“Unemployed — A Memoir” by Reginald L. Goodwin

by Reginald L. Goodwin

Link to article

Reginald L. Goodwin describes his book, “Unemployed — A Memoir”

“This blog began with what you will soon read in the introduction. The conditions that caused my predicament existed, before it did.

“I represent the American worker that feels the “fell clutch of circumstance,” to quote Invictus, at or around forty years of age. I bear witness to the fact that despite past performance, college preparation, individual contribution, and teamwork, no one is immune to the Leviathan called the global economy and its dictates to save on costs: the largest being employees and benefits. I am an example of the human toll of NAFTA and CAFTA. These are not programs of one party or the other: these are programs that affect the many and enrich the few. If I were to smile and disappear like a “good Cheshire cat” ala “Alice in Wonderland,” what has happened to me, what has happened to many, what is and will, in the foreseeable future, still happening, will not be corrected until a new report is given.

There is no lack of blogs from the unemployed. The experience and the pain is worldwide. The book that follows is my journey, documented on my blog and shared by many that have become outsourced Americans. What I will share with you is a walk of faith that is real, that is true.”

Sincerely,

Reginald L. Goodwin

Outsourced American

Author: “Unemployed - A Memoir”
http://www.reggiegoodwin.com

“The soul that is within me, no man can degrade.” Frederick Douglass

Tags: CAFTA, global-economy, NAFTA, outsourcing, unemployed

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 9th, 2007 at 3:11 pm and is filed under blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

John Swartch Says:
May 14th, 2007 at 7:35 am

A great book from 1998:

The Cliff Walk: A Memoir of a Job Lost and a Life Found by Don J. Snyder (Author)

Reggie Goodwin Says:
May 20th, 2007 at 10:06 pm

Thanks for the comparison/reference.

This book began as a blog/rant about losing my job and hence, my male definition “who I was.”

I’m really quite a nerd, and was content with my contribution to the corporate good until retirement.

I hope my honesty helps some that you are not what you do, and that true self-worth comes from within.

Regards,

Reggie Goodwin, Author
“Unemployed: A Memoir”

John Swartch Says:
May 23rd, 2007 at 10:34 pm

I sent a nice E-mail to my ex-boss with some good news about one of the other guys laid off. He sent a nice Email back, but said that things were really going crazy there. I sure feel bad about that, things were going good when I was there, but they kicked me out anyway. They keep the clowns and laid off the hot shots like me. I am sure glad I still have my tent, I may need it.

marie Says:
August 1st, 2007 at 6:45 pm

Thanks for the link. I need to read this. I sometimes feel like I’m losing my mind.

No, I’m not stupid, but I spend 40 hrs./wk being made to feel like a dunce.

Maybe that’s why they don’t offer health insurance - too many people would be going to psychiatrists!

Reggie Says:
October 18th, 2007 at 11:40 am

Marie,

I hope things have gotten better for you. I apologize also for not getting back to you in August when this posting was fresh.

No, you’re not losing it! It’s systematic of a “global economy” that rewards the upper 1% regardless of country or political parties and leaves the rest of us scratching our heads.

No, you’re not stupid. The people over you are worried that you may have the game figured out! Knowledge makes you a threat.

You are probably as I am: hopelessly sane in an insane world.

where did the real America go? Says:
November 5th, 2007 at 8:48 am

What can we do? How can we make it change? The sad thing is that some of those who still have jobs (a lot of those folks, in my experience) do not recognize that there is a problem. It is like we are cattle, and they are the ranchers. The cows who are grazing in the field may not like being prodded a bit more or stuck with needles full of hormones or fed the ground up bones of their cousins (do they still do that?), but they put up with it because “they gotta eat.” The ones who are on the ramp to the slaughterhouse are hardly in any position to fight. Except for the one real cow that jumped the fence and ran and avoided capture for days and made the headlines and lived.

Reggie Says:
February 5th, 2008 at 11:00 am

To: “where did the real America go?”

