Janitors Cleaning Ladies and Us

Polls, TV political commentary, Twitter and other social media are not reliable sources for predictions. The best source are janitors. Janitors? Yes because they clean our mess. They are school janitors, hospital janitors, office buildings, conference centres and apartment building janitors.

Domestic staff know us more than our therapists, but we don’t discuss politics with the help. Let’s use ‘janitor’ as a generic term for all cleaners in the world, from the Oval Office to the mall bathroom. Janitors know more about politics than online analysts because they are the recipients. They eat policy cookies and cakes, baked by people insulated from reality.

Congress or Parliament makes the law, but it seldom affects Congressmen and MP’s because they live in a different world they enter with official cars. Janitors feel the oil crisis at the pump. They need the gas to drive home, but they cannot enter the door empty handed. Does your Congresswoman know how much a liter of gas costs today? Janitors stand at the vegetable section longer, mulling over prices. They switch to cheaper and less healthy meat, when the dollar continues to descend in value.

Janitors flip states from red to blue, or blue to red because they work for candidates running for office. They know when campaign statements do not correspond with the way candidates live. Janitors upset elections because they know when campaign promises will not work, because they have traveled that road before. They are the beasts of burden.

Ask the janitor.

Nonqaba waka Msimang

Blogger Without Borders