Today's society has gone down a very crooked and crazy path. Morals are thrown out the window while caution and care are things of the past. We rush through life. We blame others for the shortcomings we face.
In the business world, its all about money. Push until they collapse, is the business motto I think my own employer should embrace. Better yet, maybe companies should compile personnel requirements outside of work. Here's what I mean....
I work for a sales company. 8-5, Monday - Friday. Sales is all about money. The more, the merrier. For the owners at least. Doesn't matter how much I bring in to the company as I'm only an administrative assistant to one of their Million Dollar Producers.
That life doesn't compliment the personal side of my life. I have 4 kids. Oldest one is 8 years old. His school expects me to read to him every night, do several pages of homework every night, have him read to me, while also getting him to bed by 7:30 PM so he won't be too tired for school the next day. Normally, I get home a little before or right at 6 PM. I have an hour and a half to do the following:
Reading (most nights my fiancé has their homework done before I get home)
Serve dinner (same as above, my fiancé tries to have dinner made by the time I get home)
Cleanup the dinner mess
Brush teeth and get everyone bathed
Make their lunches/snacks for school the next day (they have to tell me what they want)
And a final bedtime story.
This is not how it should be. And then I still get notes from the school that my oldest is failing first grade. That I'm not helping him enough. I need to read more and work harder with him at his homework. I'm sorry that the teacher isn't getting these done enough with him while she has him for 8 hours a day, but I also don't have enough time to cram more into him. Besides, by time I get home, he's dead tired and ready to eat and sleep. That's why its a fight to finish his homework.
I know I'm not the only parent out there with these issues. More studies are being done that show how this is a failing system. Kids aren't getting time with their parents. If they are like my kids, they probably watch their parents run errands or clean house on the weekends since they had no time during the week to. Studies also show that business people these days are burnt out from 8 hour days at work by the time they reach Wednesday. They also quit at an alarming rate because of the demands from their workplace. Taking time off is considered a hardship on the company and is frowned upon. My employer doesn't allow you to call in on the first, 15th, or last Friday of the month. My supervisor even told me that I needed to avoid taking off Mondays and Fridays. Understandable for business reasons, but it adds stress of trying to fit outside life into those guidelines. Job burn out causes people to stress more, have higher likeliness of illness, depression, and ultimately throwing in the towel. Some companies are seeing that lessening the workweek, say a 4 day workweek, has increased their productivity and overall happiness of their employees. Less vacation and sick days are taken. People have that day to take care of doctors appointments, take longer weekend trips, and spend time with loved ones. Amazon is one of those companies. I loved working my 10 hour days 4 days a week. If it weren't for my back problems, I'd still be there. The environment was great. They pushed everyone to care for themselves and well-being in order to, not care for the company, but to care for those they provide a paycheck for. Amazon leaders told their employees to watch themselves and do all they could to stay healthy. Not so that they would not miss work so much and cause hardship on the company. They did so while reminding everyone that if we missed time, we lose pay. We lose pay, we lose out on providing for our families. That is what companies are failing to do these days. Forget about telling your employees that they are a burden if they miss a day. Your employees don't care about that. Especially when you rake in millions-billions every year regardless. Remind me that my family is depending on me. Tell me that my paycheck is important to keep us afloat. That's what I need to hear to push myself. Give me one more day during the week to take care of those needs I otherwise have to avoid... and you have yourself a happier woman who is willing to drive herself to exhaustion to make it work.
So here is what I suggest. Companies should reevaluate the demands and amount of time they make people work each week. OR only hire single individuals, with no children, no outside life, and a love of money. Because people like me just don't fall into the guidelines of success they write otherwise.
Yesterday I read an article about a prank that was well played by some users of 4chan. 4chan.org is a website that has a reputation for either being cool and fun for nerds or being awful and full of the bad things the Internet can offer. Plenty of adult references are sprinkled amidst the various threads. Its self description is: "4chan is a simple image-based bulletin board where anyone can post comments and share images. There are boards dedicated to a variety of topics, from Japanese animation and culture to videogames, music, and photography. Users do not need to register an account before participating in the community. Feel free to click on a board below that interests you and jump right in!"
I'm a nerd. I surf the web often. I write, read and share on it daily. I use social networking sites for some of the things I participate in. But what I'm finding on the social networks has me worried about the future of this country. The pranks that were played by 4chan, just show that women in the feminist community are gullible and will follow whatever looks good in the name of Female Power. *Imagine me doing a fist-to-the-sky motion* Some of these things include wetting and soiling their own pants and posting proof of such for the world to see. All for the cause of equality to rape victims.
Now I'm not making light of rape and the victims that suffer from an attack. I know for a fact that its not pleasant. That there is pain and embarrassment. That sometimes the victims are made out to be instigators that brought it on themselves. Rape is a serious issue. No doubt in my mind about it. However.... How is wetting my pants and posting a picture of it on Twitter or Facebook going to help anyone? "Bring awareness" to the issue? Yeah right... I rarely pay attention to Facebook. I post to Twitter, but never check it otherwise. Unless I'm tagged or have some other kind of notification, I could care less what's on there. Sadly, I'm required to have both for blogging and review purposes. But who really pays attention to these networks these days? Busy bodies? People with such a miserable life, that they use it to feel better about themselves? People seeking attention? Its not really used that often for movers and shakers in the world of progress. And even more rarely does it improve the social lives of the people using it. I will tell you how I see this particular activity being detrimental. You know who likes such images? Rapists. Why? Rape isn't the reason they get off. Its the reaction of the victims. The pain, the terror, the defecation of themselves, the invasion of something private. That's what makes them a monster. So posting pictures like these, would be a treasure trove for them. Its like visual reminders of what they enjoy.
The other thing that makes this stupid? Let's examine what happens when something like this starts... First you have the original post. You might never know where it came from, who posted it, or what their true intent was. That post goes on the news feed of all their friends and followers. They share it. That posted meets new people and like a ripple in the pool, it spreads. Causes are shared often. It doesn't matter how old it is, how often you've seen it, or if its something you feel strongly about. Chances are you will get tagged or someone you are close to will share it with you. I did the Ice Bucket challenge. It was for the ALS awareness and has now been made into an annual thing. Every August you can fill a bucket with ice water, take a video of you pouring it on yourself, post it online, and then tag friends you want to do the same. It puts out awareness and lets people know where to go to donate towards a cure. But you couldn't pay me to pee my pants and post with a hashtag of #PISSFOREQUALITY... Now, if this were a true cause started by someone who really cared, don't you think the hashtag would be family friendly? Its vulgar. And stupid. And if I caught a friend of mine pulling something like this, we would have a talk. If they didn't take it down, I think I'd have to unfriend them...
The other prank mentioned in this article? Free Bleeding.
What the heck is wrong with you women?! I get some cultures follow a religious background of not using feminine hygiene products. But in the 21st century, people! Its there for a reason. Having blood running down your legs isn't healthy. Its gross. Unsanitary. It has nothing to do with what men think of the Crimson Tide. Sure, they make up names to talk about it since there's a stigma about saying menstrual cycle or period. Aunt Flo, Cousin Red, get your redwings, red tide, that time of the month... I use some of these terms myself. Who cares what you call it? You know what you're talking about.
So at the end of my rant, whether you care or not, I just think women, or people in general, should think twice before jumping on the bandwagon. You want to let the world know what you believe? Do something special or unique to yourself! Forget the norms. Forget the hype. Come up with your own idea. And if you absolutely must follow something radical... at least find out where it was generated so that you don't look like a fool.
