Dodging Bullets
Via Mr Muldoon in the comments, a shocking revelation:
Not so much overlooked, I think, as warning signs heeded.
As we’ve seen many times, pretending to be a they does rather send a message regarding neuroticism, pretentiousness, captiousness, and the likelihood of disruption. If job applicants in effect announce that they expect anyone nearby to indulge their tedious psychodrama and pretend along with them, this will not always be met with enthusiasm. Demanding that others lie – and ignore or contradict the evidence right in front of them, daily – is, in short, rude. An act of hostility.
Contrary to Ashton Jackson, the author of the article quoted above, and contrary to Ryan McGonagill, the author of the report cited in said article, it’s not a matter of “how much work there is to do around diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in the workplace.” And I very much doubt it’s about pronoun-stipulators finding themselves disqualified for “being authentic.” It’s more a matter of whether employers would be wise to hire, and trust, people who signal their narcissism, their unrealism, and their inclination to manipulate others.
And employers would do well to remember that The Pronoun Game, so much in fashion, is very often an attempt to bully others, to exert power, by making them say things, publicly and repeatedly, that they don’t for a minute believe to be true.
If an illustration is required of how things can go awry, readers may recall the infinitely charming Ms Amber Leventry, a “queer person and educator,” a professional them, who managed to be outraged by the fact that she had been asked not to swear and scream in the workplace. This appeal to reciprocal courtesy, and preference for not being assailed with bellowed epithets, was denounced as both “tone policing” – a wickedness “rooted in colonialism and white supremacy” – and an effort to crush underfoot the rights and wellbeing of transgender people.
When not expecting deference and “validation” for her frequent fits of temper – one might say bullying – Ms Leventry encourages her own small children, aged seven and nine, to shout profanities at passers-by who may have voted Republican. So, obviously, the perfect employee.
Update, via the comments:
EmC adds,
Well, if a job application includes imaginary pronouns and claims of themness, I think one could treat it as roughly equivalent to the words I like to shit on the carpet. Signalling, as it does, insufferable pretension or serious mental illness, or some unhappy combination of the two.
But in the minds of Ms Jackson and Mr McGonagill, every employer, and every workmate, has time for this shit.
And every employer, and every workmate, wants to be held to ransom with workplace meltdowns and threats of self-harm if the absurd made-up rules, which can change arbitrarily, at seemingly any time, several times a day, aren’t obeyed.
Update 2:
In the comments, sH2 follows the links above and finds this, one of many such examples:
A complication that necessitates the wearing, and frequent changing, of colour-coded bracelets:
To which, sH2 replies,
Well, quite. One has a finite lifespan and only so much goodwill. Best not to piss it away.
And note that Ms Jackson and Mr McGonagill make no provision for such scenarios, despite them being very much in fashion among the “non-binary” demographic, and competitively so. It would seem that Ms Jackson and Mr McGonagill believe that no degree of farce would be too much, and employers should simply accommodate and indulge any level of derangement and manipulation, regardless of the impracticality and expense, and regardless of the disruption, and regardless of the impact on the employer’s own mental health.
And so, we arrive at a situation in which employers and employees would be obliged to closely monitor the mood swings of their unhinged workmates, regularly checking pronoun-bracelets and pronoun-earrings, and other pronoun-stipulating accessories, as if they couldn’t possibly have anything better to do. Lest they be faced with some hair-trigger umbrage and operatic drama, or get summoned to the HR department and then scolded for being insensitive and insufficiently inclusive.
And a happy, utopian workplace would surely follow.
“Investing in these efforts can only be positive for companies and team members alike.”
Computer says no.
That. They should just write I AM REALLY HIGH MAINTENANCE.
And I very much doubt it’s about pronoun-stipulators finding themselves disqualified for “being authentic.”
Is today’s word ‘irony’?
“And employers would do well to remember that The Pronoun Game, so much in fashion, is very often an attempt to bully others, by making them say things, publicly and repeatedly, that they don’t for a minute believe to be true.”
So, you’re saying the ones to take this as anything but a warning, in fact, to regard it as a plus point, will be media and university HR groups..?
Well, if a job application includes imaginary pronouns and claims of themness, I think one could treat it as roughly equivalent to the words I like to shit on the carpet.
I’m just going to leave this here, I think.
Computer says no.
Wasn’t it Tim Newman who did his master’s thesis on whether all the diversity claptrap was actually correlated with any measure of increased profit or shareholder value?
