Just got told to take a pay cut because it’s “better than nothing” and “immigrants don’t make that much anyways”

I'm unemployed since Monday, after going to work and being fired at lunchtime out of left field because “client is fed up with our shitshow that you spend six months trying to fix, and right as you were making progress, you got sick, so your colleagues tried to pick up the slack, failed, and now that you're back, we need to throw them a piece of meat to tell them that we 'did something'.” with the usual HR-esque, nebulous, “ThErE HaVe BeEn cOmPlaInTs”-type reasons for termination that it's oh so convenient that no one ever tells you about until it's too late. Honestly wanted to write a post about too, but haven't calmed down enough to not make everything some form of “fuck” “fucking” or “(mother)fucker”.

Anyway, also forgot to mention above, I'm an American expat living in Europe, working (worked, lol) in IT. Have been diligently whoring myself on Indeed ever since I got the boot, and a company called me about a WFH customer service position that would pay 1700 EUR a month – 800 than my last position. Recruiter quickly goes onto explain there's commission, where I can make up to an additional 300 every month. Either way it's a pay cut. A massive pay cut. When the entire world is reeling from inflation.

When I politely explained that my last job was paying much more, the recruiter I spoke with got… “snooty”.

“Snooty?”

“Snotty.”

“Snotty?”

…sorry, saw an opportunity to make myself chuckle and I took it, and I know for a fact many of yall are old enough to remember the movie that's from. Anyway he indignantly explains that, even though he couldn't quite say it directly, it's “better than nothing” and then goes onto offer that “I see you're not from the EU; this is normal, immigrants don't make so much here anyway”.

Motherf-

Legit just hung up. Like, the A U D A C I T Y. Hung up and smoked a cigarette (my first one in six weeks).

Also cynical, traumatized me fully believes that a lot of WFH positions are so insultingly low in wages so they can try to hook you on “well look how much you save on !” or better yet, they're meant for, say, a stay-at-home parent of a newborn, married to someone else who's out making the “real” money (no offense to parents or newborns), or as many of you have pointed out about various jobs, companies, etc. they really just want someone desperate, hence the “better than nothing”. Like why stop there, just be like “look bro is you tryna end up on the street next month or nah?”

Stopping here before I write a thesis of a rant post. Where's my cigarettes…