Just did my first write up.....

[gimmethesimplelife]

Hey Rob, good for you. I know the discomfort of this. I have often wanted to move even more up and the difficulties of the role are a consideration. I am in a middle manager position as well, not always fun. However I do like being a good supervisor to my people and doing good work. It is a chance to show what quality can really look like with your vast experience.

I already had to do one this year, sigh. Like you it was an area in our work that is trained on often, clearly stated, and there is no room for error. Still never feels good.

ZG - Thank You for understanding. I really appreciate this, I sure do. And you are right....it is not a comfortable position to be in, but.....it is part of the job. Rob

[Alan]

Alan, though we rarely agree I have often thought that your posts are fairly well thought out and that you are a man of some thinking, some education and some common sense (once again, even though we rarely see eye to eye). I'm not seeking issues with you by posting the following, I just want you to know this.

That said, I'm surprised with your not seeing the difference here - there is a HUGE TRIPLE GRAND CANYON WIDE SIZE DIFFERENCE (in all caps to get the idea of a huge difference across) between my upholding rules in the workplace during the course of my day in my new position (rules that are clearly stated more than once when any new temp signs up and passes screening for shifts and rules that are also repeatedly mentioned in temp service emails and meetings) vs. the police entering the 85006 - or any other zip code - and breaking the law by behaving like wild animals by illegal attacking innocent citizens. I offer for your perusal that sad sordid story of nurse Alex Wubbels in Salt Lake City, UT....you honestly believe this type of behavior does not go on on a daily basis all around the United States?

Ay carumba, Alan....Ay Carumba.....that's all I am going to say. And I don't want to get chatty and verbose and lose my main point, which is the very obvious difference between my upholding state work rules that temps have signed to before accepting shifts vs. illegal police behavior in any zip code (I'm being generous today and not making the 85006 special). That's all, I've stated my truth and what seems glaringly obvious from my lower income perspective (though my checks are about to get much bigger, I will admit that, especially with the overtime I will soon be getting) from the 85006. Rob

Don't be silly Rob, it's exactly the same thing, the only difference is your perspective. In one instance you perceive yourself and your friends as the victims and in the other you represent the oppressor. I think your new role will be good for you as your perspective widens.

[gimmethesimplelife]

Don't be silly Rob, it's exactly the same thing, the only difference is your perspective. In one instance you perceive yourself and your friends as the victims and in the other you represent the oppressor. I think your new role will be good for you as your perspective widens.

I am no oppressor. I do not have license to kill at will for any flimsy reason or non reason nor will any violent acts I commit result in paid Administrative leave......sorry....I see no reality in your post, at least from a lower income living in fear of the reality of America perspective. Rob

[Alan]

I see no reality in your post, at least from a lower income living in fear of the reality of America perspective. Rob

Tell that to the person who loses their job as a result of you doing yours. I don't think they'll see your distinction.

[JaneV2.0]

Different groups in this country live very different realities. You'd think that would be common knowledge, but apparently it's not. Perhaps reading Hillbilly Elegy, Jonathan Kozol's books, or any one of a number of memoirs written by members of marginalized groups--including females--might be eye-opening for some.

[Alan]

Different groups in this country live very different realities. You'd think that would be common knowledge, but apparently it's not. Perhaps reading Hillbilly Elegy.....

I've been meaning to read Hillbilly Elegy, mostly because the author is a local. I feel an affinity for the story because with a small change in terminology (there are no hills where I grew up in S/E Missouri cotton country) it could be about my life. Growing up way out in the country, raised by a farm laborer father and housewife mother, (whose idea of higher education was to go to high school, perhaps not finish but at least start) in a house with no running water, a coal stove for heat, a honey pot under the bed and a ramshackle out-house in the back yard (did I ever tell you about accidentally burning it down? Talk about inconvenience!), we were more commonly referred to as white trash.

Yes, I suspect that while my current reality is probably different than Rob's, it's probably much different than yours as well. I believe your lineage was well-to-do enough to see multiple realities where it took me a long time know that there were others. I'm trying to help Rob see that as well.

[JaneV2.0]

As my mother used to say "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." judging by the fruit flies in my kitchen, I'm not sure that's true, though.

I would say my background--going back generations--is pretty solidly middle-class, and I'm pretty happy with that. I suspect if I had had to struggle, though, I would have prevailed. I salute you for your success, if only so you can pay for my entitlements...

[bae]

Growing up way out in the country, raised by a farm laborer father and housewife mother, (whose idea of higher education was to go to high school, perhaps not finish but at least start) in a house with no running water, a coal stove for heat, a honey pot under the bed and a ramshackle out-house in the back yard

A house? You had a house? Luxury!

We had 3 generations living in a single-wide trailer. Way out past Possum Run Road. (I kid you not - I think Steve Earle wrote "Copperhead Road" after visiting...)

[Alan]

A house? You had a house? Luxury!

We had 3 generations living in a single-wide trailer. Way out past Possum Run Road. (I kid you not - I think Steve Earle wrote "Copperhead Road" after visiting...)

I always thought a trailer would have been an upgrade. I'll bet you didn't have gaps in the floor big enough for the cat to get in and out by itself, and our dirt roads didn't have names. The area was known as Wolf Island, because prior to levee's being built along the Mississippi River it was a high spot in a huge swamp suitable only for, well, wolves.

[bae]

Wolves would have been bad, they would have eaten all the wildlife we relied upon for meat.

We had no gaps, grandpa built fast cars for....the import/export business, and he always kept things welded up and patched. Often with car parts, true, but still.