Now that the writers strike is in full force in the film and television industry, I can’t help but feel that this would be an excellent time to scab. I mean, hell, every writer in the industry has basically said, “You see this highly coveted job of mine that someone needs to do? Yeah, I’m gonna step away from it for a while.” It’s not like there are a shortage of wannabe writers in the world, willing to work for horrendous pay just to get a writing credit. Writers everywhere are working for less just to get a byline in some regional rag. I know there are, because I was one of them.
The idea of becoming a scab writer seems so strange to me. When I think of the entertainment industry and how hard it is for people to break in, I imagine that it’s because everyone in the industry are talented, one-of-a-kind people that cannot be easily replaced. And maybe that is the case and the idea of becoming a scab writer really is just a pipe dream. On the other hand, the industry is losing money everyday these writers don’t work and how hard is it really to look up current events and write Jay Leno’s monologue every night? If I’m a producer, why wouldn’t I bring on scabs until the writers break?
As far as I stand now, I’m all for the writers striking. They’re entitled to everything they can get for the work they’ve created. I’m also all for the producers hiring scabs to fill in empty positions. Most of all, I’m all for becoming one of those scabs, though I wouldn’t look forward to all the dirty stares I’d get around the office once the strike was broken. The way I see it, the writers are gambling on the opinion that they produce singular, inimitable work. For their sake, I hope they truly are the talented, one-of-a-kind people I’ve always perceived them to be or they’ll find me walking through their picket lines.
What do you think; am I despicable?
Also, how can I become a scab writer?
Anyway, I’ve missed a couple days of blogging lately, mainly because of my intermittent Internet connection. I’m not sure if it’s my provider or if it’s a weird side effect of Windows Vista’s “sleep” feature, but whenever I come home from work, my primary blogging time, I always find that my Internet connection is down. Hours later, I’ll find my connection back up and running. Sometimes, though, it won’t come back up until late at night. Anyway, I’ve turned off the sleep feature and we’ll see if the same thing happens tomorrow.