You don't know how much you don't know.
I'm thinking about AdmNaismith asserting over on Facebook that anyone with an (R) after his name is evil/crazy/stupid and truly thinking he's onto something. His theory is that 50% of the people he knows - who seem perfectly lucid - are secretly evil/crazy/stupid. And that theory makes more sense to him than the possibility that other people know things he doesn't understand, that other people have different priorities that are their focus, that he only sees half the picture. Nah, that can't be it. Evil/crazy/stupid works so much better as an explanation why other people might not agree with you.
He has something like 1000 people who agree with him on Facebook. Where, incidentally, he uses a pseudonym. How handy. Facebook is a work venue for me. 50% of my clients would not agree with my political opinions. Worse than that, a certain fringe percentage are as partisan as Admiral Naismith and would happily boycott me for not sharing their political views. I see their Facebook campaigns against other people. Intolerance is the exception, but it's not that minor a percentage.
Meanwhile, I just read an article that said that over 50% of MA voters are neither Democrats nor Republicans, and only 35% are registered in the Democratic party for primaries. (11% are registered as Republican.)
You wouldn't know it by the political opinions you see spouting on Facebook. Democratic partisans rule, but there are Republican partisans out there, too. But MOST of us are unenrolled, listen to both, vote either way! It really makes me uncomfortable when people talk as if EVERYONE OF COURSE agrees with them. Maybe it's residual from being Jewish in a Christian nation. Hello, we hold our religious and our political opinions privately, remember? Who wasn't taught that you don't talk about politics or religion in polite society? Only boorish people assume everyone agrees with you. And when you assume anyone who disagrees with you is evil/crazy/stupid, well, that passes beyond boorish into something I don't even have a word for. Not a polite one, anyway.
Meanwhile, on another subject, economic recovery, I've been thinking about the tour guide we had in Greece. He didn't have a word for "entrepreneur" or "self-employed". He was talking about the lack of jobs in Greece and it became clear that "job" meant something akin to a Post Office job. Cushy schedule, cushy benefits, little to moderate exertion required. This was a strong and healthy 25 year old man and he wouldn't consider a job that didn't have air conditioning. Nor would he consider working for himself. He just didn't even have the concept. I wonder how true that is in the United States at this point. I know that being self-employed runs in families. My maternal side has it, my paternal side doesn't. And it's a stark difference: nearly everyone on my maternal side is self-employed, and nearly everyone on my paternal side is an employee. Also a stark difference: most on my maternal side are fairly well off, and most on my paternal side are scrambling to stay middle class. The difference is one of agency. Who is in charge of you making a living?
With those words, it's time I get to work. My staff doesn't really do much when I'm not there. Luckily, I don't care that much at the moment, we're just treading water until the workload lands. But we're about to have a busy six weeks, and then we have to spend a lot of time tooling up for the next season. I do love these downtimes.
He has something like 1000 people who agree with him on Facebook. Where, incidentally, he uses a pseudonym. How handy. Facebook is a work venue for me. 50% of my clients would not agree with my political opinions. Worse than that, a certain fringe percentage are as partisan as Admiral Naismith and would happily boycott me for not sharing their political views. I see their Facebook campaigns against other people. Intolerance is the exception, but it's not that minor a percentage.
Meanwhile, I just read an article that said that over 50% of MA voters are neither Democrats nor Republicans, and only 35% are registered in the Democratic party for primaries. (11% are registered as Republican.)
You wouldn't know it by the political opinions you see spouting on Facebook. Democratic partisans rule, but there are Republican partisans out there, too. But MOST of us are unenrolled, listen to both, vote either way! It really makes me uncomfortable when people talk as if EVERYONE OF COURSE agrees with them. Maybe it's residual from being Jewish in a Christian nation. Hello, we hold our religious and our political opinions privately, remember? Who wasn't taught that you don't talk about politics or religion in polite society? Only boorish people assume everyone agrees with you. And when you assume anyone who disagrees with you is evil/crazy/stupid, well, that passes beyond boorish into something I don't even have a word for. Not a polite one, anyway.
Meanwhile, on another subject, economic recovery, I've been thinking about the tour guide we had in Greece. He didn't have a word for "entrepreneur" or "self-employed". He was talking about the lack of jobs in Greece and it became clear that "job" meant something akin to a Post Office job. Cushy schedule, cushy benefits, little to moderate exertion required. This was a strong and healthy 25 year old man and he wouldn't consider a job that didn't have air conditioning. Nor would he consider working for himself. He just didn't even have the concept. I wonder how true that is in the United States at this point. I know that being self-employed runs in families. My maternal side has it, my paternal side doesn't. And it's a stark difference: nearly everyone on my maternal side is self-employed, and nearly everyone on my paternal side is an employee. Also a stark difference: most on my maternal side are fairly well off, and most on my paternal side are scrambling to stay middle class. The difference is one of agency. Who is in charge of you making a living?
With those words, it's time I get to work. My staff doesn't really do much when I'm not there. Luckily, I don't care that much at the moment, we're just treading water until the workload lands. But we're about to have a busy six weeks, and then we have to spend a lot of time tooling up for the next season. I do love these downtimes.