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Greg Storey posted something interesting that is getting a ton of comments. It’s an interesting mix of design issues vs. ethical considerations in the wake of 9/11.

All of this, and an interesting evening, got me thinking…

I had a young person come into the store last night who tried to buy beer without an ID. He’s a regular (he’s old enough to buy cigarettes), and I know he’s over 18 — but I don’t know that he’s 21, which is the legal age to buy beer in Ohio. No ID, no sale (it’s in this link, somewhere: people over the age of 16 in Ohio are required, by Ohio law, to carry a state-issued ID on your person at all times — in public). He went away angry, saying that “it’s going to be a long f’ing night!”

I had several other young people come in last night, some obviously hammered, to buy cigarettes and hot dogs and such, and I had to card each one of them, and to most of them, it was a big deal. Often, when they don’t have their ID, or if they aren’t old enough (then they won’t have their ID), they put up a fuss.

At times, it can be like pulling teeth.

One night, one kid, after being refused a sale, actually pulled down the magazine rack on his way out. He quickly became a guest at the local constabulatory’s graybar hotel.

All this makes me wonder what we, as a society, are doing wrong when so many of our young people think that the single, most important thing they can do when they come of age is to drink alcohol.

The emphasis is obviously on the wrong syllable here.

What does our society stress to make people want to escape reality so badly? Don’t read me wrong here: I’m not against alcohol consumption (God forbid — I’m drinking a beer as I write this, but enjoying it rather than drinking it to get slammed).

Perhaps we are not teaching our kids to respect themselves; we see it in these young people being rude, intolerant, loud, boisterous, expectant of instant respect and displaying generally repugnant behavior (I mean interpersonally — not the bad manners, yelling, public belching, over-exuberant flatulence and whatnot).

Before you fly off the handle about this: I’m not talking about every young person; many young people I encounter are quite polite, the products of good parenting. I am only talking about many young people I encounter while on my job, and my job includes selling alcohol.

In the case of the young man I had to turn away: he obviously should think about why it was so important to have alcohol last night, and why he needed it. Perhaps an A.A. meeting might help him find the answer(s) to this.

If not, it could be a long f’ing life…

…for my loving wife this morning, before I go to bed, because she placed a photo of Godzilla on the front page of The News-Herald (it’s not on their web page, though).

She didn’t use this image, but this was the best I could find on such short notice. Buy the paper and look in the lower left corner of the page, in the lower rail. There — right there. That’s it.

The King himself. In the flesh, as it were.

Such a loving woman; should I buy some roses for her today? I think so; she deserves them.

I wandered into work tonight to get the new schedule and a pick up a beer or two. The place was totally jammed, and it was almost impossible to get a parking space, let alone a spot in the line inside. I entered and took a spot at the end of the line, about the 20th person or so. One person manned the counter, and the other person was busy mopping the floor.

Just as I entered the line, the gal behind the counter called to her co-worker that she needed help; evidently, this crowd had gathered in a flash. The guy looked up, plunked the mop into the bucket, and as he walked back to the counter, he uttered the four-letter “f-bomb.”

Well, some lady right ahead of me complained about his “language” to the gal at the counter — after her sale was completed. I stepped up to the counter, placed my beer in front of the clerk and began discussing it with the woman, identifying myself as an employee.

I agreed with her about the gentleman’s language, that it was inappropriate, and told her that I would talk with him about it. Well, she went on about it, calling the employees “uneducated misfits.” I couldn’t resist the temptation…

I explained to her that just about everyone that worked at that particular store had been laid off from other, higher-paying jobs: the guy she complained about was a computer programmer; the gal behind the counter was a nurse; we have a former office manager, two other computer professionals, two retirees, a graphic artist and me, a web designer, working there at this particular time. I told her that he really cared about doing a proper job, and that I understood his momentary frustration. I also told her that she was welcome to fill out a comment card and mail it in to our corporate offices, and they would dispense the appropriate discipline.

She declined and went on her way, seemingly intent that she had gotten her point across. She did, but I don’t think she quite understood it; people who discriminate against others rarely do: they don’t value or respect human life — even their own.

I started thinking about how we are losing jobs daily to overseas competition, how people are losing their homes and having to do with substantially less because the only jobs available are service-oriented jobs that pay substantially less, and how little some people are concerned about this situation; it’s a serious situation that everyone in the country should fear: disposable people.

George Bush once said something about “the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-mores’.” He was talking about the upper class, and not about the middle or lower classes; I’m surely not a “have” or a “have-more”: I have been aced out of two jobs since 9/11, and not because I couldn’t perform. I took the job at the store only because I have a mortgage to pay, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let the bank take my house away.

This event brought to mind a Star Trek Next Generation episode where Commander Data (the android) was ruled a machine and therefore property of Starfleet. Guinan (played by Whoopi Goldberg) told Captain Jean-Luc Picard that if they were to accept the ruling which allowed Starfleet to create a race of Data’s, then they would have succeeded in creating a whole race of disposable people.

I have unwillingly become one of those disposable people, neither a “have” nor a “have-more.”

In the STNG episode, Guinan was talking about slavery.

That’s the last thing we, as an “enlightened society,” need.

~~~~~~~

This article has been reposted since the site crashed. There were 4 comments:

1. I’m trying hard to think of something profound to say, but can’t. Bully for you for stepping up and engaging that woman.

Comment by George Nemeth — Wednesday, August 11, 2004, 7:44 am

2. I have to add here that I was extremely polite to this woman; I realy didn’t “engage”her, per se. My comments about my co-workers were delivered in the same courteous, understanding, non-judgmental tone.

I wasn’t condescending to her in any way; I let her know that her comments were valid and heard — but also that her judgmentalism was way off base.

To paraphrase an old saying: tact is the art of telling someone to go screw themselves and have them depart with a smile on their face — as if you’d just paid them the highest possible compliment.

Comment by Will Kessel — Wednesday, August 11, 2004, 1:01 pm

3. On another point, I wrote this not out of frustration or bad attitude, but as from what I see as a disturbing issue coming from the current state of our economy: we have a lot of talented people out of work today, for the reasons I mentioned in the article, and more. Those that are working beneath themselves, like most of the people I work with, are all doing what they can. It’s about survival.

For me, I am working at this job while unemployed (technically, “under-employed”), because I am willing to do what it takes to make ends meet, even if I have to make a few sacrifices. It’s better than not working at all — for professional, emotional, financial and spiritual reasons.

I hold no grudge; I just see a disturbing situation. When that lady referred to my fellow employees as “uneducated misfits,” I had to politely point out the error in her logic, hoping that by doing so, she would see the discrimination.

Comment by Will Kessel — Wednesday, August 11, 2004, 1:33 pm

4. Disposable People — Excellent post everyone needs to read.

Trackback by verybigblog — Wednesday, August 11, 2004, 10:23 pm