Recently, the meme of "beating workers" has become popular all over the Internet, with related emoticons and quotations emerging one after another.

Either joking, inspiring, or deconstructing classic quotes. For a time, netizens who were once amused by Che Guevara’s sentence "It is impossible to work part-time" began to laugh at themselves and feel full of energy every day. They say to each other "Good morning, workers."

But are these surfers who claim to be workers on social networks really workers?

01 ?Why do you talk about “part-time job”?

When I was a sophomore in college, in order to save money to go to Jay Chou’s concert, I decided to work a winter job during the holidays. My roommate was very puzzled and said, “Why are you doing this? Should I use the word 'part-time job' instead of part-time job?"

Because...because this is a high-frequency word in the environment where I grew up:

If I don't study hard, I will go to Guangdong. work to earn a living.

I am going to work in an electronics factory to earn money during the summer vacation.

I have worked in a garment factory for more than 20 years...

In the context where people around me frequently mention the word "part-time job", they say "internship" or "part-time job" On the contrary, it seems different.

Although I have not personally experienced assembly line life, I know a little about that kind of life from Chaplin's movie "Modern Times" and the descriptions of people who have experienced it.

And it is not difficult to find that in fact, for people who work around the clock, are busy meeting deadlines or rushing for goods, and have no choice, they have neither the energy nor the will to speak out online.

Internet entrepreneur @江十一 mentioned in his TEDx speech that he once worked undercover in a factory for three months and observed that the most commonly used software by blue-collar workers was wifi master key, QQ and audio and video. type of software.

You see, there is no Weibo, Bilibili, Zhihu or Douban here.

So in fact, many people who laugh at themselves on the Internet as "beating workers" or who can surf the Internet all the time, learn about hot memes and new memes at any time, and have the right to speak on the Internet are actually not really "beating workers" .

02 Why do you laugh at yourself and hit workers?

Having said that, the reason why people laugh at themselves about working is actually because they know how difficult that situation is.

And nowadays, the meaning of working is becoming more and more broad. It can be said that people other than the boss, no matter what industry they are in, whether their salary is high or low, are all working people.

On the other hand, today’s white-collar workers and workers are actually connected to some extent. As early as a few years ago, some people lamented that there is no essential difference between those who work on ppt in the office today and the female workers who used sewing machines in the past.

They are probably all equally hard-working, and they all have a certain degree of mechanics.

Moreover, the gap between co-workers may not have been big in the past, but now, some of the co-workers sitting in the same office may be demolished households, driving a Mercedes-Benz to and from get off work every day, and do not have to pay rent. My monthly salary is spent on entertainment or socializing.

As for most people, they may be crowded during the subway and bus rush hours, and are worried about being late for work and being deducted or not receiving attendance bonuses. Their monthly salary is used to pay rent or support their family of origin, and some have mortgage payments.

Under such a stressful situation, the hopelessness of class advancement and the confusion about the uncertainty of the future naturally require an emotional outlet, and the "beating workers" theme fits this perfectly. A need.

03 Why aren’t “social animals” popular?

In the past two years, especially when the 2018 Japanese drama "We Can't Become Beasts" was on the air, the term "social animal" was often used by office workers to ridicule themselves.

This term refers to employees who work submissively in a company and are exploited like cattle by the company.

But the paradox is that "social animals" have not formed a prairie fire on the Internet like the meme "beating workers". In the recent Baidu search index, "beating workers" is also a "social animal" "Dozens of times.

Why is it that the social animal meme is not so influential despite the self-deprecation of office workers?

First of all, from the literal meaning, the two species are different. One is livestock and the other is human. I think everyone would prefer to be human.

On the other hand, there is a difference in the meanings covered by the two. Social animals carry a hint of silent resistance and sorrow for being squeezed, while workers seem to eliminate the gap between everyone (you and me) They are all migrant workers), which has a more relaxed and upward meaning.

No wonder there are so many jokes and memes about beating workers.

Written at the end

In the second season of "Summer of the Band", the Chair Band sang a Hokkien song called "Dream of Dreams", which mainly tells the story of the guitarist The story of Zhongying’s father working silently, hardworking, and caring for the entire family with hard work and love.

There is a lyric in it - "Everyone has his own things to bear and cannot exchange with others."

Maybe everyone laughs at themselves, but in life, they bring peace and harmony. The song conveys the same energy - gentle, grounded and tenacious, growing upward.