Another thing I should post about is about Supervisors...
At the place I work at now, there was a position I applied for, it was a supervisor position and unfortunately, I didn't get it.
To me, wasn't a big deal... I was told I why and had no hard feelings about it.
The person who was hired, was my supervisor. I was asked if there were hard feelings about it. I told the person, no.
However... This supervisor did a few things that I think a Supervisor should know when they take a position over people, and again, this sadly follows the same venue I noticed with my earlier rants about one of my managers before.
**1** - Get the lay of the land
This is a #1 in my book... Get an understanding of what you are getting into and the people you are working with.
My supervisor, unfortunately, didn't bother doing this. First thing the supervisor did was displace the people working under him, shoved them into a room. Made a few of us unhappy because that was their first order of business when they started.
The second order of business was not only to get a questionnaire answered but establish "dominance", as one coworker seem to make it out to be. Making sure people 'knew their place' with him. Case in point, said co-worker was literally brought into a meeting with one higher up and ambushed him about how he was doing work and it was fairly much a rant fest towards him.
Also, given where I am working now... He wanted to make broad changes, getting frustrated at us when we informed him some changes may not happen due to the way the place work... Namely, different groups had different IT departments and different standards and we had to try and interface with them but no way to get 'standards' across the board due to this.
**2** - Treat your subordinates with respect and humility
Now yes, we all know that we "peons" need to support you as our manager and not be insubordinate or uppity. But at the same time, when you treat your subordinates as "peons"... Yelling at them, making their mistakes as personal upfronts against you... You aren't going to make us any more productive.
As the joke goes, "The beatings will continue until morale improves." is exactly what this is...
When I approached my supervisor about his attitude towards us... He told me that he had made others flourish under this method... That being 'nice' often lead to people taking advantage of that niceness.
Thing is... I was considering, several times, looking for another job because his attitude towards us and how he did things was more detrimental than it was 'helpful' or 'motivating'.
Also, when I speak of humility... Humility is about being a bit more empathetic to your subordinates.
The thing that also set off a lot of alarms for me was how often he would say, "I know you are technically superior to me..." This is not humility... This is a passive aggressive way of saying, "Don't patronize me." When people pull this card, it puts me on the defensive because I try not to act arrogant about something, but when someone harps something, I have to make sure they understand what they are wanting me to do that I don't feel is in the best interests of our group.
3 - Don't make it personal
My supervisor also had a bad tendency to make things 'personal'.
Case in point. One time, a mistake was made, we tried to handle it as best we could.
Our supervisor sent us an email while we were dealing with it, berating us about the fact that we fouled it up.
Once the supervisor was in the office, verbally berating us about how he had to micromanage us and the fact that we screwed up. It made him look bad on performance, telling us that "If I fail... YOU Fail".
Another time, giving us tasks with no real direction and expecting us to 'do it', but when we had no idea and were waiting for it to be explained, yelled at once again for 'ignoring the task' and shouldn't have micromanage us.
All of this, each time, the supervisor made it out like it was a personal attack on them and needed to yell at us for not doing it.
And also something you supervisors should know... Yelling is 'verbal abuse' in the work place. And abuse in the work place is a no-no...
4 - Manage proper expectations
As above... The supervisor had this expectation that we should 'ask about something we don't know'. To be honest, any task you give a person, you need to make sure you explain what the expectation is.
This supervisor believed in people being self-motivating and pick up without direction. Problem is, this expectation was never really relayed to the group and also ignores the 'lay of the land' part.
Again, his argument was not wanting to 'micromanage' people. Problem is, as a supervisor, you do have to 'manage' some things and when providing a task, knowing whether or not they know how to do it is part of 'managing' people.
If they don't know it, you help them out or if you don't know it either, see if they can figure it out for you but be honest...
5 - Have a better understanding of your 'customers'.
Like my manager from earlier... My supervisor didn't exactly have a 'grasp' of who his customers were. To better put it, the argument he made in one of his rants to us was "Who is your #1 customer here?" We listed off other people, but his response is, "Your #1 customer is ME (Again, making it personal)"
While it is true we need to impress our boss or our manager, to be fair, impressing a boss or manager does not make you "our customer". Because you are not your own customer either. Our #1 customer, as a tech group, is the people we have to support. As our boss or manager, not only are you a person we have to support, we have to rely on you to back us up, more than anything, so we can do the job we were tasked for.
At the same time, YOU have to be wary of how you treat other customers. Case in point, I was assisting a user in their office. My supervisor barged into the user's office and told me I needed to help him with another user because they were a VIP, not even bothering to knock or be polite to the user I was assisting at the time.
When the issue was resolved and I went back to the other user... The other user was pretty annoyed with my supervisor, despite the fact the user understood the importance. The reason? My supervisor barging into their office and pulling me away without knocking or being polite about it annoyed the user. I literally had to be the one apologizing for it, but the user said that it wasn't my fault.
