---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Beyond the queues, the vacancy screens…"
description: "\"“Beyond the queues, the vacancy screens listed jobs in a multitude of languages. Invariably, they were low-paid and short-term dead-ends. Nearby, peopl..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98e/mark-cantrell-53485_beggars_beyond-the-queues-the-vacancy-screens-li_3051713.jpg"
---

#  Beyond the queues, the vacancy screens listed jobs in a…

![“Beyond the queues, the vacancy screens listed jobs in a multitude of languages. Invariably, they were low-paid and short-term dead-ends. Nearby, people in headphones sat at a bank of machines: the blind and the illiterate force-fed with ‘opportunities’ by soothing machine voices. On the far wall…” quote by Mark Cantrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98e/mark-cantrell-53485_beggars_beyond-the-queues-the-vacancy-screens-li_3051713.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98e/mark-cantrell-53485_beggars_beyond-the-queues-the-vacancy-screens-li_3051713.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98e/mark-cantrell-53485_beggars_beyond-the-queues-the-vacancy-screens-li_3051713.jpg)

> ““Beyond the queues, the vacancy screens listed jobs in a multitude of languages. Invariably, they were low-paid and short-term dead-ends. Nearby, people in headphones sat at a bank of machines: the blind and the illiterate force-fed with ‘opportunities’ by soothing machine voices. On the far wall, in large print, a poster declared: BEGGARS CANNOT BE CHOOSERS.””

[Mark Cantrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-cantrell/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The quote critiques how automated job platforms marginalize vulnerable workers, offering low‑pay, short‑term roles and treating the poor as passive recipients of “opportunities”.

**In simple terms:** Automation can trap the poor in low‑skill, low‑pay jobs and

Key Takeaway

Advocate for humane, inclusive employment policies.

Themes

exploitation automation inequality

Mood

critical somber

Type

social commentary analysis

When to use this quote

- job seekers
- policy makers
- social workers
- tech designers

Key Concepts

gig economy algorithmic bias digital divide

Questions to Reflect On

- How can technology be used to empower rather than exploit?
- What policies protect low‑skill workers?

A Different Perspective

Automation may also create new opportunities if designed ethically.

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## Related quotes

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> [“Still, she thought, when in Rome, any port in a storm, beggars can't be choosers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-connors/still-she-thought-when-in-rome-any-port-in-a-storm-beggars-can-t-be/)

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> [I just want to be nominated; beggars can't be choosers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-kidman/i-just-want-to-be-nominated-beggars-can-t-be-choosers/)

[Nicole Kidman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-kidman/)

> [Beggars should be no choosers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-heywood/beggars-should-be-no-choosers/)

[John Heywood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-heywood/)

> [“Don’t be so sily, Philippa,” the marchioness said, “Lord Castleton is an earl. Beggars cannot be choosers.” Penelope gritted her teeth at the adage,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-maclean/don-t-be-so-sily-philippa-the-marchioness-said-lord-castleton-is-an/)

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> [“Eric, you need to look at the whole picture," the PM said. "You look at the jobless as a huge pile of scrap and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-cantrell/eric-you-need-to-look-at-the-whole-picture-the-pm-said-you-look-at/)

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> [The closer you get to Number 10 the more you see what a back-breaking job that is, the pressure is absolutely constant and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lidington/the-closer-you-get-to-number-10-the-more-you-see-what-a-back-breaking/)

[David Lidington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lidington/)

> [Action is transitory, a step, a blow, The motion of a muscle, this way or that, 'Tis done--And in the after-vacancy, We wonder at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/action-is-transitory-a-step-a-blow-the-motion-of-a-muscle-this-way-or/)

[William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/)

> [It infuriated him to think that there were still people in the state who believed in a loving and merciful God. There are mystics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/it-infuriated-him-to-think-that-there-were-still-people-in-the-state/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [The infinity of this vacancy, the pervasive pain, the longing for some spirit, some lightness, some joy - that's all that is left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-manning/the-infinity-of-this-vacancy-the-pervasive-pain-the-longing-for-some/)

[Martha Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-manning/)

> [I felt I had to take the Celtic opportunity. You quickly learn that any managerial vacancy attracts up to 60 or 70 applicants, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barnes/i-felt-i-had-to-take-the-celtic-opportunity-you-quickly-learn-that/)

[John Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barnes/)

> [“The vacancy left by absence of worship is filled by mere killing of time and by boredom, which is directly related to inability to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-pieper/the-vacancy-left-by-absence-of-worship-is-filled-by-mere-killing-of/)

[Josef Pieper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-pieper/)

> [“This…hole in the world, man-shaped. Me-shaped. A vacancy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasinda-wilder/this-hole-in-the-world-man-shaped-me-shaped-a-vacancy/)

[Jasinda Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasinda-wilder/)

## More by Mark Cantrell

> [“If arts and music, precious gifts in themselves, were akin to memory, literature was the self-knowing of the species; the human mind accumulated, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-cantrell/if-arts-and-music-precious-gifts-in-themselves-were-akin-to-memory/)

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[Explore all 6 Mark Cantrell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-cantrell/)

## More Beggars quotes

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Browse all 138 Beggars quotes

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