do that are unemplyed...they can find some type of service to offer to people that will put money in their pockets, there is alot of potential for that around here, but it is much easier to sit around and do nothing and blame others for where we are at in life.
Take care I enjoy reading your rants, dont ever stop telling it like it is, but always remember documentation beats conversation.
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