London, 07/04/16 –
I’ve just been to a meeting last night with my co-workers to discuss the struggles we have been through after the company we proudly work for was sold to what I like to call, an abomination form of modern exploitation firm, more commonly known as hedge fund. These terrible structures with the same rights of a person, works like huge hoovers sucking up the money from everything and concentrating it in the hands of few people. However, this letter is not about companies. I prefer to write about a subject that I love dearly which is people. I already knew a lot of my co-workers via social media, but haven’t met most of them until last night.
Unfortunately, I arrived late and by the time I came in, the chaos was already taking place. My first thought was: “this is not going to work”. I set down and watched my friends talking over each other while the speaker tried frenetically, to maintain control of the situation. Some people including myself, couldn’t hide the frustration over the lack of organisation we were witnessing. But, by listening and observing what was going on before my eyes, I was brought to terms with one of my own concepts of democracy. In my view, democracy is a chaotic system, and it is bound to be chaotic because this is the result of everybody having the same rights when everybody thinks differently from each other. What could we expect from a system where people have different views, different religions, different backgrounds, different political thoughts, but the same rights? It could be nothing differently from chaos. Nevertheless, this system still the best system because it gives power to the people.
The way to get some form of order from this chaotic system is by electing representatives like countries do when they elect governments. This is what I think we should do with our movement. We should not be naive to expect we can have meeting after meeting with three thousand people in a room and get consensus from it. This is not going to happen! Meetings like we had last night should be done only to vote and elect new representatives if at all. The rest of us, including myself, should be limited to discuss the points put forward by the board and bring the representatives to account when needed. Once we have a consensus, the board will have the power to take it to the company. That’s why the social media is vital for our case. Everyone of us should have access to our online group so we can have instant access to all the decision being taken by the board of representatives. Future meetings should be taken only by the board of representatives which shouldn’t be more than ten people. The decisions and the actions should then, be posted online and discussed by the members. It is easier to have online meetings where everybody can participate from the comfort of their homes.
We should not be worried about the meeting attendance number. I don’t think we can ever get a thousand people to attend a meeting somewhere, but I am sure we can have the support of the majority of the people if we have online meetings. Moreover, last night we were representing every fellow worker, even those who didn’t know anything about us. Once one know we are taking action, one will join in and support the cause we all share. I am sure that any action we may take in the next two weeks from yesterday, will have close to 100% adherence. After all, it’s much easier for people to join in the action from wherever they are, than make them drive all across the town just to be in the meeting room. The number of attendance in meetings isn’t more important than the number of people join in the actions that we have decided to take. What we need to do now however, is to keep talking to each other in the internet group and don’t waste any chance to talk to any of our fellows whenever and wherever we have the opportunity to do so. Communication is vital! When we talk to each other we know we are not alone. If I am approached by more than one of our friends in a single day to talk about the actions we are taking, it will give me a sense of power and unity. The less we talk to each other, the bigger the chance that the sense of power we have now will fade away. It doesn’t matter if we disagree here and there. The central point is that we are all being exploited by the company and this must change.
My fellow friends, it’s been a pleasure to meet you and talk to you over these past weeks. The experience gave me the opportunity to meet some extraordinary people and make some very good friends. It also gave me the opportunity to better understand the concerns and priorities that are affecting all of us for the past year or so. You told me your stories, opinions and suggestions which enriched my sense of human being. Your stories brought me closer to a better understanding of the human drama and the effects and consequences that we are all going through. The problems we are facing today brought us together in a way many of us haven’t experienced before. Friendship is a blessing brought to us this time by common life struggle, and although the past year has been incredibly hard, the opportunity to meet you and be part of this movement is priceless! I am sure that if we can stay together and support each other, we will have the power to take control of the boat and steer it towards calm waters. Whatever the weather, my advice is this: Keep calm and UNITE!
Best Regards! Michaell Lange.
Michaell Lange 