A working class hero is something to be

While perusing the Mitchell Family Organ this morning, an obituary caught my eye. An obit of an ordinary man, of the kind undervalued (and frequently discarded) by our 21st Century First World society.

Tom Companion was only 51 when he died unexpectedly on Sunday. His life in two paragraphs:

Tom was a 1980 graduate of Harwood Union High School and then began his working career as a carpenter, working for several construction companies in the Central Vermont area. Tom went on to become an assembler, working at the Bombardier Corporation in Barre before being employed by Green Mountain Coffee Roasters for over 16 years, first in the service department in Waterbury and more recently as a maintenance technician at their Essex plant.

Friendly, warm hearted and convivial, Tom was the well-known and well-liked Saturday morning greeter and money taker for Rodney’s Rubbish Removal, located at the Crossroads Beverage Center in Waterbury. In his leisure time, Tom was an avid hunter, loved 4-wheeling, camping in Sharkyville in Bolton and was a master tinkerer of all things automotive. A creative builder too, Tom enjoyed working on construction projects for family and friends. He is lovingly remembered for his devotion to his wife Susan, and his innate dedication to all those who he considered friends.

He held no high office, he won no awards, he probably never dazzled anyone with his rhetorical brilliance. In an age of literacy and technology, he was good with his hands. Throughout most of human history, a guy like him would have been highly valued — while a guy like me, good with words and lousy with tools, with horrible eyesight to boot, would have been marginalized. And probably would have been the one to die young.

I never met the man. Frankly, if I saw him on the street, I probably wouldn’t give him a second thought. I, like most people, am impressed by education and title and wit and connections. And except when I need something fixed around the house, I have very little contact with the world of folks like Tom Companion. But our society wouldn’t work without them.

And we need to remember that.  

We also, those of us in left-wing politics, need to bear their interests more strongly in mind. We tend to live on a more intellectual plane. I doubt that the Tom Companions of this world care much about the issues that tend to occupy a lot of our time: fighting gas pipelines or Air Force jets or keeping Vermont pristine. They need jobs and economic activity and growth. They need building projects and affordable energy.

Hell, they need Walmart. If only because their purchasing power keeps on dwindling.

Is that to say we should abandon our principles and roll over for development and growth and corporate interests? No. But we do need to find a balance between principle and pragmatism. And we need to not forget where the left-wing movement started in this country: in labor unions and populism. That needs to be part of our equation today.

Well, enough of me projecting my own stuff onto a dead man I never met.

A service celebrating the life of Tom Companion will be held from the Waterbury American Legion, 16 Stowe Street, on Saturday, October 19, 2013 at 1 p.m. with a reception to follow. The family requests that flowers be omitted; rather memorial gifts would be appreciated to Camp Ta-Kum-Ta, PO Box 459, South Hero VT 05486. Assisting the family is the Perkins-Parker Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Waterbury.

14 thoughts on “A working class hero is something to be

  1. “They need Walmart.”

    No, they don’t.

    Walmart is very good at convincing people that “they need Walmart;” that Walmart is always cheaper; and that that always means better value.  Walmart counts on the public to carry that truism without examination.

    “They” need good jobs. Walmart doesn’t provide those.  In fact, Walmart is such a huge mover of the economy that, when Walmart doesn’t provide good jobs, nobody else in retail does either.

    “They” need basic merchandise that doesn’t crap-out six months after purchase, forcing them to buy it new all over again.  Like the old adage, “you get what you pay for,” when Walmart sells something to you cheaper than a smaller retailer, you are often buying something of inferior quality that Walmart has contracted with the name brand maker to produce just for them, so that they can sell it at a rock bottom price no competitor can match…because it isn’t the same product.

    More often than not, though, if you take the trouble to do some comparison shopping (and it isn’t easy given how Walmart gets its name brand-suppliers to produce unique quantities and lower quality items peculiar only to Walmart), you will very often find that a local retailer offers a price that is competitive or even lower.

    There was a great letter in the Messenger Tuesday by a woman named Joy who had comparison shopped between the Williston Walmart and local St. Albans retailers, compiling a list of items that came in cheaper or pretty much the same at local stores.  

