Playing the Mind Guerilla
Song Stuck in my Head: "Mind Games" by John Lennon
A pertinent song for today. When I quit my job here I can go into a bit more detail, (Privacy Act issues in play here) but let it be sufficient to say that I currently have two to three different factions demanding my loyalty. Really, there is no question of where my loyalty lies, just an extraordinary sense of disappointment in the person(s) trying to use my good will to their own advantage. Also a disappointment in just how severely said person(s) have misjudged my character and personal level of intelligence/shrewdness.
Said person(s) had been on my resume as a reference, but I will have to remember to strike them off of it today when I get home. For John Lennon "Yes" may very have been the appropriate answer, but for me - weighing my soul power on the karmic wheel- (to paraphrase the lyrics) it had to be "No".
A pertinent song for today. When I quit my job here I can go into a bit more detail, (Privacy Act issues in play here) but let it be sufficient to say that I currently have two to three different factions demanding my loyalty. Really, there is no question of where my loyalty lies, just an extraordinary sense of disappointment in the person(s) trying to use my good will to their own advantage. Also a disappointment in just how severely said person(s) have misjudged my character and personal level of intelligence/shrewdness.
Said person(s) had been on my resume as a reference, but I will have to remember to strike them off of it today when I get home. For John Lennon "Yes" may very have been the appropriate answer, but for me - weighing my soul power on the karmic wheel- (to paraphrase the lyrics) it had to be "No".
posted by Magnus at 14:59
4 Comments:
Oi gevalt, as you might say. I guess I am not the only one staring into the unfathomable face of politics these days.
Although it looks like I will be able to put my blog back up. So far, you are are the only one I told, aside from the message I put on my facebook's personal profile last night. But as I say, the news isn't bad anymore. Chalk it up to my powers of persuasion, which are much better than I thought. Although, I still have a lot of work to do with stubborn, intractable people, and even ordinary people. But with people who are unusually open to everyone's opinions, I have no problem.
Now with with people in my own culture in university politics, sometimes that is a different matter. Watch out for that. Only is that a really big problem in Grad School, where everybody knows everybody else. Canadian's have notoriously thin skin and are sooooooooo defensive. I thought you were supposed to debate and critique people's ideas. Now students, and some teachers even (particularly radical culturists - ask me person to person, if you want to know what I mean) just expect you to sit back, listen, and gaze ahead like zombies. No more engagement for Canadian universities, no sirreee. Which is strange, because I always thought debate was what higher education entailed in the greater individual's and community's search for truth, knowledge, understanding. Sure, there are time I think everybody has to agree to disagree.
Anyway, I never had any problem in my undergrad years. During that level of my schooling, my teachers always appreciated me challenging, contributing, disagreeing, and agreeing (and yes, in Grad school, some teachers often don't like you agreeing with them either! Bizarre.)
My current prof is nice. He likes debate and challenge. I had one or two very very good profs last semester too. But, as I say, a growing number have that passive aggressive streak which is in addition to the politics we (university students, I, and even ordinary people working at jobs, like you, have to contend with).
Ah, I am growing more cunning in my thinking, acts, writing, etc. Thanks to you, and some very very good friends at university, as well!
By the way, I really like Musashi! A lot.
Oi.
Glad you'll soon be away...and be here.
Hooray :)
Politics get in the way everywhere it seems...
Well I did the right thing and stood by the right people. Politics always has a way of wending its way into everyone's lives. There is a George Orwell quote on my Facebook profile:
"In our age there is no such thing as 'keeping out of politics.' All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia."
That holds true for work place politics. Said person(s) have been used to getting their way all the time, but they really pushed the envelope too far this time. They went from being (a) person(s) that I had respect for to (a) person(s) that I now see in a prett dim light.
As for bolgs and work Thoth, I never tell co-workers about my blog. They may see me working on it but they have no way to connect it to me. When back in Taiwan, do not allow your co-workers to see your blog and do not mention it to them. You are a genuine person and people will try to use that against you.
Of course. That is why I have been so careful. Not that I was always that careful. Although I never gave people my blog address, or told them the name of the blog. One of the golden rules is: never blog about your job during the time when you are working there. This is one of the gold rules that my friend Michael Turton gives to teachers on his teaching in Taiwan site.
However, you never know when people are going to search for you... Which is why I have been trying to keep the information I impart vague as possible. And university? Well, it depends. It depends how much you care. Or how it could affect your future. And it is good to avoid being hypocritical - either appearing so or actually being such.
Post a Comment
<< Home