Saturday, August 30, 2008
Running Amok: Women, the workplace, and free speech.
I am the ONLY "swinging dick" where I work. I get so frustrated with the bitchy, dramatic cruelness that some women display as their dominant personality trait that I sometimes find myself disgusted with women in general. I know deep in my heart I shouldn't be. That's the essence of prejudice isn't it? The censure of a whole group for the misdeeds of a few? God-dammit; I'm better than that. But for Christ's sake, since I started working at the Animal Shelter, my once rich and fulfilled sexual self-image has, like Elvis, left the building.
Work with me here, people.
First and foremost, I make no apologies for my words; they are written out of fulminant and raw frustration. I certainly don't believe in what I refer to as the "Clark Gable Slap-a-Sassy-Bitch-in-the-Face” times of yore, but I do believe that the proverbial fence has swung too far the other way and that political correctness has largely robbed a man of his ability to tell females, or anyone else for that matter, exactly what he thinks directly to their face, especially within the workplace.
Any assertive response by a man to a woman is perceived to be "aggressive" and is thus subject to sanction. This fact was pointed out to me by an Australian friend of mine a few years ago. He said, “Your women run the show here; you can’t say shit about it, and it’s all your fault. You Americans have given your women too much power and the men have been totally emasculated. You have given away the farm out of “white man’s guilt.” We Australians have acted similarly with regard to the Aborigines, but not to the extent that you did.” I thought a lot about what he said, and I believe that the words of wisdom he imparted to me that day were truer than I had wanted to admit.
I absolutely love women, and I don’t consider myself to be a card-carrying misogynist, but the truth is the truth.
On a larger scale, it is my belief that political correctness has damaged this nation irreparably. If someone claims to be offended by someone else’s views on whatever-the-fuck, it automatically gives them the right to become prejudiced against, and summarily dismiss the other person as “intolerant." In actuality, it is the person who claims to have been offended that is ultimately the intolerant one. Mere disagreement must not be confused with intolerance. The unimpugnable, uninhibited flow of ideas between a nation's citizens, whether you agree with the other person or not, is essential to the continuance of a truly free society.
William O. Douglas was the longest serving Supreme Court Justice. Appointed by FDR, Justice Douglas served on the Court until the Ford administration. He was known as a staunch defender of the Constitution and individual rights; especially the rights and guarantees afforded to us by the First Amendment. I think that he sums it up best:
"Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us."
and
"The First Amendment makes confidence in the common sense of our people and in the maturity of their judgment the great postulate of our democracy."
Furthermore, there is a lot of harmless human interaction, especially between men and women in the workplace, that seems to cause excessively sensitive people to become offended, and the level of immaturity displayed by the offended borders on the hilarious. Good Lord, and grow the hell up. What isn’t funny is that if filed as a complaint, the person who says that they’re “offended” can easily affect the other person’s employment status through threat of a lawsuit. No matter how ridiculous the charge of harassment might be, it is infinitely easier for the company to simply get rid of the “offender” instead of ignoring the hyper-sensitive complainer.
A perfect example: A lady I work with showed me a cat that had markings on its back that looked like wings. I agreed with her, and I said that if it was my cat, I'd name it "Always Ultra." Later in the day when we were speaking, she stated that what I said had amounted to sexual harassment. Covering my ass, I had to say that I was deeply and honestly sorry. In reality, I was more than pretty pissed off at her. In different social climes, I would have told her a.) to get over herself, and b.) to have a nice, hot cup of "shut the fuck up."
On a funnier note, she stated during the same conversation that I had also offended her in the previous week. I was prepping a dog (shaving its balls) for surgery, and I jokingly asked aloud if anyone would prefer that I gave it a "sweet Brazilian" since I was “already down there.” If you can’t laugh at the utterly humbling moments in your life, then life just ain’t worth living
"Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned / Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned."
-The Mourning Bride by William Congreve, 1697.
These are quintessential examples of what makes me wonder, just exactly what the fuck is wrong with people. Had I somehow fractured her at the very core of her personality, or wounded her delicate sensibilities to the point that she would never regain her child-like innocence? Like Nell Carter said, "Gimme a Break!"
It's not like I took her to a Tijuana donkey show on a first date, and then awkwardly tried to force my finger in her ass during the middle of the strange, bestial spectacle before we had even kissed, but that's what she tried to make me feel like.
She has wondered aloud on a few occasions why she can't find a solid man to have kids with. She said that not having kids was the "biggest empty" in her life. I wanted to, desperately in fact, tell her that I knew exactly why, but as she stated "we live in a PC world so you better get used to it." For many reasons, not the least of which is that she can go fuck herself, I kept my mouth shut and I would bet a hefty sum that she'll continue to be lonely for quite some time.
Political correctness has been bastardized into a way of stifling people’s exercising of their 1st amendment rights that guarantee free speech. It has created a deep chasm between people in this country, and continues to fuel the raging inferno that is the malignant contempt and mistrust people harbor for one another just under, and oftentimes over the surface.
Peace,
Jet
Work with me here, people.
First and foremost, I make no apologies for my words; they are written out of fulminant and raw frustration. I certainly don't believe in what I refer to as the "Clark Gable Slap-a-Sassy-Bitch-in-the-Face” times of yore, but I do believe that the proverbial fence has swung too far the other way and that political correctness has largely robbed a man of his ability to tell females, or anyone else for that matter, exactly what he thinks directly to their face, especially within the workplace.
