Ideological Bigotry Part XI: Another activist lunatic
I am not sure if yesterday was some left wing ideological holiday, or if the inmates in the political asylum were all released onto the streets at once. Nevertheless, I was the victim of behavior that made San Francisco look like a city of functional people.
I have made it clear over and over that there are liberals in society that are normal human beings. Being liberal does not automatically make you hateful, or a wack job. If anything, my blog has been about fighting ideological bigotry. Yet in the last 24 hours, I have been on the receiving end of behavior that should make even liberals be embarrassed. I am a provocative person, but I know when lines of decency have been crossed.
The incident took place at work. For legal reasons, I have to speak in cryptic language. What I can say for certainty is that politics has no place in the workplace. Despite workplace rules set up by corrupt labor lawyers (redundant, I know) that want free speech for everybody except conservatives, individuals of all political stripes should restrain their beliefs when dealing with customers. I have no idea what the political views are of my auto mechanic, my doctor, or my dry cleaner. I only care that my car, my body, and my clothing are in better condition after visiting them than before.
What separates activists from normal people is that activists simply cannot understand that most people want to get through their day without being shouted at, preached to, or bombarded with leaflets. Maybe many of these people could afford clean shirts if they did not spend all their money on leaflets.
Anyway, anybody, even me, can generalize. Specific examples are now the public domain.
At work, I was having a telephone conversation with a woman whose job was to to mediate a dispute between a firm and a client. Mediation can be a vital tool in negotiations, whether it be business disagreements or divorce settlements. A mediator must be calm, cool, and levelheaded. They have to take parties that may be at each other’s throats, and keep the discussion rational.
This one mediator may or may not be a disgrace to her profession. I do not like to base an entire career on one incident, but the incident was pretty hairy.
I have spoken with her several times, and it is a mind numbing discussion. She spends the first 20 minutes reminding me of her credentials. I call this the “Harvard Syndrome.” There was an episode of “Frasier” where series lead Kelsey Grammar mentioned his Harvard background. His boss replied, “I find it obnoxious that you have to mention that you went to Harvard in every sentence.” It is like listening to Hillary Clinton brag about her “solutions,” and her 35 years of experience. General Colin Powell had 35 years of experience in the military, but he does not spend his life boring people about it. He does what dignified people do. He goes about his business. Professionals do not have to announce how professional they are. They are work horses, not show horses.
This woman kept mentioning her 16 1/2 years of experience, reminding me of a child that still celebrates their half birthday. She kept mentioning her success rate, which I had no way of corroborating at that moment. She is successful because she says so.
Nevertheless, without evidence to the contrary, I could just sleep through the 20 minutes where she tells me of her god like status. Maybe she does not realize how boring it is, but then again, my main criteria for judging somebody is whether or not they get the job done. As long as she was effective, the rest can be forgiven. This where all hades broke loose on the telephone.
She made recommendations to me. I disagreed with her proposed resolution. I was not attacking her personally. I am sure she put some effort into her work. Yet I was the customer, and I simply felt that she was asking for more than I was willing to give. I politely let her know that despite her efforts, the two parties were apart, and that negotiations most likely had broken down.
I was not aware how personal this mediator valued her success rate. She did her work, I did not like the results, and decided to reject the proposed offer. Mediation is not binding, and I thought I was engaging in my normal right to take an alternative approach.
The mediator then went ballistic on the telephone. She violated more than one rule of professionalism.
First of all, she began spewing profanity in a rapid clip. I was in shock. She threw out words that rhymed with spit, luck, and rap. This is not an acceptable way for a professional to behave, especially one that is a mediator! She made it clear we would regret not taking her advice, that if we ignored her we ran the risk of facing financial consequences worse than what she was proposing, and that I “needed to understand this, and make my boss understand this as well.”
I don’t “need” to understand such simple concepts as settling or rolling the dice. I understand the concept of risk vs reward. My analysis simply disagreed with hers in terms of the value of settling. Also, the idea that I need to “explain” the situation to my boss implies that he is an imbecile that has not thought of this. I guess he was too busy building a successful business to think about things such as the value of a dollar today versus two dollars tomorrow. I explained to her that my boss understood the situation, considered the advice, but decided to reject it. A professional can advise a client, but at the end of the day, the client is the boss.
After again trying to explain to the mediator that we understood the risks of refusing to settle, and that we were completely prepared to accept the consequences, the mediator went into a 7 to 10 minute profanity laced tirade. I held the phone away from my ear and contemplated various thoughts, ranging from whether or not this hysterical woman needed medication to why my parents did not set me up with a trust fund (Actually, for the sake of ethics, I was most likely contemplating my navel. My middle shirt button was open from a defect in the material. A necktie hides this.).