(Spoiler: it’s not)
Any sort of ostentatious non-conformity can be a warning sign, the ostentation warning us that the individual is at minimum socially clueless and likely a troublemaker. I have seen companies dodge a bullet by rejecting applicants like that who I later witnessed behaving disruptively.
A reference to Nigerian pirates who hijack cargo ships? I have spoken with people who sympathize and support the hijackers, too, not just the trans bullies. I am convinced there is a common factor explaining this, one that reflects very badly on the left.
As with defective machinery, at some point one realizes that maintenance a waste of time.
It brought to mind a TikTok video that I think I linked to a while ago, and now can’t find, in which a male teacher professed to be emotionally exhausted and in need of months of paid sick leave, on account of the small children in his class being reluctant to lie about the sex of the person teaching them.
The honesty of small children – who used the words mister and he – had rendered him unfit for work.
Ah, here we go.
Remember “I will not enact the labor to explain”? LOL
A reference to Nigerian pirates who hijack cargo ships?
Somalian, specifically a scene from “Captain Phillips” about the Maersk Alabama incident.
…a message regarding neuroticism, pretentiousness, captiousness, and the likelihood of disruption…expect anyone nearby to indulge their tedious psychodrama…
Related, an absolute exhibition of this state of mind. Not exactly a fan of Piers Morgan, but get a load of all above from this utter nitwit he tries to engage in a discussion.
Argh! A stupid careless error on my part. My only excuse is that (1) I was tired and in a hurry, and (2) “Nigerian” and “Somalian” both end in “ian”. 😀
On previous post Richard Cranium “feelings hurt”: I hate to admit but it took me a while to get your name. My dad was Richard and he had to move to stop getting called Dick.
From a few months back, but at least they didn’t have some stereotype like Aunt Jemima.
I don’t interview anyone with pronouns in their resume. What’s the point.
More diversity madness: Biden nominee to head the FAA has no experience with aircraft and air transportation. He seems to have shown competence in other areas, but that’s not enough.
There was a time when ambassadorships were handed out as political favors and the lower level embassy staff were expected to do the actual work. Now that corrupt practice has extended to everything else.
It is useless to try to persuade these fanatics to change their minds; they are beyond reason–possessed, if you will. The only practical reason to engage with them is to persuade the non-fanatics that are listening.
I live in the real world and I deal in reality. Fantasy is for kids and Rainbow Flag wavers.. Without a decent respect for reality, we will cease to exist.
JWest: to paraphrase, reality doesn’t care about your feelings. If you hire disruptive people, you will lose money. If you shut down the grid you will have blackouts. If you let murderers out of jail, they will kill again. All these things are forseeable. Hiding your head only makes them worse.
On another note: my friend at 66 had zero testosterone (taking supplements now): it did not make him less masculine or more feminine, just tired all the time.
Another way to make job search more difficult: Choose an email address which sounds silly or childish. For instance: “squealing-skiffy-fan@” or “slacker-doper@”.
I did a lot of hiring in my former life. SW engineers, mostly, with the occasional HW tech. I eventually learned that ANYTHING that was not a job-positive should be a red flag. Thinking, “well, maybe it will work out” was ALWAYS a recipe for disaster.
Only hwites can be racists, Chapter 9,456.
Black racism is not rare.
The definition of racism blacks use is bias + power and then claim blacks have no power. In cases of random assaults on the street, they do have power, as do they when the local government is entirely democrat and black. But in any case, it is a weaseling definition.
Only hwites can be racists, Chapter 9,456.
Scott Adams did nothing wrong.
He was tone-deaf enough to say it out loud, but most middle class white and asian people figured out a long time ago that America has slid beyond a point of no return in race relations. The left has been pushing for a race war since the 1960s to usher in the Great Revolution, and they’re going to get one. It’s just a matter of timing now.
Pretty much everything the left does reflects badly on them, though it may not appear to do so at first.
Perhaps he has some particular fetish he indulges in publicly. That’s a bit of a theme with this administration.
Acknowledgment of it is.
“If A JOB APPLICANT in effect announces that THEY expect anyone nearby to indulge their tedious psychodrama and pretend along with THEM…” [Sigh] How can we fight the crazies when we do exactly the same? This is so easily avoided by simply making everything plural in the first place. “If job applicants in effect announce that they…” It can be done comfortably in almost every single case.
Fair point. Tweaked accordingly.
