Depression in Rawanda

"We had a lot of trouble with western mental health workers who came here immediately after the genocide and we had to ask some of them to leave.

They came and their practice did not involve being outside in the sun where you begin to feel better. There was no music or drumming to get your blood flowing again. There was no sense that everyone had taken the day off so that the entire community could come together to try to lift you up and bring you back to joy. There was no acknowledgement of the depression as something invasive and external that could actually be cast out again.

Instead they would take people one at a time into these dingy little rooms and have them sit around for an hour or so and talk about bad things that had happened to them. We had to ask them to leave."

~A Rwandan talking to a western writer

Stupidity should be painful

Submitted with permission to reprint, and for other to reprint and post where ever bigots gather.

"Another Sociologist, and friend of mine who works on the Wet Coast, has opined on occasion that "Stupidity should be painful". As a corollary to that point, I might add that "Stupidity plus hate should be fatal". 

Although wishing somebody a painful death is less than human to most of us, accounting for the hundreds of thousands of useless hours trying to reform a bigot is no more productive than a sexual bigot trying to 'reform' a person who is naturally attracted to a person of the same gender.

From a purely "Modest Proposal" point of view, these poor creatures, would no longer have the influence on susceptible young minds, turning their offspring also into stupid hate mongering machines. In a single generation, moronic haters would be nothing but a memory.

Most of the US Republican Party would be dead with the rest of them in significant pain, along with the followers of the KKK (in whatever form to which it has evolved/devolved), the members of the Westboro Baptist Church, and the founders/followers of the American Family Association and Focus on the Family.

Until we realize that "Stupidity should be painful and Stupidity plus hate should be fatal" is yet just a glorious dream, and the efforts to educate the moronic bigots that inhabit our planet must continue.

Insensitivity

Am I being totally insensitive, or are the people receiving the messages over reacting? 

This is a judgement call at best depending on the gap between the sender and receiver of information.

This exchange with an internal developer earned me a lecture from my boss.

From: B****
Sent: August 13, 2014 14:46
To: D*****
Subject: RE: [Ticket #******] [intranet page]  scroll issue 07AUG14

Hi D*****,

 [Ticket #******] [intranet page]  scroll issue 07AUG14

Please close this ticket.

In that 

- IE is the ONLY browser in which [intranet page] functions, and that;
- IE is a dysfunctional browser at the best of times – therefore;
- IE is the fifth browser of choice behind Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Safari.
Instead of trying to make [intranet page] function in real browsers, an effort which could be considered a WOMBAT (Waste Of Money, Brains and Time), my solution is to avoid [intranet page] all together until or unless it becomes absolutely imperative to try to make IE work for me.

Ergo: Please close this ticket.

Perhaps “D*****” has a stock portfolio that includes Internet Exploder, or he only develops programs for IE, but he was so upset about these particular comments he took them to his boss who took them to my boss, who landed on me with both feet to provide a reprimand for being “inappropriate and disrespectful” to a colleague.

POLICY that I apparently violated:
Objectionable conduct and behaviour includes, but is not limited to:

-       conduct by words, acts or omissions, which is disrespectful or harmful to an individual and that is likely to have the effect of creating an embarrassing, intimidating, hostile or offensive environment within the organization and /or is likely to prejudice an individual’s performance, self-esteem or dignity. 

At least I did not tell “D*****” to take IE and shove it up his assets - THAT would have been “inappropriate and disrespectful”!

See I do know the difference :-)