The mediator then completely went off the rails, stating, “You can’t take the ‘My way or the highway attitude.’ You can’t be like George W. Bush going into Iraq hell bent on war without considering the ramifications of cowboy diplomacy guns blazing. You have to work with people.”
I was stunned at this point. Not one aspect of this situation had anything to do with politics. This was a business dispute that was completely apolitical. Also, again, this was not the other side of the dispute. This was the mediator!
After literally waiting for her to stop speaking, I conducted myself in a professional manner. When I am not at work, I am perfectly comfortable taking verbal brickbats to the skulls of liberals. At work, I do not have that luxury. I waited for her to stop. Then I waited some more. Finally, I spoke.
“(name redacted), this is a very divided country. So before you start injecting your personal politics into this situation, in addition to your cursing at me, you should know that I am a rock ribbed supporter of President Bush. I see no reason to continue this conversation.”
She did try to apologize, but instead of leaving it at that, she then went back into her standard stump speech involving her credentials and why we should listen to her. I had to cut her off.
“I’ve heard what you had to say, quite clearly. I have made my decision. My firm will handle this as we see fit, and your left wing politics should not have been brought up. I am leaving for the day, there is nothing left to discuss, and I am off to drive home in my car containing my Bush-Cheney bumper sticker. Have a good day.”
Again, for the sake of ethics, I have no bumper stickers on my car. Women like this are the reason why. I have encountered enough violent “peace” activists to avoid considering taking such a risk.
Some people in this world will accuse me of cherry picking. They will say things like, “ok, I agree with you, this lady is nuts, but it is not fair to paint a broad brush.”
How many of these lunatics do I have to encounter before people on the far left realize that their rage is the norm, not an aberration?
How do I take these life forms and get them to become civilized human beings?
What do I have to do to get through a week without being exposed to the ugliness of those that let their ideological bigotry define them?
Those that want to say that both sides do it are flat out wrong. Those on the right behaving this way are an aberration, especially since labor laws ban conservatives from speaking to begin with.
At work, everybody should shut up. Receptionists should answer the switchboard. Salespeople should talk about the produce they are selling. The managers should focus on making sure things are running smoothly. Advisers should offer advice, but understand that the right to give advice does not imply or require consent.
In most organizations, whether they manufactures widgets or offer high tech widget consulting services, political activism ranges from not helpful to detrimental.
My next decision is to decide whether to let this matter go or file a formal professional complaint.
Either way, this woman might wish to rethink her approach. Even old dogs can learn new tricks. Perhaps some additional training would be appropriate. I will resist the urge to make a remark about a female dog, even though what she said to me was much worse.
eric
April 12th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
She sounds like my mother. Was her name Mona ?
I guess a night on the town was out of the question.
April 12th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Now you know my daily routine as an educator. I’ve had to grow a skin so thick that people often accuse me of being a callous.
The sad thing is that none of my colleagues see themselves as anything other than level-headed moderates.
April 12th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Having had the wondferfully fulfilling priviledge of performing a few years of corporate collections (please God, will someone please shoot me!), I can honestly only ask this: What the heck was the proposal, what was yours and what the heck did you say to her? Man, I would love to have been a fly on that conference call circuit. Good times!
I’ve butted heads with all sorts in my pursuit of correctitude. My only concern was always my company first. Not the customers. Not the government. Just my company. As long as they didn’t ask me to do anything I thought wasn’t kosher, the loyalty remained. Politics rarely entered into it. In the corporate world, politics are just a personal hobby. I was well known as a progressive liberal type and only rarely, if ever, did it cause me any problems. If anything, my sense of humor (lets just call it sordid) was always my bad little monkey.
I did lose my head once or twice (or 23 times). But only once or twice was wrong in standing rather than just my reactions (well, standard affectations, really). In the end if you’re right you’re right, and that’s that. In the private sector there are far fewer gray areas than in the public sector… [segway! yeah!!!}
Chris, as a teacher’s spouse from what I understand teachers try to keep their politics to themselves. Think of it as the Separation of Politics and School. After all, it doesn’t matter if you’re a republican or a democrat, 2+2 still equals four. It doesn’t matter if you’re a conservative or a liberal, the note “C” is till the note “C.” Etc. Now when it comes to history, literature, science, and the higher subjects therein, politics can be a ubiquitous pain in the @$$, but if you actively try to keep it out, and you are a true professional, you’ll find a way to be objective. I’d bet most of your collegues are more poltical than you realize - or would want to know.
I usually got things worked out.
