To “Micro-Ethic” or Not to “Micro-Ethic”? – That is the Question

The other day, I went to my mechanic and one of the guys working at his shop side-hustled me. “Yuh could bring yuh car by me, brethren. These people does dig out people eye round here”. Interestingly, how I had come to this mechanic in the first place was through an identical solicitation to keep my eyes in their sockets.

At the time, I knew it felt slight slimy, but I told myself I was supporting my own -roots. I was doing my part in keeping commerce in the community. Plus, isn’t exposing yourself to a tiny bit of a virus the basic principle of a vaccination?

In 2013, rock star and self-proclaimed evidence-based ‘factivist’, Bono said: “the biggest disease is corruption, and the vaccine to that is transparency.” He was referring to obstacles standing in the way of eradicating extreme poverty around the world.

The thing is, in the world of the side hustle, almost every day, we make choices that could determine where the buck stops. In the ‘eat ah food’ 🍔 world of gigs and freelance hustles, getting too self-righteous can make the possibility of the bucks stopping all too real and frighteningly immediate.

Back to me and my mechanic. Once again, I was forced to deliberate and choose. Which community was I now a part of? Where does my solidarity lie? And the most immediate question: would I participate in extending the hustle into a second generation? Of course, this wasn’t an ethical dilemma of even slightly epic proportions in the context of today’s scheme of things. But, I had the time and luxury to ponder it. Does herd immunity begin with me? 🤑 💉 

One thing’s for sure: ethics and integrity begin with you and how you conduct your side hustle and how you respond to the side hustle of others – on the micro level. Choose wisely.

So here’s the question I eventually asked the mechanic: “Would you like it if this was your shop and one of your workers do what you jus do dey?”

I’m over my word count. But can ending with a question entice readers and entrap my editor to write me a cheque for a second or even third article? Hey, I’m being transparent.