Michael Erickson captures my thoughts, almost exactly, on this issue. I
think one of the reasons I push so hard against the idea that others have
any claim on the product of my work or any right to make demands on me is
that my whole life has been filled with working for others, and satisfying
their demands.
I'm afraid I've pushed back too hard and worked myself into a corner, but
the fact remains that there is an incredible amount of pressure applied to
white, male, Americans (and I'm going to assume other nationalities).
And besides, I don't get all the hub-bub about it because when I was
dating my wife (and now that I'm her husband) I found she had far more
power over me than I ever had over her. When we were dating she got very
upset at something I did (I didn't expect her to get upset); she kicked me
out of her house. The next morning I heard her drive by my house about
5:30 a.m. (we lived next to each other at the time). I was ready to
apologize and make ammends (doing whatever was required) so I jumped out
of bed, in my boxers and t-shirt, ran to my car and chased her down the
freeway until I got pulled over by a Highway Patrol Officer for speeding
(around 120 mph). When he got up to my car, and saw how I was dressed, he
asked what the hell I was doing in my boxers, t-shirt, slippers, going a
120 mph down the freeway. I explained it to him and he looked at me and
said, "I understand. Good luck." No speeding ticket, no ticket for
reckless driving.
Now you tell me, who has the power in that relationship? She does, because
she and I both know I would do the same thing (and much more) to preserve
my relationship with her.
But on the other hand, I can see how women are treated in the workplace
and I don't get it. Novell was especially sexist. New England seems much
better about women in the workplace.
-- Benjamin Compton bbc_mail@juno.comLearning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>