#like there is no benefit to working in retail

[mossyeyeballs]

TW: mentions of pretty much everything terrible. 🍇, trafficking, all of the above.

CLASS OF 09 RANT, FLIP SIDE SPOILERS

Ok not my usual post (I’ve posted twice ik but shush) but what the freak was the flip side??….. I was a huge fan of class of 09 + the re up but this game was so.. what’s the word….. dog shit? Even if we ignore half of the game being about the creators weird foot fetish, the sl@ve ending was so unnecessary. I feel like the only thing in that route that was worth writing was the issue in retail work and that wasn’t even the star focus, let alone side focus. The main plot of that route was the counselor having some weird illegal 🌽 warehouse, jecka finding it, and then him blackmailing her into human 🚙 🚙 ing?

The only ending I thought was necessary IF THAT was when Jecka found Nicole after the sue a side ending from re up. I thought it did a decent job at talking about sue a side victims, and how nobody really cares about them until it’s too late, And even then they only care for a week or so and then move on.

But the Jeffery dying one was the most out of place in my opinion (unfortunately it beats the foot ending.) For starters, Nicole was really out of character imo, like yeah she’s talked about wishing Jeffery was dead before, but her actually killing him just out of boredom is so odd. Her entire character is “I don’t put effort into anything unless it benefits me.” Killing Jeffrey was not only ALOT of effort, but she gained absolutely nothing. On top of that, saying it’s different than doing. Like how she talked about wishing her mom was dead, but then when she had a heart attack, she panicked. Plus, she PLANNED on making Jecka take some of the blame on his death, which she stated in past games she wouldn’t do. She literally never put Jecka in harms way, let alone jail if it didn’t also benefit them both. But this didn’t, she just did it to do it.

While we’re talking about Nicole being out of character, I feel it valid to mention her and Jeckas dad. For obvious (and gross) reasons, I won’t be detailing this, but her doing that to Jecka wasn’t fully out of character, but still odd. Like I mentioned earlier, Nicole never really did anything to spite Nicole, so I find it odd that she did in this game. You could blame it on “oh she’s a sociopath she doesn’t care.” But I don’t think that’s inherently true. Yeah, I guess it’s canon she’s a sociopath, but in that case they do a bad job at consistency. She’s shown in both games 1 and 2 caring about people she’s close with, whether it’s Jecka, her mom, or even Emily in one segment. So I find it completely random that she did this to Jecka over something as small as not sharing how she got into foot work. Jeckas done much worse stuff to Nicole, and Nicole just didn’t care because they were friends, or didn’t feel the need to put effort into doing something if she did care. So yeah, Nicole basically screwing Jeckas dad over something so little felt out of character.

One of the few things that bothered me the least, but I feel the need to mention was the foot work stuff. Not because it was out of character, i fear I’ve seen worse stuff mentioned in that game. But I guess the way it was portrayed as less of a story plot and more of the creator trying to live out his fantasies. He himself has stated Jeffrey is basically a self insert, so the whole being sexually obsessed with Jecka and her feet felt REALLY weird. Compared to Nicole’s my space favor thing, this just felt dirty. For comparison. Both Jecka and Nicole took up sex work to keep a home life or lackthereof, they both got money from strangers to do sexual things, and they both hated doing it. But why did Jeckas feel so much more personal and gross? Because the actual sex work was shown. In graphic detail. And all of Jeffrey’s (the creators) personal thoughts were stated with no backlash. Jeffery literally asked Jecka if she would 🍒feed him, and he was excused. When Nicole was asked the same hing from the same guy, he was insulted, yelled at, even told to leave.

So, creepy creator who’s obsessed with his barely legal characters, Jecka being sold to 🚙 🚙ing agaisnt her will, Jeffrey being murdered for no reason other than a giggle or two from his haters, Jecka accidentally killing Ari cause she was drunk driving, feet fan service, and fan service in general aside, the game is left only with the regular drug and alcohol abusage we always see. which in the game that was advertised as a new experience felt really stale and honestly left me bored. The ONE SINGULAR time during this game that I giggled was when the hat man appeared in the Ari route.

