Blue Collar Brilliance Analysis

In “Blue Collar Brilliance”, the author, Mike Rose, expressed multiple reasons why a blue-collar worker is intelligent and capable to participate in a Democratic society (Web). He challenged the bias of today’s world that lower-class jobs that do not require a degree mean the workers are not smart. He started out sharing the experiences of his mother and uncle who worked blue-collar jobs and showed various skills that took time and intelligence to develop. He continues his essay sharing his findings of other similar jobs he studied. He expressed different kind of skills from physical dexterity and tool-use competency to rhetorical skills and financial managing that these workers take time and effort to develop. I agree with him since my father,
my mother, and I work blue-collar jobs. We still participate in society in different ways representing different backgrounds dependent of our jobs and other aspects. With those valuable backgrounds, our voices can be important in understanding the whole picture in this Democratic society. Although the bias is that blue-collar workers are not that bright and “incapable of participating in government”, the workers are always learning and intelligent enough to be a valuable asset in the Democratic society (Rose Web). My personal job as a facility maintenance worker helped me learn valuable critical thinking skills that can help me understand issues and solutions to those issues in our society as well as other aspects of my life.
My whole purpose of my job is to fix doors, light, faucets, and other items that need maintenance. Given the circumstances at times, I am put in positions when I will not have a certain tool to do the job or I can only work in a certain section because someone’s desk may be in the way. The job needs to get done either way so having the mentality of, “How can I do this?” as well as a solid maintenance background is the only way of accomplishing situations like that. Mike Rose in “Blue Collar Brilliance” stated, “The big difference between the psychologist’s laboratory and the workplace is that in the former the problems are isolated and in the latter they are embedded in the real-time flow of work with all its messiness and social complexity” (Rose Web). I relate that point with my circumstances because the only difference between my job and a scientist is that their problems are isolated and mine are happening in the real-time flow of set shift. I would say this skill is more of perspective on life that grows on me. With that mentality, all the aspects of my life are benefitted because I am always trying to see what I can improve. It helps me recognize issues around me that I may be able to give to the government for them to have a better picture of what is going on. Is not that what a Democratic society
needs? My mother’s job has provided her social skills to influence that has changed the outcome of the business she works for tremendously and that has created a huge social network for bettering other’s lives. My mom is a janitor. She is also a manager over other janitors. Cleaning may be difficult, but most of the time it is simple. It opens up for her to do socialize with those around her. She did not know English when she started. She now does because if the desire of hers to be able to socialize. She made new friends that have lasted her over the years. When the company she worked for was sold off, she quit and joined another company. The place where she worked before did not like the new janitor so they called my mother. The connection my mother had with them helped her new company pick up a new contract which helped the company she worked for grow. When she was promoted to manage, she learned valuable leadership skills that helped the hard workers progress at the company. She promoted fairness. She could do all that because of her desire to learn English, which is essential to be part of a society that speaks English, to socialize with those around her. Her connections promoted success for the company she worked for. Those connections also help her understand better how others are doing in society so she can effectively participate in a Democratic society. My father’s job in repairing cars helped him develop his management skills by dealing with clientele and co-workers and is preparing to start his own business. He started out cleaning cars when he first joined the industry. He worked hard and worked up with time. He became proficient in fixing car problems. He also understood how to manage finances because he would put in orders for parts and know how much to charge a customer for the labor done. He had the social skills needed to handle customers who are stressed because of their situations. All these skills were what he needed to start a business. How is that a mere mechanic can be viewed less in society than a business owner when they essentially have the same skills? My father will end up playing a huge role in society in creating jobs and providing taxes for his establishment. It all started from working a blue-collar job. Blue-collar jobs involve a lot of intelligence in order to do them with high proficiency. The workers learn a variety of skills that can help them because they are an essential part in today’s society. The skills and backgrounds achieved can help workers recognize problems, network with a certain purpose, and excel them to higher positions of power in society. Mike Rose stated that there needs to be a separation of thinking that intelligence is connected to how much education someone has received. It is true, and change will only happen once the norm changes. Change all starts individually so letting the blue collar workers, like myself, believe they are part of this society is the only way.