I used to thrive on convincing people I was a conservative (or whatever), just for laughs (and diplomacy), by being completely honest but for omission and thus find where they stood so then I could relate to them better. I was a brilliant collections guy. Rarely (really) lost it.
JMJ
April 12th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
“Being liberal does automatically make you hateful, or a wack job.” Is this what you intended to say? If it is, it’s fine by me - but just seemed that your next sentence was going another way.
I know you DO NOT have bumper sticker on your car because you are conservative and most of us don’t do bumper stickers:-)
I don’t know what to tell you on this one, but I’m leaning toward filing the complaint.
Eric, I’ve been away from the keyboard for months. It was something I couldn’t get around. Anyway, I’m back and looking forward to your clever and insightful posts.
Also, YOU’VE BEEN TAGGED WITH A MEME! Hey, it’s a really easy one. You just write 6 words about yourself. Come on over take a look at your invitation: http://maggiesnotebook.blogspot.com
Maggie
Maggie’s Notebook
April 12th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Oops! I gave you the wrong url:
http://maggiesnotebook.blogspot.com/2008/04/tagged-with-memoire-or-epitaph.html
Maggie
April 12th, 2008 at 10:27 pm
Well, Jersey, you’re providing an excellent illustration of my point. The idea that teachers try to keep their politics out of their work is just plain myopic. It’s exactly what the lefties say at school.
Your spouse must not be a union member.
April 13th, 2008 at 4:35 am
All I can say, Eric, is that you handled the situation much, much differently than I know I would have. So, so thankful that I’m a happy homemaker now and not in any part of what I did in my “past life,” in the legal field.
Am, curious, about one thing, though… Figured out what rhymes with spit and luck, but what rhymes with rap?
April 13th, 2008 at 8:49 am
Heh, Teh curiousity is strong in you Eric. I would have just hung up, or at least asked for a more qualified, un- biased mediator. (then watch the phone explode)
April 13th, 2008 at 9:33 am
Chris, you said it yourself! What, do you think by some strange coincidence you work with nothing but middling, on-the-fence, cetrist, wsiky washy moderates? Of course not! They simply are professional enough to keep their politic out of the workplace. As for that “myopic” comment, I have no idea what you meant by that. It makes no sense. As for that “lefties” crack, you ought to get out more - conservatives are just as guilty of bleeding their politics on the classroom floor (thank God most conservatives are far too personally greedy to ever consider a giving career like teaching). As for that “union” crack, I can tell you hate all American workers and are some kind of self-hating teacher, so I won’t even bother to address that further.
JMJ
April 13th, 2008 at 10:05 am
I understood Chris’s myopic point very well. Its idealistic to think that teachers will not infuse their political feelings at one point or another during their teachings.
The short term vision is that it wont or shouldn’t happen, but it does eventually.
Cons are not half as guilty of bleeding their politics into the classroom simply because you made the point yourself jersey that they are too greedy to take up the profession.
But hey ! if you want to spread a political doctrine instead of make money what better way to do it than to be a teacher in our public schools ?
Hell, our colleges are the best example there is of American tax dollars funding teachers with liberal agendas.
It has nothing to do with greed.
If teachers today were held to a higher standard maybe the pay scale would increase.
But since most lib’s settle for mediocrity its no surprise that they accept their wages and focus on the nobility of spreading moonbatitis in our schools.
April 13th, 2008 at 10:30 am
“I understood Chris’s myopic point very well. Its idealistic to think that teachers will not infuse their political feelings at one point or another during their teachings.”
Don’t be silly. I never said teachers, or anyone else, were perfect at keeping their politics from work (heck, at the collegiate level most don’t even bother to try - but that’s another matter). But as Chris said, most do and do it pretty well - that’s why he thinks they’re all moderates.
As for your thoughts about teachers, how about if I said this: “If chefs today were held to a higher standard maybe the pay scale would increase.
But since most cons settle for mediocrity its no surprise that they accept their wages and focus on the nobility of spreading moonbatitis in our restaurants.”
What a goofy comment. Thank God for teachers, and thank God most conservatives are too selfish to become teachers.
JMJ
April 13th, 2008 at 11:09 am
As usual, Jeresey doesn’t understand a word. I didn’t say they were all moderates. I said they think they’re all moderates. Huge difference. That’s what “myopic” means. You can’t understand what I read because you’re nearsighted. Liberal teachers believe only conservatives are unable to keep their politics in check. When liberal teachers spout theirs, it’s because they think they’re right and no one has any business having an opinion that differs.
April 13th, 2008 at 11:15 am
Not goofy at all.
I am all to well aware of the constraints unions put on wages. Thats why as a chef I chose not to work in union houses. Deviating from the recipe or system is discouraged and creativity takes a crap.
