No one takes their critics on quite like Mike Rowe.
The 'Somebody's Gotta Do It' host got an angry message from a viewer, who criticized his emphasis on work ethic as being "right-wing propaganda". His response was perfect.
Rowe posted Craig's criticism to Facebook, which read:
Your constant harping on “work ethic” is growing tiresome. Just because someone’s poor doesn’t mean they’re lazy. The unemployed want to work! And many of those who can’t find work today, didn’t have the benefit of growing up with parents like yours. How can you expect someone with no role model to qualify for one of your scholarships or sign your silly “Sweat Pledge?” Rather than accusing people of not having a work-ethic, why not drop the right-wing propaganda and help them develop one?
Mike quickly refuted Craig's slam, and he criticized media networks on both the left and the right for how they attack the wealthy and poor, respectively.
"Everyday on the news, liberal pundits and politicians portray the wealthy as greedy, while conservative pundits and politicians portray the poor as lazy," Mike wrote back. "Democrats have become so good at denouncing greed, Republicans now defend it. And Republicans are so good at condemning laziness, Democrats are now denying it even exists. It's a never ending dance that gets more contorted by the day."
Mike said that he seeks to expose people to the millions of real jobs available to people who want to work. Unfortunately, many of these jobs remain empty because people don't want to work for a job they see as below them.
Mike wrote, "I started mikeroweWORKS to talk about these issues, and shine a light on a few million good jobs that no one seems excited about. But mostly, I wanted to remind people that real opportunity still exists for those individuals who are willing to work hard, learn a skill, and make a persuasive case for themselves. Sadly, you see my efforts as “right wing propaganda.” But why? Are our differences really political? Or is it something deeper? Something philosophical?"
"In my travels, I’ve met a lot of hard-working individuals, and I’ve been singing their praises for the last 12 years. But I’ve seen nothing that would lead me to agree with your generalization. From what I’ve seen of the species, and what I know of myself, most people - given the choice - would prefer NOT to work. In fact, on Dirty Jobs, I saw Help Wanted signs in every state, even at the height of the recession," he continued.
Hiring managers have also told Mike they have problem finding people who can 1) pass a drug test and 2) have the basic professionalism, or "soft skills".
"We’re churning out a generation of poorly educated people with no skill, no ambition, no guidance, and no realistic expectations of what it means to go to work," he said.
Read the full post below:
Hey MikeYour constant harping on “work ethic” is growing tiresome. Just because someone’s poor doesn’t mean they’re...
Posted by Mike Rowe on Sunday, June 7, 2015
