Ok, after 7 years of busting my ass and doing more than my share. 3 years ago after the place was bought by a new owner, I knew the end would come eventually.
How did I know? The very first meeting when the new owner introduced himself he said "Nothing is going to change", but followed it up with "I want several of these", meaning he wanted to xerox the mom and pop shop and turn it into a greedy corporation like Wall Mart.
So I knew I was fucked at that point and sure enough, my hours got gutted, he kept hiring new people instead of when someone left giving more hours to the people already there, even long term people, not just me.
So I got canned last week for refusing to take on other tasks knowing I got more done staying where I was at. The prior owners gave me 2 raises without being asked nor did they expect me to do anything differently.
Now I am out of a job and do not know at this time of year in a resort town when I will find another job. I won't say that it is not frightening. But I have also been through much more frightening things such as seeing my mother go through health problems.
It bothers the fuck out of me when I hear people talk about needing god to get through tough times as if non believers are not capable of doing the same without sucking up to a deity.
I am not sure where I will end up, things might get worse before they get better. But the truth for all humans is that there is no utopia, your life is never all good all the time or all bad all the time. Some individuals and or societies have it better and or worse than others, but for all of our species evolution it has always been BOTH up and down and ultimately death finds both those on top and those not so lucky.
I am facing this hard time without a fantasy or wishful thinking. I am going to simply go look for another job. Neither Thor or Allah or Vishnu or Jesus is going to do that for me. It will require some luck in the owner where I apply to see something of value in my history, but other than that I have to put in the countless attempts to land that one job.
I am jobless because of conflict of views, ego, testosterone and personality. I never thought once they'd go under without me. But I was not about to devalue what I did there and change anything I did because of the owners greed. I do not regret one bit my defiance. I cannot go work unhappy and merely being someone's tool. Yes, I got fired for not doing what the manager said.
The fear of punishment is what keeps believers in place. This is the lack of fear that I have in god belief and even on the job. I may not have a job, but that is nothing compared to the emotional stress of having to live under threat of others. Survival is not simply conformity and fear is a sick way of creating conformity.
Did I deserve to get fired? Wrong question because that depends on point of view. I was simply at a point where my dignity and self worth would not allow them to bully me into being a doormat.
It is insulting to me when believers think that their suffering is special and that if an atheist suffers it is because they don't believe, and when a theist suffers it is simply because they are flawed. No, humans suffer because suffering is part of reality having nothing to do with the mental crutches humans invent to create false hope.
How did I know? The very first meeting when the new owner introduced himself he said "Nothing is going to change", but followed it up with "I want several of these", meaning he wanted to xerox the mom and pop shop and turn it into a greedy corporation like Wall Mart.
So I knew I was fucked at that point and sure enough, my hours got gutted, he kept hiring new people instead of when someone left giving more hours to the people already there, even long term people, not just me.
So I got canned last week for refusing to take on other tasks knowing I got more done staying where I was at. The prior owners gave me 2 raises without being asked nor did they expect me to do anything differently.
Now I am out of a job and do not know at this time of year in a resort town when I will find another job. I won't say that it is not frightening. But I have also been through much more frightening things such as seeing my mother go through health problems.
It bothers the fuck out of me when I hear people talk about needing god to get through tough times as if non believers are not capable of doing the same without sucking up to a deity.
I am not sure where I will end up, things might get worse before they get better. But the truth for all humans is that there is no utopia, your life is never all good all the time or all bad all the time. Some individuals and or societies have it better and or worse than others, but for all of our species evolution it has always been BOTH up and down and ultimately death finds both those on top and those not so lucky.
I am facing this hard time without a fantasy or wishful thinking. I am going to simply go look for another job. Neither Thor or Allah or Vishnu or Jesus is going to do that for me. It will require some luck in the owner where I apply to see something of value in my history, but other than that I have to put in the countless attempts to land that one job.
I am jobless because of conflict of views, ego, testosterone and personality. I never thought once they'd go under without me. But I was not about to devalue what I did there and change anything I did because of the owners greed. I do not regret one bit my defiance. I cannot go work unhappy and merely being someone's tool. Yes, I got fired for not doing what the manager said.
The fear of punishment is what keeps believers in place. This is the lack of fear that I have in god belief and even on the job. I may not have a job, but that is nothing compared to the emotional stress of having to live under threat of others. Survival is not simply conformity and fear is a sick way of creating conformity.
Did I deserve to get fired? Wrong question because that depends on point of view. I was simply at a point where my dignity and self worth would not allow them to bully me into being a doormat.
It is insulting to me when believers think that their suffering is special and that if an atheist suffers it is because they don't believe, and when a theist suffers it is simply because they are flawed. No, humans suffer because suffering is part of reality having nothing to do with the mental crutches humans invent to create false hope.