Posted: 7/14/2025
It wasn’t just one lie. It was every stage. Every decision. Every time I trusted the system to guide me toward a life of dignity and meaning, I was betrayed. Not failed—betrayed.
They told me to use my brain, not my body. That blue-collar work was beneath me. That the trades were for people who didn’t have options. That I was “too smart” for anything but a desk. So I followed the path they laid out—the college path, the office path, the “knowledge work” dream. And at every turn, the ground gave way beneath me.
Now I look around, and it’s clear: the very structure that raised us to be obedient knowledge workers is hollowing us out. AI is replacing the work we were promised would keep us safe. The capitalists are drooling. The executives are cashing out. And we’re being erased by dashboards and optimization talk.
Meanwhile, the work I would’ve loved—fixing things, building things, wiring circuits, climbing trees, carving real-world impact with my own hands—was siphoned off. Laughed off. Hidden. Now those roles are sacred, scarce, and strangely out of reach. I was told to dream big. What they meant was: dream safely within the machine.
But it’s the betrayal that burns most. Not just that I was steered wrong—but that I trusted. That I believed in good faith what turned out to be social engineering for profit. That they used me to build the very system that’s now phasing me out.
Every turn, I was betrayed. And I’m still here. Angry. Awake. Ready to name the theft—and carve something real from the fire.