First, an apology: I’ve been kept busy in a new job (after 4 years of unemployment) at a statistical modeling firm. I made $75k as a Senior Product Engineer. Now I make $60k, or 20% LESS than before. I guess that qualifies me as “under-employed.” I thought about this blog entry preparing to comment on another called “The Jobless Jihad.” I worked for $6.25/hr slinging boxes for UPS. I was told I was “overqualified based on my years of experience” (translation: old). Cows have “gotta eat.”

I tried, during my four-year roam in the wilderness, taking a part-time martial arts school to fulltime. I was not successful. I had to close it and reorganize, teaching at the YMCA. I blogged my angst and depression on: http://outsourcedamerican.blogspot.com. That became a book called “Unemployed: A Memoir.” I feel your pain.

Where did the real America go? Was it ever “real” or a promise? If we were dreaming, political think tanks funded by corporate America have been fully awake and fully engaged in controlling our government to their collective benefit.

The 60s saw the Civil Rights struggle over the words “all men are created equal,” and the Warner Commission correctly identified “two Americas.” Now, those two Americas are more class than race: the “haves” and the “have nots.”

Our politicians of both parties are beholden to corporate dollars for their campaigns. Therefore, other than whom we like (a personal decision), there is little to no difference in the minutiae rhetoric of any candidate in the presidential race. Republicans and Democrats are the right and left arms of the business community, that WANT to depress wages and increase corporate profits; that WANT to increase high-end investor returns and rape 401k accounts (Enron) and WANT to send jobs overseas to places like China where they have more people unemployed than the US has employed and can depress wages for even white collar workers. “The chickens are coming home to roost” as Malcolm X said with substandard dog food, human food, drug products and GHB date-rape-drug “aqua dots.”

This is NOT an advocacy of third-party candidates, however. I think that they are brought out to give the electorate a “choice” that is no choice. Ross Perot drained votes from George H.W. Bush like Ralph Nader drains votes from the Democratic candidate.

Since a democratic republic is from the consent “of the governed,” our jobs don’t end on Election Day!

Don’t give up. It is still “our America,” if “We the People” fight for it!

