I'm reminded of Osama Bin Ladin - all true Muslims under his rule were to be educated only to the level of a poor laborer, similar to an historical goatherder. Of course, he himself and those of the upper echelon all had a much higher degree of education. Good way to preserve power.
And I'm reminded of how the 'higher ups' think of their subordinates. Working through school and between jobs, I have been both waitstaff and a janitor. Nothing - NOTHING - will convince a middle management executive that you're half brain-dead faster than to see you emptying garbage and dusting desks.
The funniest was at a tire supply place. DH and I were doing our nightly rounds and a man came out of what we'd already figured out was an after-hours meeting. He was very concerned that we not disturb them. He tried his best to voice his directions in words of only one syllable, voiced rather too slowly and far too loudly. But he ran into a word he had no way to simplify. So he pantomimed it, while speaking even more slowly and clearly. He didn't want us to run the V-A-C-U-U-M-N. His arm went back and forth, indicating that he'd at least seen it done before.
At the time, I was achieving a 4.0 at tech school while working two part-time jobs and full time school, and wasn't exactly undereducated before that. DH has a JD (law).
We allowed as how we thought we could manage that, while keeping reasonably straight faces. Then we escaped into the lunchroom and fell apart laughing. We tried to keep it quiet, but the next room might have heard us.
An educated population can see what you're up to. They can mock you. And they can insist on their rights and vote against you. Yes, some of the uneducated and unthinking have chosen that for personal reasons. Low self-esteem will always try to claw everybody else down to their level, because it's easier than trying to climb up and risking failure. But when the upper class tries to eliminate education for the lower classes, it's a blatant power play. Education is power and restriction is repression.
And don't diss the janitors. They may know more than you do.
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