Saturday, March 20, 2010

Compassion...Is that an Lost Art?

The other day is I was walking into work, I was greeted by some laughing co-workers. What were they laughing about? Apparently, some co-worker thought it would be a great idea to take another co-worker's picture, photoshop it with a derogatory message about his manhood, and then mass texted it to other co-workers. No, I did not receive the message. When I saw it on another co-worker's phone, I was outraged and offended! I admit the victim is a little "slow" and can be a little difficult to work with because of his handicaps. Is that a reason to treat him this way? I don't think so!

I'm aware that some teasing and practical jokes go on in the place, but this was downright malicious! A workplace is a place where professionalism and courtesy take priority. Everybody's got a right to a peaceful working environment. After seeing the victim walking around looking downtrodden and beaten like a dog, I decided to say something. I mentioned the incident to the supervisor. He mentioned that there was little that he could do about the cell phones, but he will look into all teasing and that goes on and take action. After all, workplaces can be sued for incidents like these....


Just last night, my son and I were having dinner at a local restaurant. We noticed that a noticed a handicapped lady with a walker was having a hard time pushing open a door. Someone threw fries at her! WTF! I was disgusted! My son then got up and opened the door for her. That's my boy! He has a kind heart where others do not.

All these incidents has got me thinking. Where has the compassion gone is this world? Is being mean to other people really that funny? Has this generation gone to crap? I guess I was raised differently. I was taught to be compassionate towards others less unfortunate than I am.....

4 comments:

TAD said...

Drew: I agree that more compassion would B a Good Thing, & yr son definitely did the Right Thing. U obviously raised him right.
But these days R not Xactly the times we were raised in, & having 2 much compassion 4 some people these days can sometimes get U in trouble 2. U can Nd up Bing a fool, a dupe, an EZ mark. U gotta pick yr spot.
4 Xample: I've bn at the store I work at 4 more than 6 yrs. In that time, I've bought somewhere around $75 in gas 4 people who were stuck, broke, down on their luck, having a hard time, or just wanted 2 get down the road a little farther.
In all that time, 2 people have come back 2 say thank U & pay me back. 1 of them, I'm sure, came back Bcos 1st he got the Long Lecture version of what I'm telling U right now. Then I caved in & bought him $5 wortha gas NEway.
I never told NE of these people they hadta come back & pay me, & they were all grateful at the time. But I figured some of them would come back & at least say thanx. I'm not a rich guy. Hell, 1 of the guys I helped useta B 1 of R regulars at the store -- & I haven't seen him since! That 1 makes me feel like a fool.
Some nites I helped out cos I felt sorry 4 people -- like a newlywed couple who spent part of their Thanksgiving nite warming-up in the store cos there was no heat in their motorhome.
Sometimes I did it just cos I hoped 2 sorta turn my karma around, if U know what I mean. But it's bn a long time since I've bought NE1 NE "free gas." Actually, it's bn a long time since NEbody's asked.
So I guess my rule is: B compassionate, yes. But don't B a dope about it. -- TAD.

drewzepmeister said...

Wise words, Tad!

Anonymous said...

Well, there is such a thing called workplace bullying (I did a paper about it in college). There is a lot this person can do and the company can actually get sued for it. So my advice to you is to let this person know and let your employer know the repercussions this can ensue upon them. What is disgusting about the whole event is that we are all supposed to be adults and they are acting like middle schoolers! SHAME ON THEM!! And kuddos to your son for being a kind hearted good samaitan!

drewzepmeister said...

Thank you anonymous for your comment! In fact, I did tell the victim of this! I don't think he is going to pursue anything at this point. Ever since I brought it up to my boss, he has been on the floor more often. Things have quieted down since...