It’s been a few days since my last post. I have come to realize that pain killers mixed with muscle relaxers (I have lower back pain) result in an unhealthy concoction of right brain impairing reactions. In short, it has been difficult to focus on creativity lately. I have been of course, following Twitter and Facebook with an eye for stealing ideas for the next post. I decided to make this post a reaction to things that have been happening in the meantime.
Action: A 12 year old girl was forced to give up her Facebook password to school officials in Minnesota.
Reaction: This is sort of the same idea as asking someone to hand over their diary. This is absolutely wrong. This is tantamount to a violation of civil rights. It would be different if the 12 year old were asked to give up their Facebook password to their parents. I believe parents should be involved in what their children do online, especially at age 12. What gives Minnewaska Middle School the crazy idea of entitlement that says they can rummage through a student’s personal online presence? This isn’t digging through their backpack to look for drugs, examining their locker for weapons, or anything reasonable. Minnewaska Middle School has gone on record as saying when the details are released that the school system will have acted within their so-called rights to obtain the password. This is expanding their influence beyond the school system and on to the internet. I consider the possibility of this being a case of Cyber Bullying or complaining about a school official. I still contend that this is a home issue and that the school system may contact the parent directly about this and have the parent deal with the situation. <Gump> And that’s all I have to say about that… </Gump>
Action: Greg Smith quits Goldman-Sachs and publishes an op-ed piece “Why I am leaving Goldman-Sachs” in the New York Times.
Reaction: When I initially read this piece, I felt compelled to side with this guy. I thought about what amazing morals and strength of character it took to write that letter. I empathized with how he felt. I felt much the same when I finally left Best Buy in February of last year. Inevitably, I began to question his motives. Why did he stay employed for 12 years, wait until after bonus season, and then quit with an incendiary letter compelling both customers and executives to change their ways. It became clear to me that while I am sure that Goldman-Sachs doesn’t always do what is in the best interest of their clients, they also exist to make money. Those two objectives do not always allow for joyous harmony.
I’ll use my experience at Best Buy as an example. Best Buy claims to be customer centric. I worked there, the reason they are customer-centric is because it allows their sales people to offer accessories and other items that may or may not fit the customer’s lifestyle. The focus is always and has always been on the number of items per transactions, the amount of margin (markup), service plans, and services. It is not always in the best interest of a customer to buy Geek Squad services or the service plan. However, even if a Best Buy employee listens to you and identifies you as a customer who really doesn’t need services, accessories, etc. They will still try and sell these things to you if they are following their indoctrination. I was a Geek Squad manager for a few years with Best Buy. I admit to training people to take your money even if you didn’t need it. That’s what we were there to do.
Back to Goldman-Sachs, I realized Greg Smith is no great champion. Greg Smith is me. Greg Smith is you. Greg Smith is the same type of person we all are. We work, do what we’re told, and eventually we grow tired of being asked to lie, cheat, and steal to squeeze a few extra dollars onto the bottom line and we eventually opt to do something else. We’ve all worked that job that we didn’t feel quite right in. If you haven’t, consider yourself lucky or maybe just blind. Greg Smith would have been more impressive if he had made great strides in attempting to change the putrid culture that he came to despise. Greg Smith, congratulations to you for leaving the job, finally. However, you have long way to go before becoming a hero. Fin.
Action: Inspiration to Art.
Reaction: While looking at some early design work I did involving magnetic poetry. I have decided to create a few new examples of word-art. I enjoy taking text and graphics and generating a poetic fusion.
Looking forward to posting again soon, hopefully without the influence of chemicals!