    Of course this message always gets buried in Walmart’s huge PR campaigns, and anyone who objects to Walmart is immediately characterized as “elitist,”

    and assumed to have some huge disposable income that makes them indifferent to the needs of the poor.

    That, is more Walmart PR bullshit.  And it works all too well.

  2. You wrote that you doubt that “they” care about “fighting gas pipelines or Air Force jets or keeping Vermont pristine”.

    I’ll try to avoid making any sweeping generalizations, but can say in my experience as an activist and organizer for the VT Dems, the VT AFL-CIO, and VCE for the last 10+ years, “they” actually do care a lot about those three things, and many more.  That’s one of the great things about doing community-based activism in Vermont.  People of all stripes, colors, backgrounds, professions, philosophies, etc. come together to work to better/protect their community, on issues they feel are important to them.  I’ve seen a doctor working side by side with a carpenter and a retired utility worker to, in your words, “keep Vermont pristine”, because they all care.  They may care differently, and in slightly different ways, but they respect each others’ point of view, and value the diversity that gives their collective efforts strength.

    In my experience, there is no “they”.  Or at least a lot less than you might think.

    Matt Levin

    VCE Outreach Director

  3. ‘I have very little contact with the world of folks like Tom Companion’

    ‘We tend to live on a more intellectual plane.’

    Pretty condescending post; left-wing thinking is doomed to failure if it is presumed to come only from people who look/talk/socialize with each other.

  4. “they” does sound condescending, there is some truth to this thread. How can one say they w/o saying “they”. Not easy.

    I am nonunion working class, possibly working poor, having worked many menial jobs from high to low paying, union to nonunion since I was very young. I neither judge nor look down on anyone one because I am down. I love to work & am grateful to have a job. Everyone who can should work, it is also therapeutic & contributes to longevity. Retirement should not be considered a goal. It is not easy to remain employed in VT or to make much.

    The higher the pay the more likely one is to have a political viewpoint, opinion or even vote. Politics is considered exotic and the discussion a foreign language. I blame the educational system — civics should be mandatory from K-12 in some form. Philosophy, critical thinking & the flow of information should be taught & emphasized when appropriate. Students should be engaged in the process, but they are not because this is how the powers that be want us, dumb & disinterested. Makes for a more docile herd. The more everyone thinks & knows what is going on the less gullible & stupid everyone is & the power brokers can’t have that.  

    The lower paid generally more often than not do not even vote. If asked why the answers reflect disinfranchisement & that they don’t believe they matter at all much less to politicians, and that their vote is all they want which is the truth. Hence, they do not believe understanding the issues & voting is worthwhile or will make any difference for them or the country. Calling “them” lazy is far too simplistic. If there is no influence within the family structure chances ar nil that children will grow to become involved.

    If I say anything political or even ask a question on the topic it is met with a quizzical expression or disdain for the political process as well as politicians in general. I get raised eyebrows & eyerolls so consequently communication is limited.

    I do not engage ppl who do not wish to be. Try to live & let live, accept & respect others as fellow humans is as good as it gets. It is sad but it’s ok.  

  5. Based on a photo and a couple of paragraphs of an obituary?

    You say, “I doubt that the Tom Companions of this world care much about the issues that tend to occupy a lot of our time: fighting gas pipelines or Air Force jets or keeping Vermont pristine.”

    How the hell do you know what Tom cared about?

    And, “They need jobs and economic activity and growth. They need building projects and affordable energy.

    Hell, they need Walmart. If only because their purchasing power keeps on dwindling.”

    How the hell do you know what Tom needs, just how the hell?

    This piece is horrifyingly condescending, patronizing and prejudiced.

    I’m embarrassed for you.

  6. In my experience, ther is little that riles up (or maybe threatens) Vermont lefties more than telling them (publicly) that they may not be in touch with the working class person (or, in many cases, that they are NOT working class people themselves).

    Alternately, people from working class backgrounds (unless they have a conservative bone to pick, and are trying to play gotcha) usually find these sorts of conversations interesting.

    The “need Walmart” line is the most loaded and questionable, clearly. But also the one most worth discussing.

  7. He might have lost his finger prints and maybe a nail sanding someones mudding job. Or put a wax ring under your throne, but in any case, he will be missed.

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