The Washington Times is running a story about Lisa McClelland a 15 year old high school student who wants to create a Caucasian Club at her high school. Many at the school support her efforts claiming that a Caucasian Club would be no different that the already existing African American and Latin clubs already at the school. Others oppose the club stating that such a club would fuel racial tension.

While at face value, there appears to be nothing wrong with the desire to create a Caucasian Club when you all sorts of other clubs based on race are allowed. The main reason sited in the story for creating the club is that the club “would focus attention on European heritage and history.” Strangely, the Washington Times story made no mention of the major oversight here. The implication that all Europeans are Caucasian is clearly wrong. Frankly, the attempt to pass this off with such a lame excuse is actually what makes the motive suspect. In all honesty had Ms.McClelland been straight forward and said that the club would focus on white heritage and history, it would be much more believable and worthy of consideration. Maybe a Scandinavian Club would suit the needs. Unfortunately, as with most attempts to veil incitement, it’s not fooling anyone except stupid people.

Today I read this article and I was somewhat amused by it. It’s about perception problems in the workplace and how you should handle them. While there were a couple of useful suggestions in the article, I found alot of them to be somewhat silly and unrealistic. So, I have graciously amended some of these suggestions with what I feel to be more realistic ideas.

1. Do people at work think you’re lazy? Its going to take at least 1 year to change peoples perception of you and that will require a total 180 degree change on your part. Of course this 1 year period applies if you don’t get fired first. If I were you, which I’m glad I’m not, I would start looking for a new job where I can start from scratch.

2. Your coworkers think you’re unprofessional. This is very similar to item #1 in its level of hopelessness. These things basically seem to boil down to personality traits. Good luck changing you personality. These things are usually ingrained from years of living. Yes, it is possible to change your personality, but you’ll probably need help from some type of professional counselor.

3. Your coworkers think you’re a clown. There are two types of office clowns. The kind that everyone loves and the kind that everyone hates. Ok, so there are a few who lie in the middle ground. If you are the type of office clown that everyone loves, you are pretty much safe. You can expect to get standard raises and you can actually get away with doing less work as all your clowning around will be seen as morale building and this will alleviate your workload. However, if you are a disliked office clown; even if you are only moderately disliked, you are in grave danger. You should either stop clowning around and get some work done, or get better at it.

4. Your coworkers think you’re a party guy. This may or may not be a problem depending on your job. If you’re an engineer then you have a problem. Engineers are supposed to be nerds who are severely socially challenged. Engineers should ideally be borderline autistic. Kind of like Rain Man. The only types of engineers that can get away with being party guys are network, sound and train engineers. Period. If you’re a software, electrical, or computer engineer and you are a party guy, you picked the wrong major and your days are numbered pal. Of course, if you are not an engineer; say perhaps you are in sales or marketing. Then being a party guy is actually an asset. Everyone with any sense knows that the best sales people are wild partyers. Being socially adept is a necessity for sales people. The ability to con people into buying all sorts of useless crap comes from years of practice. Partiers have been practicing a lot more that you have. Don’t believe me, try having one of your socially anxious engineers sell something for you. You’ll see.

5. Your coworkers think you’re a womanizer. This falls into the exact same category as #4 and is basically just filler. If you have the game necessary to score the mad play from the lassies, then you’ll have a spot on just about any sales or marketing team. The art of persuasion is always in demand. If you are a woman and you are reading this(fat chance) sorry, this doesn’t apply to you. Yes, it’s a double standard that you will be seen as a slut and shunned by all. It’s not my fault, I just report what I see.

6. Your coworkers think you’re always late. Guess what. If your coworkers think that you are always late, its probably because you are always late. You have a couple of choices here. Change your lazy snooze button hitting ways. Or, create an image of round the clock productivity. Perhaps you have heard of the automated email being sent by at an ungodly time of the night. Get some work done that you need to send out to some coworkers. Instead of sending it at during normal hours, try sending it out at around midnight. Of course you will need remote connectivity for this. Call someone at home and ask them something about a project. These are just some examples of how you can create a aura of constant productivity.

7. Your coworkers think you’re unethical. You must be in management. Good work. Try to cover up better or do a better job of cleaning up your messes. You’re slipping and if you don’t straighten up you’re gonna get sacked soon.

8. Your coworkers think you’re not a team player. Must be a reason for it. You can try following the advice in the article, but the problem is probably that you’re an ass and there’s not much of a solution for that.

A recent observation of mine, is that it seems that IT managers are having a hard time finding experienced, skilled software engineers. Apparently after the recent surge in outsourcing activity, it seems that many programmers have been cast into the role of babysitting large groups of offshore developers. As a result, many have somehow lost their desire to return to the coding ranks. Some managers have had a hard time understanding this and have reacted with incredulity and contempt for their onshore developers.

The truly galling and outrageous aspect of all of this is that managers now react as if they have been hurt, literally shocked and appalled at the unwillingness of some former coders to write code once again. Failing to see the hypocrisy of their stance, when they deliver the axe to those whose coding jobs have been outsourced to India, they use the needs of the business as their excuse. However, when the tables are turned and the American coders now embittered with their chosen profession avoid or openly refuse to code, project managers act as if they have been the victims of the ultimate betrayal. To them I say, reap what you have sown. The feelings of betrayal that you feel can only infinitesimally compare to the feelings brought by the commoditization of the programmer.

The bottom line is this. YOU wanted to hire cheap programmers in India or wherever the hell else you thought you could get a better deal. And now with some reports showing that at least 50% of all outsourcing engagements fail, you’re looking for us to come back and pull your hides out of the fire. Well, woe is me I feel so sorry for you. Now its going to cost you more than if had you stayed with us all along. Why? Because now I want even more money to sit in a cube and write code and because now, I’m pissed.

In a commercial that has been getting a good amount of airplay lately, IBM has cast an individual whose character name is Ari. In the commercial, Ari’s character plays the role of a sort of technical lead type. He then turns to an African American IBM help desk attendant for advice on prototyping. The interesting thing about Ari is that it appears that Ari’s alternate persona is that of the Amazing Racist. Yes, that’s right, IBM has cast an individual who creates videos of himself making fun of and insulting people of various races and ethnicities. To see for yourself, take a look at a couple of examples of the Amazing Racist’s work and just in case you’re at work, be aware that they contain profanity.

Amazing Racist Makes fun of Asians here:

http://www.starterupsteve.com/video/amazingracist-asian.html

Amazing Racist dresses up as a kkk member here:

http://www.starterupsteve.com/video/amazingracist-kkk.html

You can view the IBM commercial here:

http://www-5.ibm.com/e-business/uk/tv_spot/medias/qt/testing_hr.mov?ca=ebod_uk&me=w&met=txt&re=about/uk&tactic=305AX03W

The questions that come to mind after viewing all of this are many. Is IBM aware that they have cast the Amazing Racist? Should IBM care? Obviously this is not an issue of freedom of speech. It’s clear that IBM has every right to place Ari in their commercial and that Ari has every right to make ridiculous videos. However, is it in good taste for a company that most likely has very progressive policies on inclusion and diversity to have this type of association?

I’ve seen a lot of comments on this and they range from amusement to outrage. Yes, some people think it is funny. I have to admit that there were a couple of times when I laughed. However, does the fact that it may be funny make it right? It all seems like a gray area sometimes, but it does make for lively discussion. I’d like to see more discussion before I express my opinion.

C69

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