If you’ve fully ignored everything I said in this, maybe didn’t care, or didn’t even read it. Id just like to mention for everyone that the creator of this game said that anybody who disliked him, his games, his writing, or his humor were kid diddlers. In full seriousness. So yeah, no shock this game was bad, but I guess I shouldn’t have expected better from someone who thinks his haters are all child likers. All this being said, I enjoyed class of 09, and the re up. I’m hoping the anime episode that comes out soon with be a decent save. all of THAT being said, I don’t support this creator. I don’t support his actions, I think he’s a shitty person who’s made some shitty jokes, but made some not so shitty games that I decently enjoyed. I also haven’t bought them, so none of my money has gone towards him or his projects. I in NO WAY support him. Thanks for reading.

Feel free to comment down some of your own opinions if you feel so inclined, I’m interested in what everyone else thought of this game :))

[wokeuplaughing]

have spent less than a week working in a restaurant and I am like damn this is so much more fulfilling then retail I think I am going to trade my soul to this mexican restaurant

[satari-raine]

Forever a turtle, but life update:

Got a job! It's a retail position at a local thrift store chain, which is a tiny bit disheartening for some dumb personal reasons, but it's certainly something - overall, though, it's a good thing. Hopefully it'll help get my finances back in order and a sense of routine again. It'll be a bit rocky at the start, catching up on bills and getting used to retail again, but it's something.

Just wanted to say a genuine thank you to those that helped out and gave well wishes during me rambling on here for a few months. It meant and still means a lot to me, it really does. Hope you all are doing well, too, as always. Rooting for you.

[stardustedknuckles]

I am indoors 99% of the time from November to March and have been for a few years and as a result I tend to forget "the holiday season" is an entire phenomenon around this time of year until I venture to Taco Bell and tell the drive through worker it's fine, take your time, I'm really okay for the three minutes it will take to catch up, and get back a "thank you so much" that's halfway to tears. I smile and thank the lady bagging my groceries the way I literally always do and watch her smile tiredly back and her shoulders relax for just a moment and there's always the moment I'm reminded. Oh right. This is hell season for them and my entirely normal way of interacting with strangers feels like radical kindness.

Be nice to people. It costs you nothing and the smallest things can keep a day from collapsing around someone's ears. Especially this time of year.

[rubenesque-as-fuck]

Thinking about buying a PS5 so I can play BG3 and drown out all the sad voices in my head telling me that this month is the two year anniversary of the last time I felt really happy

[fowlfederluft]

The fact that hell can't chase Beelzebub because they are understaffed

Bdjsjiwwhhejsbekdue

I work in retail I feel this so hard

[neurocophany-theyshe]

Not me being interviewed for a job that I was lead to believe was a full-time benefited position, only to find out *during* the interview is part-time and nonbenefited, when the district manager who’s doing the interviewing says straight to my face

“No one wants to work. No one applies. And when they do apply they don’t care about the job.”

[rupertholmes]

and its like. i cant even act the same towards them because that just goes against my moral code and will make ME worse as a person. that used to be what it was like and thats why i was so mean to irl friends in high school

[aropride]

bloody stick figure image

[thisplaceisamessage]

absolutely so fucked that i and no one i know can get a job without knowing someone in the company or industry. like even entry-level, no experience retail jobs. i need every hiring manager in this country to violently explode

[all-of-your-mercy]

as much as I've...... Complained about my job, I need to sincerely dedicate my time to learning the new department material if I want to preserve this job long term, especially if I do get accepted to this new school for a career switch

My only reasoning for calming my mind is really just ... The fact that what I'm doing now is being learned by every new learner like my, and all the seniors involved in this tier were all newbies at some point, learning and dealing with the same bs

The daunting aspect is really the bigger responsibility in handling this, but I need to persevere my own fears and understand I'm still LEARNING, I'm doing my best to ask questions (even how allergic I can get for asking help/guidance) and that I'm still watching recordings and reading material to understand what I'm even doing

Gods.