We get our own restaurants and spread common sense.
Conservatives are too smart to go into a classroom full of obnoxious narcissistic punks and get paid squat.
You’re rendidtion of my comment shows an incredicle lack of creativity. It practically doesnt make any sense or jive at all.
Libs always take jobs that involve some sense of ego feeding that do no real good for society but only inflate their own self worth.
Socially inept martyrs.
April 13th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Yes, Chris, I understood you. “As usual, Jeresey doesn’t understand a word. I didn’t say they were all moderates. I said they think they’re all moderates.” Got it. Had it. At least that’s what they tell you. Got it?
“You can’t understand what I read because you’re nearsighted.”
Funny. Now see, I thought that would be more of a problem is I was farsighted, or had some astigmatic problem with reading. Huh. Just goes to show…
“Liberal teachers believe only conservatives are unable to keep their politics in check.”
Now that’s funny man! You’re a conservative complaining about liberal teachers and exclaiming “Liberal teachers believe only conservatives are unable to keep their politics in check.” Man. You are funny. I’d love to have a drink (or ten) with you.
“When liberal teachers spout theirs, it’s because they think they’re right and no one has any business having an opinion that differs.”
Yes Chris. And if you remove the word “liberal” from that sentence, its exactly as true (for whatever that’s worth).
Micky,
“I am all to well aware of the constraints unions put on wages.”
Huh. What do they care being aware of something that isn’t true? Oh yeah, insane. And I thought unions drove up wages, and that was the whole beef with them. But no, apparently it’s about “merit pay” and “the right to work” (no right to privacy, healthcare, education - but you have a right to work!). Hey Micky - in Right to Work states people make a lot less than in most all the other states. Conservatism has here, once again and as usual, failed.
“Libs always take jobs that involve some sense of ego feeding that do no real good for society but only inflate their own self worth.”
Yeah. Like teaching, or performing social work, or laborers, or all the other sorts of people who are “liberals.” No. Conservatives live to give, baby! It’s all about their fellow man, the future for their kids! Cons have no corner on the good person market, Micky. They’re people just like you and me.
JMJ
April 13th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
You still haven’t gotten it Jersey. The fact is, liberal History teachers, for example, think there’s absolutely no problem with teaching Howard Zinn. It’s an accepted text no one but a few of us question. Bring in Larry Schweikart or Tom Woods and watch the fur fly.
April 13th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Let me tell you something Jersey, you’re wrong.
You could stand to learn something once in a while if you actually looked at hings from a perspective other than politics or a liberal ideological standpoint.
First of all , yes, unions do drive up wages. but mostly for those who have seniority and not any real sense of individualism or creativity. And unions also create C A P S !!!! for salaries and wages which is why I don’t work union houses.
In 1979 I did an ice carving for the Kona Hilton. It was a schooner with two masts that stood 6 feet tall and was 25 feet long and filled with seafood.
As a garde` mange I was being paid on union scale 16.50 an hour bucks an hour..
The whole piece took me 4 hours to make which grossed me 66.00 dollars.
The hotel charged the client 1300.00 for the ice carving as a buffet center piece.
The ice cost about 200.00 bucks. At a cost ratio of 33% to cover overhead including the cost of the ice the hotel was into the carving for about 400.00 + 66.00 for me.
I complained to the union that I was getting screwed. The hotel made off with 840.00 and I got a lousy 66.00. The union told me that in order to make things a little more fair they would pay me executive che salary at prorate which would elevate me to about 30.00 and hour. So instead of 66.00 I would of made 120.00.
I told them to go stuff themselves.
I carve ice now upon request and I get paid what I’m worth.
I get the 1300.00 dollars and pay for the ice.
Its not so much that union drive up wages as it is the fact that most union workers are not motivated to perform or hold a higher standard because no matter how screwed up their work is they have job security.
We don’t get much bang for our buck in union houses. So that is why the wages are considered high, simply because they don’t commensurate with the end or gross product.
JMJ:
“Cons have no corner on the good person market, Micky. They’re people just like you and me.”
BS !! Do some research once in a while
Its also a statistical fact that conservatives give more to charity than liberals do, mostly due to faith based initiatives.
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/204/story_20419_1.html
The child of academics, raised in a liberal household and educated in the liberal arts, Brooks has written a book that concludes religious conservatives donate far more money than secular liberals to all sorts of charitable activities, irrespective of income.
When it comes to helping the needy, Brooks writes: “For too long, liberals have been claiming they are the most virtuous members of American society. Although they usually give less to charity, they have nevertheless lambasted conservatives for their callousness in the face of social injustice.”
