Ehrenreich - Who Moved My Ability to Reason?

[Cassandra]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/14/books/review/14EHRENRE.html

Good essay in the Sunday Book Review. I was able to get and read an advance copy of her new book, Bait and Switch, about white collar unemployment. It was very good and sharp.
From what she's read lately:
" Avoid Victimism and Anyone Who Indulges in It. People who fail at being positive -- and dwell morbidly on their last demotion or downsizing, for example -- easily fall into what ''The 8th Habit'' diagnoses as ''the mind-set of victimism and culture of blame.'' Avoid them, even though ''it's very easy to hang out and share suffering with people who are committed to lose.'' Poor people, we discover in ''Secrets of the Millionaire Mind,'' are that way because they ''choose to play the role of the victim.'' Avoid them too."

[acmejack]

1. It's a good thing I don't dwell on my last three downsizings

I would be poor! Oh, wait...

[Briar]

2. Ah - corporate America, where christianity meets capitalism

in one happy orgy of self righteous greed.

"Poor people, we discover in ''Secrets of the Millionaire Mind,'' are that way because they ''choose to play the role of the victim.'' Avoid them too."

I love the rich. I really do.

[enki23]

3. i'm telling ya. the american business model is the perfect example

of the overwhelming banality, and incompetence, of evil.

[wli]

4. pure BS; I've never seen this pattern anywhere

Those who were "downsized" that I knew fell into 3 categories:

1. those who blew their heads off before anybody even heard about it
2. those who watched the writing on the wall and lined up jobs beforehand
3. those who shrugged and milked benefits for as long as possible before flipping pizza anyway

About evenly split from the people I know (never been downsized myself).

I've never seen any trace of this imaginary "phenomenon" being railed against.