May Day Musings
You’ve no reason to know Dexter Morgan, the serial killer in the 2006–2013-minted eight seasons of Dexter flick I watch on Netflix. During the daytime, he is a blood pattern analyst with the Miami Metro Police Department, and after sunset, he is a vigilante serial killer. What stopped me in my tracks in Season 5 Episode 1 was the painted rectangular board hung in the container home of a suspect truck driver to divert the attention of the police department so that the vigilante could extinguish the Trinity Killer Arthur Mitchell.
Back to the board in the truck driver’s container home. Zoom in on the board now. It reads: TRUCKERS ARE THE BACKBONE OF AMERICA. This message, often associated with truck drivers, carries a significant weight. It symbolizes the crucial role they play in our society, transporting goods and keeping our economy running. Yet, it also hints at the underappreciation and lack of understanding of their profession.
You may ask, what is so unique about it? I have rarely encountered truck drivers hoisting such notices in their dwellings. Except for truckers, everyone from Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH), and transport lobbyists mouth this message on every possible occasion. I have nothing against it.
When confronted, truck drivers often dismiss such messages and hoardings as a ‘big joke.’ This is not just a height of hypocrisy, but a clear indication of the lack of support and care for their welfare. It’s a situation that should concern us all.
Post-Covid19, there is a greater “awareness” about the truck drivers’ role. Still miles to go to notice in the attitude of stakeholders — logistic professionals, highway bureaucracy, government at the federal and state level and a host of milions who ‘survive’ on the sweat of truckers.
While the entire country is shut down to celebrate May Day (1 May) today, truckers tryst with the tarmac has not died down. They have no weekends. They have no fixed holidays or day offs. They are at the wheels steering goods from factories to remote warehouses and retail outlets throughout the length and breadth of mera Bharat mahaan so that you and I can eat, drink, and live. Except not carrying arms and ammunitiions like our soldiers on national boundaries, these soldiers on highways are in no way less important. Think.
#MayDay #truckers #America #Dexter #Netflix
