Hate the Hustle, Not the Hustler

On compassion for the people

Photo by Kyle Glenn

American Dream

Meritocracy is a myth we can’t scrape 
from the soles of our shoes—
Have you heard her story? She pulled 
herself up by invisible bootstraps. 
Have you tried selling plasma? Harvesting 
your eggs?  Counting change to buy gas 
to deliver groceries for a fee? 
The perpetual hustle & grind to survive
as parents of hungry children pay taxes 
to bomb other children. And we the people, 
fatigued & frightened, our hopeful hearts 
flayed to a pulp. The sky so blue it burns.

Earlier this week, in an attempt to numb myself from the chaos of U.S. politics, I found myself doom-scrolling when I came across someone venting about how exhausted they were from being constantly “sold to.” At first, I nodded along. I get it — the endless churn of ads, influencers pushing diet elixirs and $400 sweaters — it’s a lot. But then they pivoted to criticizing individuals hustling to sell their own goods and services, and something in me flinched.

It hit a nerve, because I know …