I am shocked to see the Indian prime minister praise the “fragrance of workers’ sweat” in his address when they are dying because of his lockdown policies. You have to be really elitist and disconnected to romanticize poverty to this extent.
Even in their pain and hardship, workers as humans don’t count for this govt. What counts is how their bodies can be used for poetic nonsense.
However, it is also the case that using those words paints workers whose worth matters only if they are always objects of charity.
However, it is also the case that using those words paints workers whose worth matters only if they are always objects of charity.
Who are visibilized only when they are destitute and when they can be used as an image of hard work. The moment they ask for something they become the bad guys. The moment they ask for rights or challenge the govt, they become unmentionables.
It’s that mistake everyone makes in INDIA where they talk about empowerment but don’t really want anyone to get empowered or better off because ultimately that mobility will challenge their own class and caste positions.
There is nothing romantic or lovely about being poor. Romanticizing poverty is an age old trick to make it socially and politically acceptable.
