| You want to know what's stuck in my bonnet today? |
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| I cannot freaking stand the apathy our culture has been lead to feel. Nobody seems to give a shit about anybody else anymore. No one is accountable for anything, ever. It doesn't seem to matter how poorly people behave or how shitty their job performance is. We can blame it on the system, but we're sure not allowed to blame those that work within it. 'Cause there ain't nobody listenin'. |
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| I want to scream at the receptionist that screwed up my doctor's appointment today. I booked that appointment almost two weeks ago and was told that on Wednesday at 1:35, I could be fit in because the dear old doc would be taking his vacation immediately after, and it was crucial that I see him before he leaves. She looked at me blankly today and said, "Your appointment was yesterday. The doctor is away until the middle of July." I had the appointment card, filled out BY HER, in my hand... and I was NOT wrong. Did she apologize? No. I explained to her that without a doctor's signature on these stupid forms, I would not be able to obtain my medication that I NEED TO LIVE. Did she apologize then? No. She looked at me as if to say "and I should care because....". Argh! What the hell do you do with that?? |
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| It's not just her. It's her, and the people at Anarchia's bank that totally messed up her student loan payments and erroneously sent her account to collections, thereby rendering her unable to obtain the last year's loan she needs to complete her Master's degree. It's the worker at community services who seethes, "well FINE then!" when you explain that you can't call back yet AGAIN because you don't have a phone and you are out of quarters for the payphone, so you'll continue holding for eighteen hours to talk to the worker that holds the carrot you need to eat. It's the collections officer who tells you that your overdue account is more important than whether your children eat this month, and if your kids starve it's your own damned fault for letting things "get out of hand". It's the shrink who tells you to "get a job" when you confess to feeling extremely suicidal. And did any of these people apologize or make amends for their errors in judgement, even when they had been informed of the damage their actions caused? What do you think? |
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| When did these people stop being human? Why are there so many of them? And why the hell do they work with the public when they obviously CAN'T STAND PEOPLE?? |
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| I think there's a bunch of reasons why people have come to behave this way. |
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| I think that we are being deliberately exposed to hundreds of images each day that "inform" us of terrible events that are happening around the world. I think the natural result of seeing wars and famine and disease and cruelty, without having the power to change the offending situation, is the feeling of helplessness and futility. We are aware of the horrors in places distant, yet we know we cannot do anything to stop them from happening. Do YOU think you can feed all the starving children in Africa? Do YOU think you can bring lasting peace to the Middle East? Do YOU think you can save the rainforest? I am dumbfounded in the face of those problems. There doesn't seem to be anything I can do that's going to even make a tiny bit of difference... after all, I don't hold an elected office or have a zillion dollars or a church full of people who listen to me (okay, just you guys, but come on... how seriously do you take me? hehe). And I would bet my last twelve cents that you feel just as powerless as I do. |
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| That powerlessness doesn't just stop at the global issues. When we throw up our hands and say "it's not my fault! I can't help it!" about global warming (and we are totally right when we say that), that attitude leaks into our ability to care about ANYTHING that's not directly related to us or our loved ones. We tell ourselves that we can only care "so much" or else we'll be "burned out" from worrying about everyone else's problems all the time (since we can't do anything about them anyway, right?). |
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| There's also something about this that reminds me of "diffusion of responsibility". This is the psychological phenomenon at work that makes us less likely to receive help from a crowd of people than from a single individual. Most individuals in a crowd witnessing an accident will choose to do nothing, merely because s/he thinks that "someone else is already doing it". Because each person thinks this, nobody calls 911. But if you understand that you are the ONLY one who is able to help, you're dashing for the payphone and giving CPR. |
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| It's the same thing on the job and in your personal life. If you think "I can't do anything, somebody else will handle this" when a client or a friend or a co-worker is in need, guess what - NOBODY ELSE WILL HANDLE IT IF YOU DON'T. Because everyone else is overworked and underpaid and "burned out" just like you, and they are going to come to the same conclusion. Remember that when you decide not to do that little thing your heart tells you to do: help. And if you really can't help, be kind. |
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| I also wanted to talk about the impact of worthlessness in the workplace... how people no longer feel valued at their jobs, so they just don't care whether the job gets done (another powerlessness thing). But I'm too tired to stay on my soapbox any longer. |
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| You've been listening to another what-the-hell-is-this-woman-talking-about rant by Lysergia... sponsored by Panama Red, the leaf of choice by discerning opinionated people. |
