Huelgas

There's something about Spain that makes me giggle. A mischievous little I-wish-I-could-be-in-cahoots-with-you giggle. And that something is Spain's general "¡Qué te den por culo!"* attitude. It's an attitude you can see in school children, in customer service, in the government... Everywhere! But Spaniards especially excel at expressing this when it comes to strikes. Spanish strikes are nothing like American strikes for two big reasons:

1) Spain gets off on their strikes. The glimmer in the eyes of those on strike is like the glimmer of a teenager who has just gotten away with blaming something on their little sibling. Sure, leading up to strike day those on strike seem incredibly passionate about the injustices behind it all, but come strike day, you realized the passion you saw in them wasn't so much about the injustice as it was passionate excitement for a day off. They can sleep in, meet friends for a beer and then head over to the rally at night I'd they feel like causing a little chaos. It's like a day (or more) of relaxation -- in the noble name of justice and solidarity and where do you wanna go for tapas later, since we have the day off?! Yay!

2) Strikes are frequent. I don't mean to say that the same group goes on strike often, but rather that bunches of groups go on strike at different times, often very close together on the calendar. For example: Two weeks ago there was an "education" strike. This meant teachers and students did not attend school. Not really sure the reason for the strike, but I am sure the students and teachers loved the random Thursday off. Then last week the train system decided to go on strike and significantly reduce train service for a few days. Again, no idea the reason for the strike, but the train conductors sure looked happier. And finally, this week. This week, the sanitation department decided, "eff it" and went on strike. Real world result? Every public trash can is more than overfilling and the streets and sidewalks are COVERED in trash. Like, it looks like the aftermath of a very festive parade that had floats slinging biomass into the crowds. It's impressive.

To those not on strike, it seems to royally piss off every single person EXCEPT for those who the strike was meant to stick it to. But not me. I find them amusing. No way you could get every garbage collector in a large US city to just say, "You can eff yourself!" and just not go to work for a few days. Those crazies would be fired and replaced immediately. But not in Spain. Worst that happens is you lose 1.5X your salary per strike day and get a cool t-shirt to prove your BAMF status at the nightly rally.

I can't help but wonder if these little displays really do succeed in changing workplace conditions and political practices. What I do know, though, is that these strikes definitely succeed in serving as perfect examples of the Spanish attitude in practice.



*"Oh go fuck yourself."