6 - Respect your subordinate's space
This was one thing that annoyed me as well. My supervisor seemed to try and be 'chummy' with us, even though it takes time for some of us to warm up.
Standing over us, looking into our areas, isn't respecting our space.
One time, he even 'friended' us on Facebook.
This is a no-no...
While we can deny the friend request, this is crossing a line when you don't ask us in person.
In the end...
The supervisor didn't last very long. But I had to pass this along for future supervisors.
Thursday, September 3, 2015
Retorting back to the retort about "All Lives Matter".
It has been a while, but recently, I have to say something about this malarkey about the retort about "All Lives Matter" some people have been scoffing at.
While some will say it is like that Dad (White people) being sarcastic to the kid (Black people) about "their fair share"... The problem here is... That is still the 'racist' view from the other side.
The "All Lives Matter" isn't just about whites. It also means Asians, be they Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai or otherwise... Or the Hispanics... Or even people from the Middle East.
The "Black Lives Matter" "crusade" is exactly what it is. Just as for the call for "killing white people and cops".
Where does it end? When one extremist calls for the death of whites and cops because they feel persecuted and tormented by those. I mean, does this mean cops who are of Asian decent or even Hispanic or even of Middle Eastern also deserve to die? Cause that is the implication.
Does this mean the 5 to 15 year old white boys and girls also deserve to die?
If the answer is "yes"... Then it is time to say this is the death of America. The America that was suppose to be the land of the free has now become the land of hatred and misanthropy.
Let me point out something people have to understand. This is all about hate. White Supremacy is about hate... The call to kill White People is about hate... The call to kill cops... IS ABOUT HATE.
Are all cops bad?
Are all black people bad?
Are all white people bad?
If you truly believe the answer is whole heartedly 'Yes' to ANY of those three questions... You will have to stop and think... Are you the problem? And when you look back to how you answered the above question, if any of them are "YES"... Then the answer is "Yes... I am the problem."
Seems extreme? Sadly, this is the legacy of hate. It is about the fact that when you "deal in absolutes", to quote the fictional Obi-wan... Leads to the fact that we are heading down a dark path.
I will say, I am a hot head... I hate certain things... But the one thing I will say, no matter how much I hate... Whether it be a bad boss... Or the jerk who cut me off. I try to hold myself from trying to go that one extra step in killing.
What needs to stop is the hate mongering. Killing or even calling for the death of someone does not do more than create the vicious cycle.
People want cops to stop disrespecting people. That's fine. Killing them to get respect or flat out just acting like a complete ass to them isn't going to make them 'be better'. Yes, we want them to be held to a higher standard, but do you think you would be 'better' if you were disrespected and insulted or threatened to be killed by some random person or even a person who hates you?
And before some of you think I like cops, I want you to understand something. This isn't about the love for cops or being some cop fan or what not. It is about how we treat those who get treated horribly just being who they are and NOT because it is some jerk or jackass who give them a bad name. It is like saying any person who is Asian or Hispanic that are in a gang that all Asians or Hispanics are hoodlums and criminals. Just like many black people don't want to be considered that as well because of others.
And again... Not all cops are white. Not all of them are bad. Yet demanding them to die or treating them all as 'scum' just shows that it is a hypocrisy to say "Black Lives Matter" and demanding cops and whites should be killed.
If you truly feel this is a war against whites/cops versus black... Again, I fear that America has finally died and this is now the United States of Hate.
While some will say it is like that Dad (White people) being sarcastic to the kid (Black people) about "their fair share"... The problem here is... That is still the 'racist' view from the other side.
The "All Lives Matter" isn't just about whites. It also means Asians, be they Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai or otherwise... Or the Hispanics... Or even people from the Middle East.
The "Black Lives Matter" "crusade" is exactly what it is. Just as for the call for "killing white people and cops".
Where does it end? When one extremist calls for the death of whites and cops because they feel persecuted and tormented by those. I mean, does this mean cops who are of Asian decent or even Hispanic or even of Middle Eastern also deserve to die? Cause that is the implication.
Does this mean the 5 to 15 year old white boys and girls also deserve to die?
If the answer is "yes"... Then it is time to say this is the death of America. The America that was suppose to be the land of the free has now become the land of hatred and misanthropy.
Let me point out something people have to understand. This is all about hate. White Supremacy is about hate... The call to kill White People is about hate... The call to kill cops... IS ABOUT HATE.
Are all cops bad?
Are all black people bad?
Are all white people bad?
If you truly believe the answer is whole heartedly 'Yes' to ANY of those three questions... You will have to stop and think... Are you the problem? And when you look back to how you answered the above question, if any of them are "YES"... Then the answer is "Yes... I am the problem."
Seems extreme? Sadly, this is the legacy of hate. It is about the fact that when you "deal in absolutes", to quote the fictional Obi-wan... Leads to the fact that we are heading down a dark path.
I will say, I am a hot head... I hate certain things... But the one thing I will say, no matter how much I hate... Whether it be a bad boss... Or the jerk who cut me off. I try to hold myself from trying to go that one extra step in killing.
