Joe Madison, progressive talk show host on Sirius XM satellite radio’s Urban View channel, suggested on the air this week that Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) employees stationed at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport should stage a mass sickout immediately following the Super Bowl.
He tweeted:
“I’m not saying to disrupt the game…but make it impossible for those people to go back home. MAKE Congress and the President pay attention.”
The corporate media pounced on it right away, accusing Madison of calling for a strike.
Federal workers cannot strike.
And Joe Madison was not suggesting they do.
This week of Martin Luther King Day, we ought to applaud Mr. Madison for suggesting TSA workers do exactly what Dr. King would likely have suggested–inflict real inconvenience on the levers of power that profit from people’s misfortune.
The partial government shutdown has officially surpassed the four-week mark–the longest in the nation’s history.
800,000 federal workers have no idea when they are going to see their next paychecks.
TSA workers are, of course, not the only ones affected.
So why is Madison targeting them to take action?
Because on Sunday, February 3, the city of Atlanta is going to be awash in opulence.
Celebrities, investment bankers, corporate lobbyists, politicians, and the media will be present to watch the Patriots and the Rams compete for Super Bowl glory, and enjoy Maroon 5 performing at the half-time show.
Delta Airlines is headquartered in Atlanta, and commercial and private air traffic in and out of the city is bound to be at its peak.
What better way to illustrate the pain and suffering the shutdown is subjecting unpaid TSA workers to then by showing the wealthy elite how necessary those workers are?
Without adequate TSA employees carrying out their essential duties, Super Bowl spectators might be forced to rent cars in order to get home for work Monday morning.
Those wealthy enough to have access to private jets might have to fly commercial (perish the thought).
Those already flying commercial might be forced to take different flights due to inadequate airline staff, or suffer the ignominy of layovers.
They might be very inconvenienced.
And that is Joe Madison’s point.
Make those who aren’t feeling the shutdown feel the shutdown.
Image credit: Joe Madison