Any assertive response by a man to a woman is perceived to be "aggressive" and is thus subject to sanction. This fact was pointed out to me by an Australian friend of mine a few years ago. He said, “Your women run the show here; you can’t say shit about it, and it’s all your fault. You Americans have given your women too much power and the men have been totally emasculated. You have given away the farm out of “white man’s guilt.” We Australians have acted similarly with regard to the Aborigines, but not to the extent that you did.” I thought a lot about what he said, and I believe that the words of wisdom he imparted to me that day were truer than I had wanted to admit.
I absolutely love women, and I don’t consider myself to be a card-carrying misogynist, but the truth is the truth.
On a larger scale, it is my belief that political correctness has damaged this nation irreparably. If someone claims to be offended by someone else’s views on whatever-the-fuck, it automatically gives them the right to become prejudiced against, and summarily dismiss the other person as “intolerant." In actuality, it is the person who claims to have been offended that is ultimately the intolerant one. Mere disagreement must not be confused with intolerance. The unimpugnable, uninhibited flow of ideas between a nation's citizens, whether you agree with the other person or not, is essential to the continuance of a truly free society.
William O. Douglas was the longest serving Supreme Court Justice. Appointed by FDR, Justice Douglas served on the Court until the Ford administration. He was known as a staunch defender of the Constitution and individual rights; especially the rights and guarantees afforded to us by the First Amendment. I think that he sums it up best:
"Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us."
and
"The First Amendment makes confidence in the common sense of our people and in the maturity of their judgment the great postulate of our democracy."
Furthermore, there is a lot of harmless human interaction, especially between men and women in the workplace, that seems to cause excessively sensitive people to become offended, and the level of immaturity displayed by the offended borders on the hilarious. Good Lord, and grow the hell up. What isn’t funny is that if filed as a complaint, the person who says that they’re “offended” can easily affect the other person’s employment status through threat of a lawsuit. No matter how ridiculous the charge of harassment might be, it is infinitely easier for the company to simply get rid of the “offender” instead of ignoring the hyper-sensitive complainer.
A perfect example: A lady I work with showed me a cat that had markings on its back that looked like wings. I agreed with her, and I said that if it was my cat, I'd name it "Always Ultra." Later in the day when we were speaking, she stated that what I said had amounted to sexual harassment. Covering my ass, I had to say that I was deeply and honestly sorry. In reality, I was more than pretty pissed off at her. In different social climes, I would have told her a.) to get over herself, and b.) to have a nice, hot cup of "shut the fuck up."
On a funnier note, she stated during the same conversation that I had also offended her in the previous week. I was prepping a dog (shaving its balls) for surgery, and I jokingly asked aloud if anyone would prefer that I gave it a "sweet Brazilian" since I was “already down there.” If you can’t laugh at the utterly humbling moments in your life, then life just ain’t worth living
"Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned / Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned."
-The Mourning Bride by William Congreve, 1697.
These are quintessential examples of what makes me wonder, just exactly what the fuck is wrong with people. Had I somehow fractured her at the very core of her personality, or wounded her delicate sensibilities to the point that she would never regain her child-like innocence? Like Nell Carter said, "Gimme a Break!"
It's not like I took her to a Tijuana donkey show on a first date, and then awkwardly tried to force my finger in her ass during the middle of the strange, bestial spectacle before we had even kissed, but that's what she tried to make me feel like.
She has wondered aloud on a few occasions why she can't find a solid man to have kids with. She said that not having kids was the "biggest empty" in her life. I wanted to, desperately in fact, tell her that I knew exactly why, but as she stated "we live in a PC world so you better get used to it." For many reasons, not the least of which is that she can go fuck herself, I kept my mouth shut and I would bet a hefty sum that she'll continue to be lonely for quite some time.
Political correctness has been bastardized into a way of stifling people’s exercising of their 1st amendment rights that guarantee free speech. It has created a deep chasm between people in this country, and continues to fuel the raging inferno that is the malignant contempt and mistrust people harbor for one another just under, and oftentimes over the surface.
Peace,
Jet
The Good In Me Is Gone
The Good in me is gone
Fuck em’ all
White heat of burning embers
Rains down on you
The light means nothing
I lurk in the deepening void
I will take from you
My payment in bright crimson
The good in me is gone
Wrested from me
By the blindly self-righteous
In a fleeting moment
Not just once
But over and over again
I’m still here
Waiting for you to be mine
The good in me is gone
I hone pointed steel
My salty tears turn to hate
We’re joined by your blood
As it runs down your face
And mixes with my sweat
Smell my hot breath
And breathe your last
The good in me is gone
Here comes the maelstrom
I have So Much Hate
I have so much hate
I give it all to you
Whiling away the hours
We’ve become so close
There are so many things
That I want to do with you
Your warm flesh in my hands
Then it drops to the floor
We spin a yarn of pain
An incredible tale of woe
Our fates are forever bound
It can’t be undone
I want to share with you
My deep, dark secrets
A picture of your terror
Is worth a thousand words
You really must excuse me
I’ve been a terrible host
Scream if you must
A lusty cry, of fear and rage
My hard words spoken softly
Our time is closing fast
I must silence you now
I will silence them all
Your life has just ended
But mine has just begun
I give it all to you
Whiling away the hours
We’ve become so close
There are so many things
That I want to do with you
Your warm flesh in my hands
Then it drops to the floor
We spin a yarn of pain
An incredible tale of woe
Our fates are forever bound
It can’t be undone
I want to share with you
My deep, dark secrets
A picture of your terror
Is worth a thousand words
You really must excuse me
I’ve been a terrible host
Scream if you must
A lusty cry, of fear and rage
My hard words spoken softly
Our time is closing fast
I must silence you now
I will silence them all
Your life has just ended
But mine has just begun
The Fantasy Haunted Me: A refrigerator magnet poem.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)