What needs to stop is the hate mongering. Killing or even calling for the death of someone does not do more than create the vicious cycle.
People want cops to stop disrespecting people. That's fine. Killing them to get respect or flat out just acting like a complete ass to them isn't going to make them 'be better'. Yes, we want them to be held to a higher standard, but do you think you would be 'better' if you were disrespected and insulted or threatened to be killed by some random person or even a person who hates you?
And before some of you think I like cops, I want you to understand something. This isn't about the love for cops or being some cop fan or what not. It is about how we treat those who get treated horribly just being who they are and NOT because it is some jerk or jackass who give them a bad name. It is like saying any person who is Asian or Hispanic that are in a gang that all Asians or Hispanics are hoodlums and criminals. Just like many black people don't want to be considered that as well because of others.
And again... Not all cops are white. Not all of them are bad. Yet demanding them to die or treating them all as 'scum' just shows that it is a hypocrisy to say "Black Lives Matter" and demanding cops and whites should be killed.
If you truly feel this is a war against whites/cops versus black... Again, I fear that America has finally died and this is now the United States of Hate.
Saturday, December 20, 2014
The sad state of affairs...
It has been obviously a long time since I last posted... Not that many people read my thing all the time.
However, this rant is partly one of many things I find rather disturbing of late.
Of course, I am going to bring the wrath of many upon me when I post this, but at this point, I don't care because of the stupidity that this has obviously has begun to spun out of control.
First, Ferguson - The stupidity there... Amounts to people who are raging over a white cop versus the black man and the black man getting killed and the white cop getting away with it.
Let's be clear... I am one of those guys who cheered about V for Vendetta... Where people should not fear the government, but the government should fear the people. However, the stupidity that followed over the verdict of clearing the cop of wrong doing does nothing more than give the cops the reason to do the very thing that started all this crap.
Case in point... A while ago, a friend of mine a guy who bartended a place I frequented a lot for lunch because it was near where I worked... He told me a story where he was taken down by the cops, telling him not to resist. However, let me point out something to you. My friend was white. White as any white person can be... He was taken down by the cops and they kept telling him not to resist, even he didn't believe he was resisting, but they took him down hard.
My point here? You don't have to be 'black' to make the cops react this way. Color is not the issue here, what the issue is the people who make it the issue. Inciting people to rage against the police is not exactly showing the 'need' for change, but to encourage the need for the police to respond in kind.
American Cops are currently surrounded by crazed fools. Every person who can arm themselves with a gun can, and will, shoot a cop just cause they can feel like it. Many of you foolishly believe that a cop is with power. Even a white cop. Thing is, a white cop, black cop, Asian cop... Any kind of cop will be just as powerless as the next one getting shot in the face, in the chest or even getting run over by some crazed individual out there.
Next... The choking case of Eric Garner... Do I feel that the cops should have been acquitted? Hard to say... But what the mayor did with his kid... Congrats in making things worse... And better yet, congrats on encouraging people in killing cops who have to try and keep the peace in one of the more difficult to keep sane places in the US.
The message should never be about "be nice to the cops, cause I am afraid to get killed by them..." The message should always be about the fact that the cops will fear to be killed by ANYONE. Not just black people, but anyone.
Think about it... Cops are going to be on edge, because they hear about how one of them got shot by some random person somewhere. Put yourself in the shoes of the people you fear... Would you not be on edge trying to deal with someone who ignores your orders?
Here's the thing... People who are willing to kill, can come off as 'innocent' at times. As much as we watch Hollywood shows where the unbelievable happens, the simple fact is... Anyone can do something if they put their mind to it. Another classic example is Tom Cruise. In preparation for his role in the movie 'Collateral Damage'... He posed as a UPS carrier, delivering packages to people, with very little makeup job. A famous actor, method acting and barely anyone recognize him, even when he was right in their face.
A lot of you will go, "What does this have to do with the cops and their flagrant abuse of power?" Again...Tell me why do you feel secure at home? Because the cops are out there dealing with people who are not nearly as 'sane' as you are. At the same time, cops are also the 'elephant in the room' anywhere because most of them wear uniforms.
Look at all the shooters out there who have robbed a place or the numerous shooters who attacked civilians who were NOT cops. Virginia Tech... A student who was mentally unstable murdered many. The Isla Vista murders by one kid or the Deltopia Riot in Isla Vista which started with a kid assaulting an officer. Tell me... How are the cops suppose to identify a threat until they are attacked?
Coming from a gamer who plays First Person Shooter games, the anxiety that cops get is much like what some of us gamers get when we play big fight games... Paranoia, concern to keep a live. Unlike in games, however, cops don't get a 'second' chance most of the time. Often times, they will be DEAD. Soldiers know this kind of anxiety once they actually get into this... And this is the very thing the people in the US fail to grasp.
