It's the Attitude, Stupid

Want to know how to make the PSLM stop yelling? Ask them what they’re really fighting for. They don’t know.

The living wage campaign has taken offense recently to those who agree with its cause but still resent its attitude. I count myself as one of those people, and, after spending a fair amount of time trying to figure out what it was that irked me so much, I think I’ve finally put my finger on the reason.

Briefly put, the living wage campaign acts as if it is fighting to save the world but is not really sure why. Despite their radical activity, many ardent protesters—even some of the people actually sitting in— don’t know some of the most basic facts about the cause they’re fighting for. Nonetheless, they push forward with increasing noise, fervor and aggressiveness. I believe it is this over-ambition based on somewhat shaky motivation that people resent.

Before going further, let me start by saying: I was wrong. PSLM, I’ve listened to your arguments, I’ve read your papers, I’ve seen your protests and, most importantly, I’ve stopped being stubborn. You are right, I was wrong. The living wage is a fair and decent thing, especially considering outsourcing, and I believe that Harvard should pay its workers fairly.

That said, I still had two concerns about the living wage figure of $10.25. I agree that Harvard should pay the living wage, but I wanted to make sure that $10.25 was, in fact, reasonable. I believe that a reasonable living wage would support a small family (maybe four people) in modest housing (i.e. not expensive Cambridge housing). For all I knew, $10.25 may take these concerns into account, but I set out on Saturday to find out for sure.

Strangely, I found almost immediately that the living wage campaign didn’t really know the answers to these questions either. When pressed for specifics about what it takes to support local residents, the protesters grew first confused, then belligerent and defensive and finally walled up.

These are basic questions we’re talking about. Is $10.25 meant to support workers who live in Cambridge, or workers who live in more affordable areas? They didn’t know. Is $10.25 supposed to support a family, or an individual? They didn’t know. These questions, while very basic, are also very important.

I also asked another question that seemed pretty crucial to the issue—what does money buy around here? The living wage people are attempting to sell the idea that $8 an hour is a great atrocity, but, when pressed to explain what it actually costs to live in the area, they do not know. How can they make such a fuss about Harvard not paying enough when they do not even know what it costs to live in the area? Again, I believe that the campaign’s escalating actions despite haphazard understanding of the issues well illustrates the attitude that many would-be-supporters shy away from.

More than this, many supporters of the living wage don’t like the self-righteous attitude of the living wage campaign. Though they are fighting a worthy cause, the protesters are increasingly giving off the attitude that they are martyring themselves for the sake of the world, and they are snippy and rude to anybody who is not as committed as they are. They have lost perspective and have such grandiose views of their current situation that sometimes it seems as if the issue has become more about them than about those they are trying to help, even if this is not the case.

Here they are sitting their way into glory for “social justice” (a complicated term that the protesters have started using casually), emulating the famous protests of the late 1960s. But the current protests bear almost no resemblance to the old ones in which real social upheaval caused real tensions that led to real clashes.

This attitude is driving supporters away from this good cause as well as masking some of the most important arguments for the living wage. If the protesters simply knew more about the issue before taken such strong action, it would help them since, ultimately, they are correct. After researching on the National Low Income Housing Coalition (a website I was directed to by the PSLM), I found information that confirmed that, not only is $10.25 reasonable as a living wage (even for a single person living in a cheap area), but it may even be a bit too low.

To the living wage campaign, this is your answer. You asked how people could agree with your issue while despising your attitude. I hope I have helped you understand. And I hope you change soon before you alienate many of those who would like to help.

Joshua I. Weiner ’03 is a government concentrator in Leverett House. His column appears on alternate Wednesdays.