I'm hoping for the best today and that I managed this 🙏

[queenerdloser]

every relative over 50 i've talked to since 2020: why are there so many jobs available and not enough workers? :( obviously the answer is no one is working and no one wants to work, everyone is lazily mooching off of their parents and aren't interested in REAL jobs.

me: yeah, why wouldn't they want to work a retail or food service job that gives them terrible benefits, horrible pay, in positions where a LOT of people in 2020 learned were essential but never going to be afforded the respect their necessity warrented. it's a complete mystery why people are not rushing to fill these entry-level positions after seeing firsthand how the job market imploded in 2020, at seeing firsthand how retail and food service people were treated as garbage, with their health put second to convenience. also, maybe instead of just assuming that people are lazy (they aren't) or deciding that living with your parents as an adult is somehow mooching (it isn't), it might be more helpful to honestly ask yourself: would you take that job? if you didn't have your job, would you sign up for the position that's paying at best minimum wage, no benefits, no perks, and also treats you like shit? people these days have a higher respect for what they deserve as workers and that's contributing to a shortage in food service and retail positions being filled bc those employers aren't keeping up with the demand for actual job security. the accusations should be at the fucking employers, not the potential workers. and, to whit, job unemployment is actually way down, so are there are actually a ton of people not working or are you projecting bc there were less cashiers than normal at your local walgreens?

[gay-kurapika]

Ngl I think it's stupid to give notice on a job you're leaving for a better job if you work in a field like retail where you're totally replaceable anyway. It makes sense if you don't want to have your reputation ruined if you work in a higher paying skilled field, but in retail as soon as you know you have the better job, you should tell them you can start immediately and then tell your other job "your competitor is paying more so I'll be working there instead. I won't be here tomorrow. Bye." I mean what are they going to do? The competitor doesn't care, they already have you, and they want you to value them more anyway. Like in retail they do not give a fuck about you so you shouldn't give a fuck about them, follow the money.

[txttletale]

of course socialism would eliminate a lot of shitty jobs that do nothing good for anybody but it would also make a lot of existing shitty jobs so much more bearable. i don't know anyone who works in retail or data entry who wouldn't be ten times happier doing the exact same tasks but knowing that their labour results in an actual benefit to society and not extra profit for the corporation they work for. and also maybe not being treated like subhumans by their bosses who can decide if they live or starve

[graham--folger]

y’all should i be taking it personally that my boss has essentially been leaving me on read for over 4 weeks now?

[cathkaesque]

The local population in countries that export bananas typically eat different varieties grown primarily by small farmers. The ones for the Americans and the Europeans, Cavendish variety bananas, are grown in huge, monoculture plantations that are susceptible to disease. The banana industry consumes more agrichemicals than any other in the world, asides from cotton. Most plantations will spend more on pesticides than on wages. Pesticides are sprayed by plane, 85% of which does not land on the bananas and instead lands on the homes of workers in the surrounding area and seeps into the groundwater. The results are cancers, stillbirths, and dead rivers.

The supermarkets dominate the banana trade and force the price of bananas down. Plantations resolve this issue by intensifying and degrading working conditions. Banana workers will work for up to 14 hours a day in tropical heat, without overtime pay, for 6 days a week. Their wages will not cover their cost of housing, food, and education for their children. On most plantations independent trade unions are, of course, suppressed. Contracts are insecure, or workers are hired through intermediaries, and troublemakers are not invited back.

Who benefits most from this arrangement? The export value of bananas is worth $8bn - the retail value of these bananas is worth $25bn. Here's a breakdown of who gets what from the sale of banana in the EU.

On average, the banana workers get between 5 and 9% of the total value, while the retailers capture between 36 to 43% of the value. So if you got a bunch of bananas at Tesco (the majority of UK bananas come from Costa Rica) for 95p, 6.65p would go to the banana workers, and 38p would go to Tesco.

Furthermore, when it comes to calculating a country's GDP (the total sum of the value of economic activity going on in a country, which is used to measure how rich or poor a country is, how fast its economy is 'growing' and therefore how valuable their currency is on the world market, how valuable its government bonds, its claim on resources internationally…etc), the worker wages, production, export numbers count towards the country producing the banana, while retail, ripening, tariffs, and shipping & import will count towards the importing country. A country like Costa Rica will participate has to participate in this arrangement as it needs ‘hard’ (i.e. Western) currencies in order to import essential commodities on the world market.

So for the example above of a bunch of Costa Rican bananas sold in a UK supermarket, 20.7p will be added to Costa Rica’s GDP while 74.3p will be added to the UK’s GDP. Therefore, the consumption of a banana in the UK will add more to the UK’s wealth than growing it will to Costa Rica’s. The same holds for Bangladeshi t-shirts, iPhones assembled in China, chocolate made with cocoa from Ghana…it’s the heart of how the capitalism of the ‘developed’ economy functions. Never ending consumption to fuel the appearance of wealth, fuelled by the exploitation of both land and people in the global south.