The fear for cops is more real than the 'righteous' anger the citizens have. What more... Consider the fact that many of the 'non-lethal' items out there are still lethal in one form or another to someone. A submission hold, like what was used on Garner... Proved to be fatal... A stun gun or tazer, can be lethal to people with a heart condition. Bean bag guns, can still be lethal at very short ranges or people who can't take a hard hit.
Protesting an injustice is fine... But when people protest in a violent way or a disruptive way... How are you NOT encouraging a change when you can't stop the moronic idiots inciting a reaction from the cops to protect themselves?
In the end, change is needed, that part is not in contention... But at the same time, the killing of NY Cops as retribution for Eric Garner... Only morons think this will make a change for the better.
Yoda (Yes, I know, quoting a puppet/companimation character from a sci fi movie is silly) makes a point that hate leads to hate... This stupidity won't end until we all wake up and realize more beyond the red lens of hate.
However, this rant is partly one of many things I find rather disturbing of late.
Of course, I am going to bring the wrath of many upon me when I post this, but at this point, I don't care because of the stupidity that this has obviously has begun to spun out of control.
First, Ferguson - The stupidity there... Amounts to people who are raging over a white cop versus the black man and the black man getting killed and the white cop getting away with it.
Let's be clear... I am one of those guys who cheered about V for Vendetta... Where people should not fear the government, but the government should fear the people. However, the stupidity that followed over the verdict of clearing the cop of wrong doing does nothing more than give the cops the reason to do the very thing that started all this crap.
Case in point... A while ago, a friend of mine a guy who bartended a place I frequented a lot for lunch because it was near where I worked... He told me a story where he was taken down by the cops, telling him not to resist. However, let me point out something to you. My friend was white. White as any white person can be... He was taken down by the cops and they kept telling him not to resist, even he didn't believe he was resisting, but they took him down hard.
My point here? You don't have to be 'black' to make the cops react this way. Color is not the issue here, what the issue is the people who make it the issue. Inciting people to rage against the police is not exactly showing the 'need' for change, but to encourage the need for the police to respond in kind.
American Cops are currently surrounded by crazed fools. Every person who can arm themselves with a gun can, and will, shoot a cop just cause they can feel like it. Many of you foolishly believe that a cop is with power. Even a white cop. Thing is, a white cop, black cop, Asian cop... Any kind of cop will be just as powerless as the next one getting shot in the face, in the chest or even getting run over by some crazed individual out there.
Next... The choking case of Eric Garner... Do I feel that the cops should have been acquitted? Hard to say... But what the mayor did with his kid... Congrats in making things worse... And better yet, congrats on encouraging people in killing cops who have to try and keep the peace in one of the more difficult to keep sane places in the US.
The message should never be about "be nice to the cops, cause I am afraid to get killed by them..." The message should always be about the fact that the cops will fear to be killed by ANYONE. Not just black people, but anyone.
Think about it... Cops are going to be on edge, because they hear about how one of them got shot by some random person somewhere. Put yourself in the shoes of the people you fear... Would you not be on edge trying to deal with someone who ignores your orders?
Here's the thing... People who are willing to kill, can come off as 'innocent' at times. As much as we watch Hollywood shows where the unbelievable happens, the simple fact is... Anyone can do something if they put their mind to it. Another classic example is Tom Cruise. In preparation for his role in the movie 'Collateral Damage'... He posed as a UPS carrier, delivering packages to people, with very little makeup job. A famous actor, method acting and barely anyone recognize him, even when he was right in their face.
A lot of you will go, "What does this have to do with the cops and their flagrant abuse of power?" Again...Tell me why do you feel secure at home? Because the cops are out there dealing with people who are not nearly as 'sane' as you are. At the same time, cops are also the 'elephant in the room' anywhere because most of them wear uniforms.
Look at all the shooters out there who have robbed a place or the numerous shooters who attacked civilians who were NOT cops. Virginia Tech... A student who was mentally unstable murdered many. The Isla Vista murders by one kid or the Deltopia Riot in Isla Vista which started with a kid assaulting an officer. Tell me... How are the cops suppose to identify a threat until they are attacked?
Coming from a gamer who plays First Person Shooter games, the anxiety that cops get is much like what some of us gamers get when we play big fight games... Paranoia, concern to keep a live. Unlike in games, however, cops don't get a 'second' chance most of the time. Often times, they will be DEAD. Soldiers know this kind of anxiety once they actually get into this... And this is the very thing the people in the US fail to grasp.
The fear for cops is more real than the 'righteous' anger the citizens have. What more... Consider the fact that many of the 'non-lethal' items out there are still lethal in one form or another to someone. A submission hold, like what was used on Garner... Proved to be fatal... A stun gun or tazer, can be lethal to people with a heart condition. Bean bag guns, can still be lethal at very short ranges or people who can't take a hard hit.
Protesting an injustice is fine... But when people protest in a violent way or a disruptive way... How are you NOT encouraging a change when you can't stop the moronic idiots inciting a reaction from the cops to protect themselves?
