prokopetz:

We often talk like corporations are being stupid and crazy when they post entry-level positions that ask for a ridiculous amount of experience, but there’s nothing stupid about it. It’s entirely calculated.

Y’see, they’ve set things up so that the only way to get the required experience for entry-level positions is through internship programs. At the same time, they’ve systematically eliminated paid internship in favour of unpaid internship. Yeah, unpaid internships are totally a thing - you’re literally working for free in order to build up “relevant experience” to apply for positions that actually pay you.

If that was all there was to it - i.e., scamming free labour out of young college graduates - it would be bad enough, but it goes further. Consider: what sort of college graduate can afford to spend a year or two working for free? Well, naturally it would have to be someone who didn’t have to take out any loans; unemployment is grounds for deferral of student loan repayments, but an unpaid internship counts as being employed, thus disqualifying you for a deferred repayment schedule, even though you’re not getting paid.

Combined with skyrocketing tuition fees that render it virtually impossible to pay for college with a part-time job, the upshot is that there’s a whole class of jobs that are effectively available only to those with financially well-off parents: they’re the only ones who can afford to take on the unpaid internships that are required to rack up the necessary “relevant experience” to apply for those jobs in the first place.

So really, it’s not just about free labour: the unpaid internship racket also serves to filter employment by economic class, ensuring that only the children of the wealthy are able to apply for jobs that permit actual career advancement. You thus have the appearance of openness in a job market that is, in reality, rotten with cronyism. And it works perfectly - it’s really a brilliant arrangement, if you’re willing to look past the fact that it’s pure evil.

(This is also the scam behind those job application forms that ask for a long list of references in good standing, but specifically exclude relatives, teachers, past employers, and just about anybody else you’re likely to know who’d qualify as “in good standing”; what they’re really saying is “put down the names of your rich Dad’s golf buddies”.)

(via fullpraxisnow)

thefellowshipofthedragonmark:

I’ve been lucky enough to get some unprecedented success from my latest Ron Weasley defence, and since there’s been a lot of really cool points brought up by people who’ve reblogged it about the different reasons for the Ron-hate, I want to talk some more. Rather than clog up anyone’s dash by reblogging from lots of different people, I’m just going to tag some peeps who had stuff to say and then talk about Ron some more, because I can’t get enough of him. I hope that’s okay for everyone :)

Please note that if I disagree with anyone on anything, it’s just my personal opinion. There’s no right or wrong answer, because we’re all going to like different people and think different things - and that’s wonderful. I’m getting into a very controversial topic, and I welcome people to both disagree and agree with me - so long as we all stay away from the hate side of tumblr, because whether or not you like Ron doesn’t matter, but one thing I am firmly against is hate, either to a character, or more importantly to a person. I’m only here to discuss my favourites and maybe help myself and others understand everyone’s point of view :)

Okay, so @angryaroacedragon brought up that “people mainly dislike him being paired with Hermione,” and that lots of people agree that he was a perfect friend for Harry, but not perfect with Hermione. I definitely see your point - Romione is a very controversial ship, and I think the Harry/Ron bromance is considerably less so, although still used in anti-Ron reasoning. I think a lot of it probably has to do with the nature of Ron and Hermione’s bickering during the earlier books, and the fact that lots of people would prefer, or at least expected, Hermione to be paired with Harry. And that’s okay, because that’s the nature of shipping - I myself ship Romione, but I know that’s not the case for others, and I respect that. I think the difference comes when a character is hated on because of a pairing. If a person is anti-Romione, from what evidence there is floating around on tumblr, most of the time they will use this as reasoning for attacking Ron - but never Hermione. I think this can probably come from thinking Hermione deserved someone better than Ron, but this ends up as character-hate, rather than ship-hate. As @stars—thunderbird said, “I never hated Ron, I just didn’t want Hermione to end up with him.” And I respect that, just as long as people are like you, and don’t drag Ron down because of it.

