LETTER: Vashon forgets workforce that makes island what it is

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, September 19, 2017

To many, this island is a special, whimsical refuge from busy city life. There is always something quirky and strange to do for those who can afford to do so. But, for the majority of people on this island who remain unnoticed and marginalized, it is a different story.

The middle-class citizenry here forgets about those people who cook their food, teach and take care of their children, tend their lawns and take care of their elderly. As capitalism becomes more entrenched, more extreme, more inhumane, so does the day-to-day life of those who are forced to live under those conditions. While the middle class and upper class whine about the poor ferry service and which new bourgeois eatery has the best atmosphere for a nice chardonnay, the rest — and the majority — of people on this island struggle with low incomes, high rent, substance abuse, unemployment and hunger. There is also unseen and unreported racism that the working class faces, from various employers and businesses and from those reactionary folk who are from both the Democrat and Republican sides. Outright xenophobia is directed toward our Latino sisters and brothers and their children who come here seeking a better quality of life. Attitudes of anti-blackness are heard frequently, and let’s not forget anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.

The time is now for all working people to come together and start taking control over our economic lives so that the we can stop being exploited and so we can have a more equal community and society.

— Declan McManus