In the end, change is needed, that part is not in contention... But at the same time, the killing of NY Cops as retribution for Eric Garner... Only morons think this will make a change for the better.
Yoda (Yes, I know, quoting a puppet/companimation character from a sci fi movie is silly) makes a point that hate leads to hate... This stupidity won't end until we all wake up and realize more beyond the red lens of hate.
Monday, February 10, 2014
So about the Samuel Jackson vs Sam Rubin interview...
After so much time, I decided to post something that had me needing to post something... I am sure a lot of people have seen this:
This is one of the many video captures of this Live Interview done with Samuel L Jackson with Media Anchor, Sam Rubin, from Los Angeles Channel 5, KTLA.
Now, I haven't watched KTLA for a long time, mostly cause I am not in Los Angeles, and the fact our Channel 5 went to a different group for about several years.
Now a lot of search for this topic, a lot of titles, including from TMZ, saying that Samuel Jackson blows up on Sam.
To be honest... I don't see it that way, at least not after seeing it a few times.
What I do see, is Samuel Jackson believes that Sam Rubin mistook him for Laurence Fishburne, and for good reason, as several people have actually confused both him and Laurence for the others in the past.
But what some people did not see, is during the 'scolding' was the look on Samuel's face as he was 'going off'. He had a slight smirk on his face. To me, this looked like Samuel is giving Sam a hard time, because Sam Rubin said "Did you get a lot of reaction to that Super Bowl Commercial?" The question was vague and of course, when the Captain America Trailer is not 'done by him'... It is natural to think the other man is implying the Kia commercial because that actually involved the Actor participating in the commercial. An actor is not part of a trailer, even though he is featured in it, it is cuts from the movie to tease people, but the Actors have no 'say' in the trailer.
Another thing to note, look at the interview with Samuel Jackson about his participation in the Star Wars Prequels... He was fairly jovial about several of the discussions and joking there as well.
So the sad thing of it all, the media actually 'sensationalize' the thing. If you look at Samuel Jackson's Twitter - Nothing is really said about it. And what I think people need to take away from this is to watch the video. I watched it a few times and admit, I laughed. More so how Jackson gave Rubin a hard time about it, but again... Jackson is like Robin Williams in a way... When you give him something to 'go with'... It's like opening a flood gates, and Samuel Jackson is often seen doing the 'angry man', but he does do silly and probably tries to do it when he can so people don't treat him like all he does is rage.
This is one of the many video captures of this Live Interview done with Samuel L Jackson with Media Anchor, Sam Rubin, from Los Angeles Channel 5, KTLA.
Now, I haven't watched KTLA for a long time, mostly cause I am not in Los Angeles, and the fact our Channel 5 went to a different group for about several years.
Now a lot of search for this topic, a lot of titles, including from TMZ, saying that Samuel Jackson blows up on Sam.
To be honest... I don't see it that way, at least not after seeing it a few times.
What I do see, is Samuel Jackson believes that Sam Rubin mistook him for Laurence Fishburne, and for good reason, as several people have actually confused both him and Laurence for the others in the past.
But what some people did not see, is during the 'scolding' was the look on Samuel's face as he was 'going off'. He had a slight smirk on his face. To me, this looked like Samuel is giving Sam a hard time, because Sam Rubin said "Did you get a lot of reaction to that Super Bowl Commercial?" The question was vague and of course, when the Captain America Trailer is not 'done by him'... It is natural to think the other man is implying the Kia commercial because that actually involved the Actor participating in the commercial. An actor is not part of a trailer, even though he is featured in it, it is cuts from the movie to tease people, but the Actors have no 'say' in the trailer.
Another thing to note, look at the interview with Samuel Jackson about his participation in the Star Wars Prequels... He was fairly jovial about several of the discussions and joking there as well.
So the sad thing of it all, the media actually 'sensationalize' the thing. If you look at Samuel Jackson's Twitter - Nothing is really said about it. And what I think people need to take away from this is to watch the video. I watched it a few times and admit, I laughed. More so how Jackson gave Rubin a hard time about it, but again... Jackson is like Robin Williams in a way... When you give him something to 'go with'... It's like opening a flood gates, and Samuel Jackson is often seen doing the 'angry man', but he does do silly and probably tries to do it when he can so people don't treat him like all he does is rage.
Friday, April 12, 2013
Again...
http://colorlines.com/archives/2013/04/who_will_stand_behind_adria_richards_reader_forum.html#commentsTop
I was reading this article... And sort of disappointed with people.
I will point out that I did not stand behind Adria Richards in her situation and not because it is her race nor her gender.
People are playing their cards and all of them playing the wrong ones for the wrong reasons.
I harp this because I had to go through Sexual Harassment Training a few times and hell, just plain Harassment Training for some of the jobs I worked at. Not because I was harassing, but because it was one of those mandatory requirements and I had one false accusation levied at me at one point.
