Standing up for the right not to stand
Don’t think anyone will disagree that museums where artistic, cultural, historical, and scientific objects are stored and viewed need to change. Sometimes changes occur at the most unexpected places. This is the story of Luke Ching Chin-wai, a visual artist from Hong Kong championing for rights of museum security guards not to stand all day at their jobs.
The right not to stand might sound trivial to you, but imagine if your job required you to stand for your entire shift just because once in a while some of your colleague fall asleep during their shifts. He thinks that is wrong. What he did next is to take up a job as museum security. After experience the job first hand, he protested to the management of these museum. After rounds of negotiation, both sides agreed that bar chairs will be provided to the guards to sit on, but not doze off.
The truth of the matter is, blue collar workers are always treated as tools, rather than people. There are still hundreds, if not thousands of people without the right not to stand at their jobs. Will you stand up for them like Ching?
The right not to stand might sound trivial to you, but imagine if your job required you to stand for your entire shift just because once in a while some of your colleague fall asleep during their shifts. He thinks that is wrong. What he did next is to take up a job as museum security. After experience the job first hand, he protested to the management of these museum. After rounds of negotiation, both sides agreed that bar chairs will be provided to the guards to sit on, but not doze off.
The truth of the matter is, blue collar workers are always treated as tools, rather than people. There are still hundreds, if not thousands of people without the right not to stand at their jobs. Will you stand up for them like Ching?
Image credit: Edward Wong