"Punch up - Not down" My interaction with an ignorant plasterer
I'll try keep this short as I tend to ramble.
I was having a yarn with a bloke on a construction site the other day. Basic shit "housing prices are fucked etc etc".
This dudes in his mid 50s and he starts blaming the Chinese labourers and immigrants for coming to Perth and taking up all the rentals.
Now in Perth our construction industry is wild ATM. Huge influx of work, massive need for skilled labour. Meanwhile this same industry can't keep up with the housing demands so as everyone knows - rents sky rocket and real estate prices boom.
I gave a rudimentary explanation of land banking to him and suggested that instead of punching down(immigrants), he should punch up (profit driven developers)
The moment wasn't the time to try to convert this old fella into socialism, but he responded in a positive way that I was not expecting. It took me by surprise and I've been pondering it for a while.
I'm a little worried about voicing this opinion, but I'd like to hear everyone's views. Do you think we as socialists have a branding issue? Is part of our issue that people see us as "blue haired leftist reactionaries"?
Is it wrong to want to appeal to the masses if that requires framing class issues with a masculine edge? "Punch up" wasn't something I've ever said to someone when I've tried to convince them to join the socialist party.
Is it diluting the overall cause by trying to convince someone who is never going to be a queer advocate that a socialist stance is actually a more traditionally masculine stance than that of someone just siding with capital that already has all the power?