Scabbing

 During the last strikes, I had made up my mind that I would never scab again. Yesterday, was the first of 18 days of strikes scheduled over the next months. And, I did scab again. I felt ashamed that I didn't participate, especially since I could hear the singing and the chants from the pickets. Maybe this is a cop-put but I didn't want to be the only one striking from my department, even though I know I am not going to be here after my contract runs out next summer, and I am doing my damndest to leave before that. I frequently seem to find myself among people who are from the opposite side of the political spectrum. During my six years in financial journalism, I was among people who economically conservative. During engineering, I didn't ask people their views but I am sure they skewed right. And, now, at the economics department at Bristol Uni. But just like I would never go to a protest alone, I don't like striking alone. I am not a trail-blazer or an instinctive rabble-rouser, and I am not going to feel guilty about that.