When it comes to helping the needy, Brooks writes: “For too long, liberals have been claiming they are the most virtuous members of American society. Although they usually give less to charity, they have nevertheless lambasted conservatives for their callousness in the face of social injustice.”
The book’s basic findings are that conservatives who practice religion, live in traditional nuclear families and reject the notion that the government should engage in income redistribution are the most generous Americans, by any measure.
Conversely, secular liberals who believe fervently in government entitlement programs give far less to charity. They want everyone’s tax dollars to support charitable causes and are reluctant to write checks to those causes, even when governments don’t provide them with enough money. ”
JMJ:
“They’re people just like you and me.”
So what ?
Conservatives are better people.
How’s that for an opinion.
Its typical that a lib thinks we are all the same.
And as far as liberal indoctrination in our schools goes.
Any sane clear thinking person can recall hundreds of instances where professors and teachers have been accused and found responsible for liberal biased teachings. Its no secret.
http://media.www.gwhatchet.com/media/storage/paper332/news/2005/09/22/UWireDcBureau/Liberal.Professors.Outnumber.Conservatives.Study.Finds-994859.shtml
“”The American College Teacher,” based on a survey conducted by UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute, found that roughly 52 percent of American college professors describe themselves as “far left” or “liberal,” while only 20 percent said they were “far right” or “conservative.”
The study, conducted every three years, offers a snapshot of college professors in the United States. Researchers asked 40,670 professors from across the country a range of questions regarding job satisfaction, their students and their personal beliefs.
Regarding political views, the findings suggest a shrinking middle ground among university faculty. Only 29 percent of those surveyed identified themselves as moderates, compared to 40 percent just 15 years ago. ”
Face it Jersey, you could stand to step away from your conservative derangement syndrome once in a while
April 13th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Chris, quick lesson in qualifications: Zinn and Woods are both Harvard/Columbia guys. The other guy I don’t know. So much for the leftist academy.
Micky, when the day comes by that some institution can successfully and persistently judge “any real sense of individualism or creativity,” I will personally say something nice about conservatism.
JMJ
April 13th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
That was just plain weak and stupid.
Who are you to judge on the validity or viability of an individual ?
Try going to a museum.
There can be no group without individuals.
But you can have individuals without groups.
As far as saying anything nice goes.
I compare your condition to Turrets syndrome.
Besides that, I could care less what anyone or institution judges my individualism.
Who cares.
The fact is that you are wrong in your glorification of unions and moonbat professors.
April 13th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
“The fact is that you are wrong in your glorification of unions and moonbat professors.”
My what of what? My glorification?
The only thing I glorify is my family. All the rest can go each it and I. Just kidding. All the rest are just fine with me, as long as they leave me alone and I leave them alone. That’s what rights are all about, after all, right? Rights? Right?
JMJ
April 13th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
You’re full of it.
Play semantics if you want.
You’ve already come out on the short end of this debate by once again offering nothing more than platitudes , opinions and empty statements that hold no reputable context that can prove or portray anything
Leave me alone , leave them alone, bla bla.
Then why wont liberals just leave everyone the hell alone ?
April 14th, 2008 at 11:52 am
How interesting, Eric. It’s funny how you and I are so similar in our political leanings yet I almost always find something to disagree with you about. In this instance, it’s the concept of keeping politics out of the workplace. While I agree that it shouldn’t have anything to do with the work being performed, the workplace is where I have many acquaintences that I love to verbally spar with. I like getting my conservative badge on early when people start talking about politics because it seems to moderate their intemperate comments and it seems unfair to let them say things they wouldn’t in the presence of the enemy. My former boss was a big Bush basher and I had to let her know that I supported Bush. I had hoped we could talk about her view of his environmental policy, but she stopped talking about politics with me. Oh, well. I did discover another conservative on the other side of the war issue and we’d battle back and forth over history and intentions and send each other links of people that supported our positions, then attack the other person’s experts. Great fun. Too bad he moved on to another company. Work comes first, but when there’s time I love to mix it up with those around me. Hm. I wonder if that’s why they’re not inviting me out to lunch?
By the way, that Jewish Scouter I linked you to before. He’s a mediator, too. He came to my daughter’s Girl Scout meeting to talk about conflict resolution. I can’t even imagine those words you hinted at ever coming out of his mouth in private, much less in a professional setting. His job is all about getting people to agree on something. I can’t imagine browbeating works well in that situation, but that’s just my view.
You certainly handled that situation better than I would have. I know I would have messed with her head more than you did. Poor impulse control. That’s why I’m writing this post on company time instead of making pretty graphs. Hm. I really should get back to that.