The thing that people can't get out of their heads is that harassment is all about the guys making suggestive comments or pushing themselves on women like what we all see on TV or in movies about the 50s-80s and how we are trying to make ourselves seem like we are now 'better than that'.
I grew up in the 70s on up til now and seen some of the older shows about how life was back then. Do I believe women should 'know their place'? No. I am also an Asian. You know what's funny, majority of the Asian countries are very 'patriarchal' in nature as well, but the ideals are changing from time to time.
So before I get people thinking "Oh, you are just another misogynistic bastard trying to make himself sound like he isn't." I used to think back when I was a kid, Japanese and Germans were bad... I grew up watching war movies featuring it. The irony is... I also liked japanese toys and my heritage is Japanese American. As I got older, I started to look at the different views and it transcends racial bounds.
Now I will admit, I am not into certain races in a relationship means, and no, I am not one of those bigots who don't believe in interracial relationships, and I don't dig men being a guy, does not make me a homophobic. It means what floats my boat is what floats my boat, but I won't expect people to all conform to what floats my boat nor disparage people for their life choices.
When I disagree with Adria, I disagree with how she handled the Sexual Harassment she felt. Again, I had no problems in the fact she wanted it dealt with and tried to report it. There is no debate that the intention was good.
What is wrong is how she dealt with it. I, by no means, feel it was necessary to publically shame two men for what disturbed her. I felt she should have told them to politely stop, or barring that, contacted the Pycon mangement of the incident with proper evidence for THEM to determine the issue and let THEM deal with it.
When you look at how it was presented... Not enough information was there. In fact, from here:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57575905/techie-adria-richards-fired-after-tweeting-about-mens-comments/
Let this be a lesson, again not directed to women, and not a misogynistic message either. As much as the tech industry has to be more sensitive about the comments and words said to women... Any issue that is 'sensitive' should be dealt with in a 'sensitive' way as well. No matter how self righteous you feel it needed to be addressed... Sometimes the crusade or vindication is not always worth the costs it incurs when carried out the wrong way.
I was reading this article... And sort of disappointed with people.
I will point out that I did not stand behind Adria Richards in her situation and not because it is her race nor her gender.
People are playing their cards and all of them playing the wrong ones for the wrong reasons.
I harp this because I had to go through Sexual Harassment Training a few times and hell, just plain Harassment Training for some of the jobs I worked at. Not because I was harassing, but because it was one of those mandatory requirements and I had one false accusation levied at me at one point.
The thing that people can't get out of their heads is that harassment is all about the guys making suggestive comments or pushing themselves on women like what we all see on TV or in movies about the 50s-80s and how we are trying to make ourselves seem like we are now 'better than that'.
I grew up in the 70s on up til now and seen some of the older shows about how life was back then. Do I believe women should 'know their place'? No. I am also an Asian. You know what's funny, majority of the Asian countries are very 'patriarchal' in nature as well, but the ideals are changing from time to time.
So before I get people thinking "Oh, you are just another misogynistic bastard trying to make himself sound like he isn't." I used to think back when I was a kid, Japanese and Germans were bad... I grew up watching war movies featuring it. The irony is... I also liked japanese toys and my heritage is Japanese American. As I got older, I started to look at the different views and it transcends racial bounds.
Now I will admit, I am not into certain races in a relationship means, and no, I am not one of those bigots who don't believe in interracial relationships, and I don't dig men being a guy, does not make me a homophobic. It means what floats my boat is what floats my boat, but I won't expect people to all conform to what floats my boat nor disparage people for their life choices.
When I disagree with Adria, I disagree with how she handled the Sexual Harassment she felt. Again, I had no problems in the fact she wanted it dealt with and tried to report it. There is no debate that the intention was good.
What is wrong is how she dealt with it. I, by no means, feel it was necessary to publically shame two men for what disturbed her. I felt she should have told them to politely stop, or barring that, contacted the Pycon mangement of the incident with proper evidence for THEM to determine the issue and let THEM deal with it.
When you look at how it was presented... Not enough information was there. In fact, from here:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57575905/techie-adria-richards-fired-after-tweeting-about-mens-comments/
She said she was spurred in part by a photo of a young girl on the stage at the time, and the thought that the men seated behind her would make it impossible for the girl to learn programming.
The men were not identified by name.
Richards said she also had confronted a man earlier after he told her what she thought was a sexist joke at the conference.
"There is something about crushing a little kid's dream that gets me really angry," Richards wrote. "Women in technology need consistent messaging from birth through retirement they are welcome, competent and valued in the industry."The last paragraph is what keys me into a problem with the situation here. Given the vague statement here about the comments... With little context, I wonder about how exactly one goes from the jokes to the accusation of crushing a little kid's dream from a picture. How exactly is someone's jokes go right to 'destroying a child's dream'? While the men were not identified by name, people are identified in more than one way and the damage has been done.
