Just a reminder for those still inside.
Organizations will continue to degrade as energy costs accelerate. Inequality will increase. And cruelty. Workers will be expected to do more with less. And blamed when things go wrong.
Some of my friends have expressed discomfort with having well-paying jobs while other people are struggling. If this is you, remember you're not a bad person for having a job. Keep your position as long as you can, providing food and other resources to your family and your community (shop local).
There are safe and easy ways to disrupt the work of a criminal bureaucracy from inside. Here's 3 ideas. Just do as much of each as you're comfortable with.
Don't get caught.
And don't be evil.
Ridicule the Leadership
It is easy to tell jokes that go over a sociopath's head. Skewer them for being fussy and selfish. They always are. You can undermine them in ways that are too subtle for them to confront without themselves looking foolish, and if you are valuable to the organization, liked by others, and openly (perhaps comically) obsequious to them, you can also be mocking and dismissive and they won't be able to put their finger on it.
Also, make fun of them to coworkers when they're not around.
The sociopath fears jokes made behind their back. They cannot handle the thought that someone sees them as anything less than amazing, so they will crash out trying to uncover even middling levels of ridicule. This is your best tool.
Fascism is designed to push out honest actors. When you do this, remember to wear the smiling mask. And protect those around you and below you as much as you can.
6.21 and 6.22.
Wreck their EROI
EROI is Energy Return on Investment. All organizations need to earn more than they spend, so the more you make them spend, the faster you hasten their decline.
Take as much as you can. Give as little as you can get away with.
This concept is always really well illustrated in war.
Iran is forcing Israel to spend 2x to 10x defending against missile attacks. I'd guess that's why Trump bombed the nuclear facilities, to interrupt this daily.
Ukraine is taking down multi-million dollar fighters and bombers with $400 drones.
But all organizations are susceptible to this, not just militaries.
Enslaved Africans in the American south used to grind up glass and put it in their terrorists' food, causing them pain and killing their productivity at the same time. This is the gold standard of resistance. They preserved their own safety and security while literally making their tormentors bleed from the inside. But I'm certainly not saying you should go that far. Don't break any laws or any policies of the organization.
But when an organization begins making truly immoral decisions, push back with appropriate alacrity. Take as much as you can. Give as little as you can get away with. Ask frivolous questions. Make mistakes. Work slow. Waste time. Forget things back at the shop. Distract people. Break equipment. Make messes. Leave things in places they shouldn't be. Spill things on the carpet. Cook gross shit in the microwave. Drive up the operating costs of doing evil and take your paycheck home to your family.
6.20
Pile on the Moral Weight
Do not joke or justify immoral decisions. Make people around you feel their weight. Jeez I can't believe we did that. That's not right. Those poor people. I wonder how his mother feels. Just say stuff like this when you can. Make them feel the weight of what they're doing. And
Don't get caught.
Don't be evil.
The antidote to this bullshit is to care about each other.