“Unemployed — A Memoir” by Reginald L. Goodwin

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ABOUT BECOME A MEMBER CHAPTER BUILDING RESOURCES & SERVICES BLOGS & NEWS FORUM BOOKSHELF CONTACT UP	« Previous in this section Next in this section » “Unemployed — A Memoir” by Reginald L. Goodwin by Reginald L. Goodwin Link to article Reginald L. Goodwin describes his book, “Unemployed — A Memoir” “This blog began with what you will soon read in the introduction. The conditions that caused my predicament existed, before it did. “I represent the American worker that feels the “fell clutch of circumstance,” to quote Invictus, at or around forty years of age. I bear witness to the fact that despite past performance, college preparation, individual contribution, and teamwork, no one is immune to the Leviathan called the global economy and its dictates to save on costs: the largest being employees and benefits. I am an example of the human toll of NAFTA and CAFTA. These are not programs of one party or the other: these are programs that affect the many and enrich the few. If I were to smile and disappear like a “good Cheshire cat” ala “Alice in Wonderland,” what has happened to me, what has happened to many, what is and will, in the foreseeable future, still happening, will not be corrected until a new report is given. There is no lack of blogs from the unemployed. The experience and the pain is worldwide. The book that follows is my journey, documented on my blog and shared by many that have become outsourced Americans. What I will share with you is a walk of faith that is real, that is true.” Sincerely, Reginald L. Goodwin Outsourced American Author: “Unemployed - A Memoir” http://www.reggiegoodwin.com “The soul that is within me, no man can degrade.” Frederick Douglass Tags: CAFTA, global-economy, NAFTA, outsourcing, unemployed This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 9th, 2007 at 3:11 pm and is filed under blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. 7 Responses to ““Unemployed — A Memoir” by Reginald L. Goodwin” John Swartch Says: May 14th, 2007 at 7:35 am A great book from 1998: The Cliff Walk: A Memoir of a Job Lost and a Life Found by Don J. Snyder (Author) Reggie Goodwin Says: May 20th, 2007 at 10:06 pm Thanks for the comparison/reference. This book began as a blog/rant about losing my job and hence, my male definition “who I was.” I’m really quite a nerd, and was content with my contribution to the corporate good until retirement. I hope my honesty helps some that you are not what you do, and that true self-worth comes from within. Regards, Reggie Goodwin, Author “Unemployed: A Memoir” John Swartch Says: May 23rd, 2007 at 10:34 pm I sent a nice E-mail to my ex-boss with some good news about one of the other guys laid off. He sent a nice Email back, but said that things were really going crazy there. I sure feel bad about that, things were going good when I was there, but they kicked me out anyway. They keep the clowns and laid off the hot shots like me. I am sure glad I still have my tent, I may need it. marie Says: August 1st, 2007 at 6:45 pm Thanks for the link. I need to read this. I sometimes feel like I’m losing my mind. No, I’m not stupid, but I spend 40 hrs./wk being made to feel like a dunce. Maybe that’s why they don’t offer health insurance - too many people would be going to psychiatrists! Reggie Says: October 18th, 2007 at 11:40 am Marie, I hope things have gotten better for you. I apologize also for not getting back to you in August when this posting was fresh. No, you’re not losing it! It’s systematic of a “global economy” that rewards the upper 1% regardless of country or political parties and leaves the rest of us scratching our heads. No, you’re not stupid. The people over you are worried that you may have the game figured out! Knowledge makes you a threat. You are probably as I am: hopelessly sane in an insane world. Regards, Reggie Goodwin, Author “Unemployed: A Memoir” where did the real America go? Says: November 5th, 2007 at 8:48 am What can we do? How can we make it change? The sad thing is that some of those who still have jobs (a lot of those folks, in my experience) do not recognize that there is a problem. It is like we are cattle, and they are the ranchers. The cows who are grazing in the field may not like being prodded a bit more or stuck with needles full of hormones or fed the ground up bones of their cousins (do they still do that?), but they put up with it because “they gotta eat.” The ones who are on the ramp to the slaughterhouse are hardly in any position to fight. Except for the one real cow that jumped the fence and ran and avoided capture for days and made the headlines and lived. Reggie Says: February 5th, 2008 at 11:00 am To: “where did the real America go?” First, an apology: I’ve been kept busy in a new job (after 4 years of unemployment) at a statistical modeling firm. I made $75k as a Senior Product Engineer. Now I make $60k, or 20% LESS than before. I guess that qualifies me as “under-employed.” I thought about this blog entry preparing to comment on another called “The Jobless Jihad.” I worked for $6.25/hr slinging boxes for UPS. I was told I was “overqualified based on my years of experience” (translation: old). Cows have “gotta eat.” I tried, during my four-year roam in the wilderness, taking a part-time martial arts school to fulltime. I was not successful. I had to close it and reorganize, teaching at the YMCA. I blogged my angst and depression on: http://outsourcedamerican.blogspot.com. That became a book called “Unemployed: A Memoir.” I feel your pain. Where did the real America go? Was it ever “real” or a promise? If we were dreaming, political think tanks funded by corporate America have been fully awake and fully engaged in controlling our government to their collective benefit. The 60s saw the Civil Rights struggle over the words “all men are created equal,” and the Warner Commission correctly identified “two Americas.” Now, those two Americas are more class than race: the “haves” and the “have nots.” Our politicians of both parties are beholden to corporate dollars for their campaigns. Therefore, other than whom we like (a personal decision), there is little to no difference in the minutiae rhetoric of any candidate in the presidential race. Republicans and Democrats are the right and left arms of the business community, that WANT to depress wages and increase corporate profits; that WANT to increase high-end investor returns and rape 401k accounts (Enron) and WANT to send jobs overseas to places like China where they have more people unemployed than the US has employed and can depress wages for even white collar workers. “The chickens are coming home to roost” as Malcolm X said with substandard dog food, human food, drug products and GHB date-rape-drug “aqua dots.” This is NOT an advocacy of third-party candidates, however. I think that they are brought out to give the electorate a “choice” that is no choice. Ross Perot drained votes from George H.W. Bush like Ralph Nader drains votes from the Democratic candidate. Since a democratic republic is from the consent “of the governed,” our jobs don’t end on Election Day! Don’t give up. It is still “our America,” if “We the People” fight for it! 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