Shouldn’t laugh.

I realise I shouldn’t laugh at the misfortune of others.  Once in a while though, I just can’t help myself.  Maybe “misfortune” isn’t quite correct.  Maybe we’ll go with “stupidity”?  Not sure.

Now,  I choose not to comment too much of some of the silly little things that pop up in the news from time to time.  Things like,  Congressmen thinking it’s OK to send pictures of their skinny little selves to their constituents,






or,  the mad ravings of an out and out lunatic.




By the way,  I’m pretty sure my response to either of these situations would somehow involve repeated public floggings,  but I’m a little quirky that way. 

On those two items,  I have no opinion.  You’re welcome to your own.
No,  I’d prefer to comment briefly on a couple items that are a little closer to “home”.  By “home” of course I mean the one back in Canada.

See,  there are a few Canadian institutions that we mostly love to hate.  There’s Bell Canada,  the CBC,  Air Canada and The Post Office.  I’m sure there’s some official title for the Post Office,  but I don’t care.  And actually,  I’m OK with the CBC,  it is something that does tend to solidify us as a nation.   Bell Canada?   They could all get swallowed up in a great big gaping fault line as far as I’m concerned.  Haven’t dealt with them for years,  and even if they offered free phone/internet whatever for the next decade,  I still wouldn’t wouldn’t want to deal with them.   Don’t want to end up like example number two above.  (I think there’s a “number two” pun in there somewhere?)

Now,  I realise that in the case of Unions and the idea of striking,  it usually comes down to earning a living and things like the security of one’s pension.  That’s pretty important.  I have no problems with that.  We’re not going to get off on a tangent here talking about the pros and cons of a union environment.  There are situations where it is most definitely needed.  See, that whole “we’re oh so important”  philosophy can be said to accurately reflect the attitude of both Union and Management when it comes to each of these institutions.

That’s all I’ll say.

That’s not the part that’s laughable.  What’s laughable is how they are completely oblivious to the absurdity of their, “Well,  you certainly can’t live without us.” attitude.   When it comes to a strike, that attitude doesn’t always work.  Unless you have a way of safely bringing the activities of your employer to a stand still, you’re just going to be outside walking around with a picket sign….and possibly saying dumb things on camera…

Here are a couple examples:  In our neighbourhood,  we’ve learned over the years that,  no matter who it is that is delivering our mail, and we’ve had various mail carriers over the years, we need to check with one of our neighbours from time to time to see just how much of our mail they’ve been collecting.  Apparently, dyslexia is one of the more sought after job qualifications when it comes to mail delivery.  This has been going on for years.  There are only four numbers in our house number.  How hard is it to read them from left to right??   Why do I (or for the last several years,  my daughter or her husband) need to go to my neighbours two blocks away to check if they have any of our mail?   Why should we also have to deliver their mail to them?  (see…it’s that dyslexia thing?)
Just wondering.
  But no,  the postal service is oh so important!  Sorry,  any time I put something in the mail to send home,  it’s pretty much a crap shoot whether it will ever get there or not.   Thankfully I can always later check using….wait for it… email!
Here’s example number two:  Recently on the news,  the management at Air Canada said that basically all systems were “go” and everything was running as to be expected.  Note my careful wording.
In the next instance,  the media interviewed a Union rep,  and this individual had nothing but scorn for that assertion, saying that she had been speaking to the baggage handlers etc.  and everything was in turmoil!   BUT HERE’S THE THING,  how could she tell the difference?   Half of those people suck at their jobs most of the time anyway,  so what’s worse than “lousy”?  “Lousier”?  Is that a word?  . Do they not realise how much they suck?  Do they not realise how funny those comments are to someone who has experienced first hand the utter gall and temerity of some of these people??   Please! 
Oh, but they’re important! 
By all means,  strike away!  I appreciate the effort involved in trying to entertain me,  but really,  try and snap out of it before giving any more sound bites to the media, because you’re just making yourselves look bad.



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