And then we have the point that both @lumos5001 and @sherlocks-heroine brought up - Ron’s portrayal in the movies. Here I am totally agreed with you: so many of Ron’s best, most important lines were given to Hermione or another character, and there are so many fans who just won’t have accessed the original Ron. This is a problem for me for a lot of reasons - besides the fact that it’s damaging to Ron, it’s also damaging to Hermione as well. There was a reason that, when faced with Sirius in the Shrieking Shack, it was Ron who stood up and told Sirius he’d have to kill them all if he wanted Harry, and Hermione who tried to hold Harry back and protect him that way. That is in their characters - it showed a lot about their equally strong, but different bond with Harry. In this moment, Hermione only thinks of preventing Harry from entering the danger at all, and Ron seems to decide that they’re already in danger whether they like it or not, and the only thing he can do is enter it with Harry. There is no “better” action. They are both actions filled with love and concern. And they are both fitted to their respective characters, which is why it so annoyed me that it was changed. By giving Hermione all the best moments of others (and it’s not just Ron, but Harry as well - the crazy dragon escape, the spur of the moment idea, the ingenuity? All Harry), Hermione’s character gets warped. Instead of a strong, balanced, flawed character that could develop to overcome these flaws, Hermione tries to become some kind of superhuman character who can never put a foot wrong. And that’s damaging to everybody, most of all her.

@8thsnackgod-drochfaolchu brought up another great point, that “as children, we all wanted to be Harry.” This could very possibly be a reason for it: Ron is, to me, one of the most human characters ever - but part of that is because he is just so normal. This is something I love perhaps more than anything about him: Harry is the Chosen One, Hermione is the Brightest Witch of Her Age - it would be easy to think, wouldn’t it, that Ron could not bring anything special to the team, so he might as well not bother, and go about a normal life in peace. Except - he doesn’t. He still follows them everywhere, he still risks his life, he still stays loyal - and actually, though he might never truly realise this himself even when he has developed as much as he ever will, he is vital to the golden trio succeeding. This isn’t just in the plot, in the plans, in the way the war is won - when Ron leaves in DH, Harry and Hermione fall apart. They don’t work on their own. Ron is the glue binding them all together, the one cheering them all on and making them smile, and in this he is exceptionally important.

Of course, this importance is so much more subtle, and when you’re young, there’s going to be quite a number who dismiss Ron for one of the more obvious, flashy roles. This is not everyone, it is important to remember - I know I loved Ron more than anything from my very first time watching PS - but I think it can be considered a contributing factor.

Lastly, @annaled compared Harry and Ron to Frodo and Sam, and how the hero often gets more glory than the best friend. This I think links to what was said above (though arguably I would say that Sam does quite often get noticed, though that’s another issue altogether and that all depends on what we’ve seen). Every great hero needs fantastic friends, or they’re not going to get anywhere - yet sometimes I think this can get a little forgotten by people. Yet when really considering how Harry acted in GoF or DH when Ron wasn’t there, or how Frodo wound up when he left Sam (in the films, at least), it becomes clear: Harry needs Ron, the same way Frodo needs Sam.

Thanks to everyone for their awesome commentaries! This is a great discussion, and I hope we can continue it, whether you agree with me or not. Since I’m a firm believer in replying to people who comment on things you’ve written, drawn, and made: thanks to @aimeeabsinthe, @pumpkinbother, @romeoandwinchester, @shadowkat678, @nuriakendo and @theclockworkstitch for your comments - you’ve made me smile. @marimouna, you don’t know how happy you’ve made me. @luna-lit and @thegoldenageofgabylon, I couldn’t have put it better myself. @juststalkingblogs, I love you too, stranger! And thanks to everyone else who has shared the love of Ronald Weasley :D

Oh yes another great point!!! None of them would be friends without Rons unyielding love for them. He seriously is the glue that keeps them all working together. If not for Rons basically normal line of thinking, Harry might already have died, and Hermione wouldn’t ever have put her knowledge to the uses she did. Not hating on the two other trio members, but without Ron there wouldn’t be a trio. Harry would be wayward!