And remember, every employer, and every workmate, has time for this shit.
And every employer, and every workmate, wants to be held to ransom with meltdowns and threats of self-harm if the absurd made-up rules, which can change arbitrarily, at seemingly any time, several times a day, aren’t followed.
Post updated.
Bruce Bawer has a new edition of his book The Victim’s Revolution: The Rise of Identity Studies and the Birth of the Woke Ideology
Speaking of red flags: Cat-ears-clad school board member says district should not hire teachers from Christian university
Ms Jackson and Mr McGonagill can take a long walk off a short pier.
No, these kids are not indoctrinated robots. Not at all.
No, these kids are not indoctrinated robots. Not at all.
Dude is not wrong, why farm when you can just go to the store. Related, there may be a correlation here .
Meanwhile: Toxic masculinity, AKA the birth of civilization.
every employer, and every workmate, has time for this shit.
Most businesses work on a small profit margin. Grocery stores are a few percent. To compete, a business must be efficient. Fuckery like this will sour relationships and eat up time. Profitability can flip to banruptcy in the blink of an eye.
The freakin’ stupididity of this one is off the charts.
No, “trans”women do not have periods, the one abstract cited (if one is mad enough to click through the thread) does not say what he thinks it does, but even if it was beyond all doubt true that “trans”women had real women’s (herein after referred to as women) hypothalami, there is a reason they have to take HRT: no ovaries.
The hypothalamus does not produce estrogen, or progesterone. Neither do testicles, if a “trans”woman still (as many do) have them. Those hormones come from the ovaries or for the “trans” from the pharmacy.
No ovaries, or no functioning ovarian follicles, no period. This is why women who have had an oophorectomy (with or without hysterectomy) and post-menopausal women no longer have periods.
Even if our friend Mr. Commie Archaeologist were to take both estrogen and progesterone on a schedule such that his plasma levels exactly matched the monthly cycle of a woman’s he is still short uterus, human female, one each.
I’ll not deny, as he has admitted mental issues by declaring himself a communist, that he may have psychosomatic period-like symptoms, but a real one, no. A cramp in his rectus abdominus or levator ani just is not a “period”.
Apologies for the rant, I am getting tired of this utter nonsense. Period.
I don’t think he was tone-deaf. He knew exactly what he was saying and said it in a technically, literally correct way but still in one that would provoke a reaction. Gadflies can be tiresome but they can also provoke people to think. I’ve followed him, separate from his cartoon, off and on for some time. I read a couple of his books, one 20+ years ago, two others more recent. I read him on twitter but as I’m not on twitter I’m not “following” him. There are a lot of things he says and does that I disagree with and more that he says and does that I agree with yet find a bit tiresome. This isn’t one of those. I hope that he’s successful here, though I will be surprised if he is. But if he is, it could be a significant moment. He’s considering a run for Congress thus we should know one way or the other if this ploy works. He has had a significant role in exposing the media for their hoaxes, thus they hate him and will only portray him in the worst possible context, take his words out of context, etc.
It’s good business sense not to hire lunatics and emotional blackmailers.
To my point above.
“Affirm my delusions, and do it on demand, or I will start screaming and spiral into depression, and ultimately kill myself, and it will be All Your Fault.” Which doesn’t strike me as the kind of thing a well-meaning person would say. Or specifically, a good hire. It does, however, sound like an attempt to manipulate and dominate by someone with a serious personality disorder.
This can also be true outside of work.
I’m surprised the oppression rate is only 8%. Must be all the green-haired HR persons of genders putting a finger on the scales.
Toxic masculinity: the “survivor” episode with men vs women is hilarious. The only reason women can be so dismissive of men these days is that life is too easy. Give them a flat tire or a barking dog or a spider or a plumbing leak and they look for a man. We may be difficult to live with, but we sure are useful.
I don’t think he was tone-deaf. He knew exactly what he was saying and said it in a technically, literally correct way but still in one that would provoke a reaction.
I’ll accept the thesis (mentioned in a couple of other places) that Adams has a long game here. But the Overton Window has shifted to the point that blacks can and do publicly engage in racist and eliminationist rhetoric – and actions, often violent actions – and no one will do or say anything about it.
That’s why Adams is right. There is no fixing this. But because he’s right, there’s nothing he can do to shift that Overton Window towards the center. He doesn’t have the clout. Whatever his game plan, I think all he’s done is get himself cancelled.