Decades ago, people used to say that they were neutral like Switzerland, without irony. I used to say it myself, declaring that I was Switzerland when I did not want to take a stand. Then, we found out, truly, that Switzerland was not neutral, and, indeed, they were aiding the Germans in looting the Jewish… Continue Reading
There are a few words/phrases that make me instantly enraged. PC used to be one of them because people used it in a pejorative fashion. If someone was crass enough to bring up diversity issues, they were admonished for being PC. That has morphed into ‘woke’, which also makes me grind my teeth. What I… Continue Reading
Yesterday, I was ranting about ‘reverse _____ism’ and how much I loathe that argument. It’s lazy, derailing, and just boring. Today, at Ask A Manage,r there is a question about high-end gifts to team members to reward them for a job well done. It included money, a trip, and an individual gift (that’s the high-end… Continue Reading
Few things irk me more on a social justice level than, “If you reverse the situation, then–” I’m not saying it’s the most important, but it’s fingernails on the chalkboard annoying to me. To clarify, when someone snidely says, “Imagine if a guy did that to a woman! He would get so much shit for… Continue Reading
Yesterday, I was writing about culture and how those who are outside it. Today at Ask A Manager, Alison reran a question about what topics you should not talk about at work. She gave a pretty standard response, and commenters in the commentariat ran with it. The very first commenter said something about avoiding G.R.A.P.E.S.… Continue Reading
I go through my life being a weirdo and pretty much ignoring all the evidence that I am a weirdo because I know I’m a weirdo and I don’t really care. Most of the time. Plus, that’s too many uses of the word ‘weirdo’ in one sentence. But I’m making a point. The point being… Continue Reading
I’m still thinking about anarchy per my convo with Ian yesterday. In this case, though, I’m thinking about it in terms of business norms and how they’re used to keep people in line. I was reading an Ask A Manager post from 2016. It was from a manager who wanted to tell her young report… Continue Reading
I had started a different post, but Ian just said something to me that completely blew my mind. We were talking about societal powers and how we both called ourselves socialists. Comfortably. I would not even blink twice if someone callde me that. I mentioned that I was a libertarian with a small L because… Continue Reading
I’ve been talking about rules and why I don’t give a shit about them. When I was a kid, I was indoctrinated as to how things should be. My father, a narcissist with no sense of norms, had a highly-idiosyncratic idea of how people should act. In general, it was mostly that he should always… Continue Reading
For most of my life, I have been resigned to being ignored. I live in the in-between because I am not one of the two dominant groups in any category. I am Asian–not black or white. I am bi–not gay or straight. More recently, I am areligious–not a believer or an atheist. And, sigh, finally,… Continue Reading