(no subject)

[yendi]

So, how's the day going so far?

Well, I woke up to shitty news about our asshole-in-chief.

I've already lost a friend thanks to my venting about it (and thought it might happen going in -- it was a choice between letting my anger build up inside, or venting).

I've been to two meetings already.

And now I've found out that Kelly, our sysadmin who was relieved of her FirstClass admin duties a few weeks back (not to be confused with kellinator) has been let go, even though her supervisor had been trying to place her in a desktop support job that she'd have been great at.

It's another department of ITD, and I'm not privy to their internal affairs (nor should I be), but Kelly is a really good person, and it just sucks to find out, regardless of whether it was appropriate from a business POV.

So anyway, a helluva a good start to the day. :-/

Comments

[kellinator.livejournal.com]

I found that whole thing ridiculous. What -- change your opinions because *I* don't like it? Sheesh.

(Of course I'm safely in the position of not knowing the other person and being able to say whatever I damn well please.)

[chrisv.livejournal.com]

I don't know you much at all but I like you from what I do know. I agree with your political opinions, though I do think there was an awful lot of hyperbole in your last post. Of course, LiveJournal was practically made for ranting. I tend to stay away from sweeping generalizations (or try to anyway), but when I get upset I'm prone to them myself. I hope you guys are overreacting to what's going on in the country. I really hope so.

[voltbang.livejournal.com]

Practically? Entirely. Rant away, rant like the wind.

[chrisv.livejournal.com]

:-)

[yendi]

Not entirely -- gotta leave some room for posting of quizzes. :-)

[yendi]

Well, I dunno if we're overreacting -- if anything, I think the problem is a general underreaction. But no denying the hyperbole -- had this been a better week or something, I don't doubt I've have been less agitated. Hell, had I found out, but had hours of stuff to do before I could sit at LJ, I might never have ranted at all.

And personally, I always stay away from sweeping generalization. ;-)

[voltbang.livejournal.com]

Sorry about the friend losing. I'll disagree with you, but I wouldn't go that far. I don't like your rhetoric, but my skin is pretty thick. If calling me names makes you feel less angry about the political system, I'm here for you. I'm an asshole, it's all fine. Frankly, sometimes, I am an asshole, as members of poth parties love to point out. I'm all to willing to call people who think that the two parties (or the idiots they put up for presidential elections) are substantially different idiots, so it's all a wash.

[yendi]

It's not so much that call you names makes me less angry, it's the need to vent in general about the incident. Hell, I expect anyone who really cares about the country to use words like "asshole" a lot when talking about both our leaders and citizens -- to not do so represents ignorance, resignation to our fate, or apathy. None of which appeal.

Re: greetings

[voltbang.livejournal.com]

I try real hard to avoid stuff like that, actually. It's easy to say that the people we disagree with are assholes who are trying to destroy the country and all that, but it's not productive, except in a venting sense. They all thing they are doing the best thing for everyone, they just disagree about what the best thing is. In a LJ post I read the other day someone was ranting about nuclear waste being transported near her home, and she was convinced that almost no safety precautions were being taken and it was the fault of the baby-hating republicans. She was a representation of how far we can go in dehumanizing the political opposition, and it made my head swim.

Re: greetings

[yendi]

Well, I consider venting pretty productive. :-)

Seriously, it's true that they are voting for what they think is best, but it genuinely frightens me what some folks can think of as good for the country.

But your greater point is certainly valid -- the old "you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar" saying applies nicely. Calling someone an asshole doesn't change their minds very often, but reasoning with them has a minute chance of doing so.

But venting feels so much better. :-)

[tikimama.livejournal.com]

That whole thing was way too bizarre. Some people have wafer-thin skin, how do they make it through the day?

Though I do agree about Bush, of course, I can see that some people might have been decieved by him(and vote for him). Many people do not have our unique ability to sense evil. They might have thought him no worse than Bush Snr (talk about damning with faint praise). Of course, I do hope they regret voting for him now. They probably will when they're being rounded up for "questioning."

Hope your day gets better, Adam. ::hugs::

[yendi]

Yeah, shadesong pointed that out to me on the phone. There were undoubtedly plenty of folks who were fooled. I should probably qualify my original statement to say, "anyone who voted for Bush and still stands by that vote. . ." :-)

Day has gotten better, thanks to lunch, and the post-lunch lethargy. And because we're seeing Minority Report tonight.

[voltbang.livejournal.com]

I stand by my opposition to Gore. His loss is our gain, he was the greater of the two evils. I only wish he had been beaten in a way that would have convinced the democratic party that they needed a more effective candidate. As it stands they think he was a winner who had victory stolen from him, so they will feel comfortable running him, or someone just like him next time around. The democrats will need an exceptionally good candidate next time, running against an incumbant wartime president who can push his voters with how close the last one was.

Of course, from what I've seen of the democratic party, if they realize they can lose next time, they will pull out Hillary as a big gun.

[yendi]

That whole thing was way too bizarre. Some people have wafer-thin skin, how do they make it through the day?

I meant to respond to this earlier. I actually do empathize with Nicole somewhat, which is why I said I was sorry what I said hurt her (though I still stand my thoughts). As the late, great philosopher Michael Hutchence once said, "words are weapons, sharper than knives." Some of us can absorb those words more easily than others, and there are all sorts of things that affect how we react at any given moment (including outside stress, our relationship to the folks being discussed, etc.). And there are definitely people who don't use "asshole" as the transitive state of being that I use it as.

For all I know, there'd been a big family discussion about this when Nicole voted differently than her parents (implied by the fact that she didn't say I'd called her an asshole). Or maybe she and her parents have just come off a serious fight (one of those with tears, and yelling, and lots of accusations flying back and forth), and are in super-defensive mode. Or maybe something completely different that has nothing to do with them.

The point being, I can see why someone might have thin skin, although I can't see myself changing to avoid inadvertently offending them. But right or wrong, I really don't enjoy hurting folks.