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(for the janitor boy- turned- man working as an office cleaner.)

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ncrainbowgrrl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Apr-22-06 01:26 AM
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(for the janitor boy- turned- man working as an office cleaner.)

I try not to guess at his age.
He has brown eyes and brown hair
And is shorter than I am, so I can see that he’s young.
His mother didn’t show up for work tonight, so he pushes the garbage can alone.
He looks down at the floor

He doesn’t look at me directly
Yet I can feel the power of his eyes questioning my intentions
Why does this girl acknowledge even his presence?
I stare at my computer screen.
Turn up the progressive radio stream
And wonder why I believe that my intellectual middle class views will make me an ally.
Question my privilege.
Wonder how long I could do his job without going crazy
Wonder how many years he’s been working already,
And how many years he’ll have worked by the time he’s eighteen.
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oneighty Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Apr-22-06 04:58 AM
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1. I like people stories
This is a good one.

180
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Random_Australian Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Apr-22-06 06:35 AM
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2. Wow. Hard hitting, but not accusatory, my, that is an
acheivement in it of itslef, I think.

Of course I could be completely wrong so if I am just let me know and I'll delete it.
Nothing I can do when an hour passes though. Sorry.
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NMMNG Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Apr-23-06 04:54 AM
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3. I like it
I really empathize with Yet I can feel the power of his eyes questioning my intentions. So many people consider maids, janitors/cleaning staff, waitstaff, store clerks and similar employees beneath them. That attitude bothers me not only because I've done such jobs, but because I find caste systems repugnant.

Well done. :applause:

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