Let this be a lesson, again not directed to women, and not a misogynistic message either. As much as the tech industry has to be more sensitive about the comments and words said to women... Any issue that is 'sensitive' should be dealt with in a 'sensitive' way as well. No matter how self righteous you feel it needed to be addressed... Sometimes the crusade or vindication is not always worth the costs it incurs when carried out the wrong way.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Yet another article I have to 'contest' with...
This is from Forbes, that I was reading up on my latest rant fest...
http://www.forbes.com/sites/deannazandt/2013/03/22/why-asking-what-adria-richards-could-have-done-differently-is-the-wrong-question/
Of course, being a guy, I will be assumed the misogynist, but to be honest, the question of:
Now one of the commentors misunderstood what the Author was trying to get at... But I also question the belief this is the case as well.
The commentor believed that Adria asked to be 'raped', or in this sense, trolled. The thing is, the most common defense tactic for Rapists is to attack the accuser, to suggest that the victim was 'dressed' like she wanted consentual sex and as is now falsely accusing rape to impugn the credibility of the accused. Sadly enough, this has been the most common defense tactic in law to get the accused rapists from being prosecuted or busted when there is a lack of forensic evidence to prove the deed was, in fact, criminal.
Now again, in many of my posts... I don't condone death threats, or raping a person or even racial slurs because I don't like the person. I know many people I find destestable and would wish they get a more than suitable punishment in return for their actions, but I also keep it to myself because people here are prone to foolishly believe I may do something of that nature.
But getting to the point of again stating the above...
The question of what Adria Richards could have done with the situation is again a valid question. Of course we should not hesitate to report sexual harassment... But be honest, given the nature of our society, especially the internet, it is very easy to make things escalate to a wildstorm frenzy.
Even giving Adria Richards the benefit of the doubt of not knowing the repercussions of how she handled the situation... Again, the question is still valid once again on how do we handle a situation that we find offensive and how we report it, be it a man or a woman, because again, an accusation of this sort has to be treated within reason or else a misunderstanding or mistake will poison the reputation of a person.
Lastly, sexual harassment is a serious accusation. I almost liken it to pointing a finger and accusing someone of being called a murderer or a criminal. It is marking some random person as being seedy and undesired. But when it comes down to it, one of the principals of Justice is to presume a person innocent until proven guilty. Justice has to be balanced by the facts as much as possible, at least, the ideal of proper and true justice. What has happened here is not justice.
What happened here is a person decided to grandstand on their perception of justice, ignoring one of the principals of how sexual harassment should be handled in a situation. One of the principals of dealing with sexual harassment was to report it to the organizers. Let them deal with the situation, but do not pubicize it.
There is a reason for not publicizing it, and it isn't just because of the foolish belief that they are trying to cover it up or 'ignore' it. It is to protect the REPORTER as well as the REPORTEE of possible retaliation. Don't forget, human kind is also WELL known for our vindictiveness. Some of us who feel we have been wronged and not properly compensated for being wronged, will expect payback. The sad thing of it all, the crusaders of any cause will ignore this fact, hence my reprimanding them in believing what Adria did was 'right'. Doing the wrong things for the right reasons is rarely the 'right' thing.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/deannazandt/2013/03/22/why-asking-what-adria-richards-could-have-done-differently-is-the-wrong-question/
Of course, being a guy, I will be assumed the misogynist, but to be honest, the question of:
Asking what Adria Richards could have done differently?is a fair question.
Now one of the commentors misunderstood what the Author was trying to get at... But I also question the belief this is the case as well.
The commentor believed that Adria asked to be 'raped', or in this sense, trolled. The thing is, the most common defense tactic for Rapists is to attack the accuser, to suggest that the victim was 'dressed' like she wanted consentual sex and as is now falsely accusing rape to impugn the credibility of the accused. Sadly enough, this has been the most common defense tactic in law to get the accused rapists from being prosecuted or busted when there is a lack of forensic evidence to prove the deed was, in fact, criminal.
Now again, in many of my posts... I don't condone death threats, or raping a person or even racial slurs because I don't like the person. I know many people I find destestable and would wish they get a more than suitable punishment in return for their actions, but I also keep it to myself because people here are prone to foolishly believe I may do something of that nature.
But getting to the point of again stating the above...
Asking what Adria Richards could have done differently...To be honest, this is not a Rape Attack question. This is a fair question not with regards to preventing or hiding from a sexual harassment situation, but to not escalate an investigation of sexual harassment. What I think is failed to be seen here is that what Adria did, given the type of environment we know the internet to be, this isn't the simple "Were you wearing a mini-skirt? Were you being provacative?" Those questions are always put up because the defense wants people to put doubt in front of the judge and jury about the situation, due to a lack of hard proof of what had happen, because in most rape cases, it boils down to 'he said, she said' with no unbiased, objective evidence and can be twisted into a distorted picture based on views or beliefs.
The question of what Adria Richards could have done with the situation is again a valid question. Of course we should not hesitate to report sexual harassment... But be honest, given the nature of our society, especially the internet, it is very easy to make things escalate to a wildstorm frenzy.
