The term agora (pronounced ah-go-RAH) is Greek for ‘open place of assembly’ and, early in the history of Greece, designated the area in a city where free-born citizens could gather to hear civic announcements, muster for military campaigns, or discuss politics. It later designated the open-air marketplace of a city.
On this day, 21 May 1979, the White Night riots occurred in San Francisco when LGBT+ people reacted angrily to the killer of Harvey Milk not being convicted of murder. Milk was one of the first openly gay elected officials in the US, who was shot and killed along with the mayor George Moscone, by former police officer Dan White, using his service revolver.
Numerous serving San Francisco police officers wore t-shirts declaring “Free Dan White”, and contributed to his defence fund, which reportedly raised up to $100,000. Despite later admitting that the murders were premeditated, in court White used his now-infamous “Twinkie defence”, which was that eating junk food showed he was in a poor mental state. So rather than being convicted of murder, he was only convicted voluntary manslaughter.
Upon hearing the verdict, a crowd of 500 mostly LGBT+ people began marching down Castro Street calling others to join them and heading to City Hall. By the time they arrived, the crowd had grown to include thousands of people, and they attacked the building, smashing windows. Police waded into the crowd, beating people with batons, and the crowd then began burning police cars. As one man set light to a vehicle, he told a reporter: “Make sure you put in the paper that I ate too many Twinkies.”
In retaliation for their humiliating defeat, police attacked a gay bar later that night, screaming homophobic abuse, shattering windows and beating drinkers and passers-by, injuring many. By the end of the night’s events, 61 police officers and over 100 members of the public had been hospitalised. Dan White ended up serving only five years in prison, but he killed himself shortly after his release.
For more LGBT+ history, check out our podcast series: https://workingclasshistory.com/tag/lgbtq/
Photo by Daniel Nicoletta https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/1721624754689334/?type=3
“The ‘Disinformation Dozen’ produce 65% of the shares of anti-vaccine misinformation on social media platforms,” said Imran Ahmed, chief executive officer of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, which identifiedthe accounts.
These figures are well-known to both researchers and the social networks. They include anti-vaccine activists, alternative health entrepreneurs and physicians. Some of them run multiple accounts across the different platforms. They often promote “natural health.” Some even sell supplements and books.
Many of the messages about the COVID-19 vaccines being widely spread online mirror what’s been said in the past about other vaccines by peddlers of health misinformation.
How come the people who get doxxed and run off social media and bullied to death are like teenagers with controversial fandom opinions instead of these
–Children under 14 (13 for agricultural labor) can only be employed by their own parents/guardians
–14-15 year olds are limited to 3 hours per day, 18 hours per week during the school year (up to 8 hours on weekends/holidays), and 8 hours per day, 40 hours per week when school is not in session.
–They are also limited to working 7am-7pm (or 9pm during the summer), and only outside of school hours
–Only a specific list of jobs are permitted for children of this age (relevant to this, they are allowed to reheat food, wash dishes and equipment, and do some limited cooking/food prep such as washing vegetables). Any work outside this list is prohibited.
–There is also a broad list of jobs/duties they are prohibited from (including any work with ladders, or work with powered meat slicers or several types of powered baking equipment)
(An entirely different set of rules apply to agricultural work, and for working directly for one’s parents or family. There are also some jobs allowed to children under 14. I’m not going into those.)
Now, I’m not opposed to 14 and 15 year olds working appropriate jobs. I babysat at that age, other kids mowed lawns, raked leaves, life guarded at pools, etc.
But there is something a little predatory about this sign, particularly going up now.
And as people have pointed out, kids that age don’t know their rights. They don’t know the laws. And even if they do, they don’t know that the laws are there to *protect* them. I’ve known plenty of teenagers who think they boss is *doing them a favor* by allowing them to work outside their limited hours, or continue working while clocked out for their lunch break. When I worked as a waitress, my manager suggested this as a way to earn extra tips. Heck, I was almost THIRTY, and you wouldn’t believe how many little ways they tried to wriggle around the rules to get a little more work out of me. (Unless you’ve worked this kind of job, then you’d absolutely believe it.)
Another thing–these jobs are *exhausting.* I’ve worked manual labor, I’ve worked in schools, retail, all kinds of jobs, but nothing made me end the day, back throbbing, fling-myself-into-bed tired like working in a restaurant. I don’t know what it is, maybe the hectic pace of the busy hours, maybe the way you’re expected to be busy every second of your time there, maybe it’s the fact that I spent most of each day walking as fast as I could from one end of the building to the other. I don’t know. But I wouldn’t wish that on any 14-year-old.
So, anyway, I’m looking at this little flyer, and I’m concerned. Not because I don’t think a 14-year-old should ever work. But because I’m trying to think why a BK would put out a sign SPECIFICALLY asking for the youngest age they can employ, with NO details suggesting this is a special youth-support or training program, only A FEW WEEKS before summer vacation, and targeted to their PARENTS who, let’s face it, are probably eager to get some time away from the kids after the last year.
Why would any business make this SPECIFIC ad? I don’t know, but every answer I come up with doesn’t sit well with me.
With the current shortage of adults willing to work an exhausting job at a non-living wage, they are looking for anyone else they can exploit. A business should be considered failing if it can’t pay its adult employees enough to get by.
Also relevant: these kids are almost certainly not vaccinated, and its extremely clear they will not be protected, especially as places relax mask mandates. In 2020 being a line cook was the most dangerous job in the country, the conditions that caused that danger haven’t changed. This will get some of these kids killed.
