"I think the problem is that in the mind of the manager I attempted to plant in the head of the other employees ... that you shouldn't just give away what is in your head for some one else to benefit."
Well, isn't that what you tried to do, actually? After all, you did call them out in a public forum, and you're repeating your chosen themes here. Granted, they're bona fide idiots -- no argument there. But bona fide idiots are everywhere. So you smile, shrug, and go back to the $8/hr.-job that you need, or at least don't want to lose.
It sounds a little like you feel that you're entitled to something in some way. In theory, perhaps you are, but in reality the majority of the world gets bitch-slapped on a daily basis in one way or another, even (and sometimes especially) those you're sure are on top of it all. On one hand, you need that $8/hr., enough so that if you're fired, it's a real problem. You want to know if it's even legal! On the other hand, you're wanting to stand up for the dignity of your fellow workers against a management that, plainly from their behavior, could give a reverse flying shit. And they had the audacity to let you go?! Dude, seriously? Did you expect them to think about your point carefully, look at each other with chagrin, and then thank you for elevating the quality of the discourse?
If you need money, make money. Improve your situation and protect your baseline. That's the way you accumulate power. If you don't care about power (or security) and you just want to fight for what's right, then that's a valid choice and good for you, do that. But then expect what goes along with that.
The only thing I felt entitled to was to voicing my opinion which the manager actually asked for in the meeting. I wasn't on a crusade I just said what I thought.
Well, isn't that what you tried to do, actually? After all, you did call them out in a public forum, and you're repeating your chosen themes here. Granted, they're bona fide idiots -- no argument there. But bona fide idiots are everywhere. So you smile, shrug, and go back to the $8/hr.-job that you need, or at least don't want to lose.
It sounds a little like you feel that you're entitled to something in some way. In theory, perhaps you are, but in reality the majority of the world gets bitch-slapped on a daily basis in one way or another, even (and sometimes especially) those you're sure are on top of it all. On one hand, you need that $8/hr., enough so that if you're fired, it's a real problem. You want to know if it's even legal! On the other hand, you're wanting to stand up for the dignity of your fellow workers against a management that, plainly from their behavior, could give a reverse flying shit. And they had the audacity to let you go?! Dude, seriously? Did you expect them to think about your point carefully, look at each other with chagrin, and then thank you for elevating the quality of the discourse?
If you need money, make money. Improve your situation and protect your baseline. That's the way you accumulate power. If you don't care about power (or security) and you just want to fight for what's right, then that's a valid choice and good for you, do that. But then expect what goes along with that.