Even giving Adria Richards the benefit of the doubt of not knowing the repercussions of how she handled the situation... Again, the question is still valid once again on how do we handle a situation that we find offensive and how we report it, be it a man or a woman, because again, an accusation of this sort has to be treated within reason or else a misunderstanding or mistake will poison the reputation of a person.
Lastly, sexual harassment is a serious accusation. I almost liken it to pointing a finger and accusing someone of being called a murderer or a criminal. It is marking some random person as being seedy and undesired. But when it comes down to it, one of the principals of Justice is to presume a person innocent until proven guilty. Justice has to be balanced by the facts as much as possible, at least, the ideal of proper and true justice. What has happened here is not justice.
What happened here is a person decided to grandstand on their perception of justice, ignoring one of the principals of how sexual harassment should be handled in a situation. One of the principals of dealing with sexual harassment was to report it to the organizers. Let them deal with the situation, but do not pubicize it.
There is a reason for not publicizing it, and it isn't just because of the foolish belief that they are trying to cover it up or 'ignore' it. It is to protect the REPORTER as well as the REPORTEE of possible retaliation. Don't forget, human kind is also WELL known for our vindictiveness. Some of us who feel we have been wronged and not properly compensated for being wronged, will expect payback. The sad thing of it all, the crusaders of any cause will ignore this fact, hence my reprimanding them in believing what Adria did was 'right'. Doing the wrong things for the right reasons is rarely the 'right' thing.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
The 'Tech Trade' and 'Sexism' argument...
I will admit, most of the 'boys' will still consider the 'tech trade' as a mostly boys club. But then again, consider this...
Mechanics was also a 'mostly boys club' as well as politics. Not just cause guys considered it a 'men's' thing to do, but the interest. Not many women show interest in mechanics or construction or even in the tech world...
Now mind you, I am not saying women don't belong in these areas, but think about it... Men were so used to the idea that it was 'just the boys'. Most women would even go as far as to say, "It's a man's thing." too.
Now mind you, I grew up through the 70s, 80s and 90s... I was there when things were changing and still changing. We are watching shows like Mad Men today that pointed out those distinctions, and that is a show set in the 50s and 60s.
This even goes back to the tried and true situation of the use of certain words between people. The silly thing is, change will still take time and we are too invested in the 'changing the world now' to realize that some things are like wounds that can't be undone over night.
Now looking at this article...
http://www.businessinsider.com/exclusive-why-sendgrid-got-a-bum-rap-for-firing-adria-richards-over-donglegate-2013-3
There is this statement at the end:
To be honest, sexualism is going to be something that will not be 'driven' away over night in this situation. The whole "Political Correctness" bit and "Sensitivity" is way too over-sensitive, and the internet is basically the new 'Wild West' where people are all shooting from the hip and doing things reactively, and like the wild west, we do have our own lynch mobs.
The sad thing is, we have so much 'sensitivity' about a lot of things, but not enough 'sensitivity' in how we handle the situation.
Mechanics was also a 'mostly boys club' as well as politics. Not just cause guys considered it a 'men's' thing to do, but the interest. Not many women show interest in mechanics or construction or even in the tech world...
Now mind you, I am not saying women don't belong in these areas, but think about it... Men were so used to the idea that it was 'just the boys'. Most women would even go as far as to say, "It's a man's thing." too.
Now mind you, I grew up through the 70s, 80s and 90s... I was there when things were changing and still changing. We are watching shows like Mad Men today that pointed out those distinctions, and that is a show set in the 50s and 60s.
This even goes back to the tried and true situation of the use of certain words between people. The silly thing is, change will still take time and we are too invested in the 'changing the world now' to realize that some things are like wounds that can't be undone over night.
Now looking at this article...
http://www.businessinsider.com/exclusive-why-sendgrid-got-a-bum-rap-for-firing-adria-richards-over-donglegate-2013-3
There is this statement at the end:
Richards has every right to complain about inappropriate sexual comments at a tech conference. There is a sad sexist subculture at many tech conferences and women everywhere are getting fed up. The way to change it is to speak up.This... I do agree with. However, speaking up and blasting people's faces and names to the internet is not the best way to speak up. I would liken it to taking her picture and posting how she makes off hand jokes about men 'catting about' or 'needing a tighter back end'... The thing is, this is not only taken out of context, but me hitting on really old coding terms and making it seem like she was commenting with sexual innuendos. She even makes such comments herself, which seems rather foolish in the 'double standards'.
To be honest, sexualism is going to be something that will not be 'driven' away over night in this situation. The whole "Political Correctness" bit and "Sensitivity" is way too over-sensitive, and the internet is basically the new 'Wild West' where people are all shooting from the hip and doing things reactively, and like the wild west, we do have our own lynch mobs.
The sad thing is, we have so much 'sensitivity' about a lot of things, but not enough 'sensitivity' in how we handle the situation.
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