Weapons of the Weak and Race Rebels
4/20/17
Brandy Zeng

In the article Weapons of the Weak by James C. Scott, the author describes how there are two different types ways to strike against authority- one way where you do it directly and openly, and another where you just do it in everyday life, quietly. This article explains why the second way is better, because it is often more effective and also the people doing it get less consequence as a result. To do this, they just retaliate back to the authorities in a way that causes damage not noticeably, but builds up over time. One example in the text was how the workers only do work when their supervisors are watching them, and stop when they turn their backs.

In the second article, Race Rebels, by Robin D.G. Kelley, the author talks about how workers at the fast food chain, McDonalds use this covert way of disobeying to protest their rights and working conditions. Instead of directly protesting their uniforms or hours, they will wear them differently, or quietly extend their breaks past the time limit. He also talks about how you don't have to part of a specific organization to fight for workers rights, because if mostly people are doing it anyways without even knowing. I thought this was really interesting because I worked previously at a McDonalds location and I realized how the descriptions of the working conditions at the store were so accurate and similar in so many restaurants. It was cool to see that even though I don't identify as part of a strike organization, I was still in a way protesting the working conditions.