What we build and what we lose

Posted by Nate

on January 22, 2006

So I wonder a lot about what we build and what we destroy. It seems like every day ends with another paper plate or plastic cup in the trash and another smile created or a creased brow. I suppose that constant flux, that zero sum game of life and happiness is why Buddhists try to divorce themselves from the physical world. You can’t really be enlightened and care that the temple is burned or the flower trampled.

Of course I care, I’m no Buddhist, no matter how much I might envy that ideal somedays. Still Dre.

IMG_0643

So today at work was a strange day. I got there a little late, but not too late as it turns out, to get a few props in the Monday morning company meeting. Then I got assigned to a “secret project” at work. We occasionally get involved in highly contentious political and economic campaigns, and we have to keep our heads down, and our clients heads down, until they’re ready to rock it out. This is one of those dubious campaigns. Anyhow it should be interesting and challenging. I suppose it is sort of nice to be trusted with the companies discretion as well, even if the campaign isn’t one I’m very jazzed about.

[Listening to: One Thing - Finger Eleven - Scrubs Season 3 (4:39)]

The other bit of drama to occur at work today had to do with this here poster. I had gotten a gift wrapped in this poster from my sister this xmas. I thought it was a little bit funny and fairly dead on, so I brought it to work and hung it up. Two of my coworkers, we’ll call them “Banna” and “Joseber”, objected to the following bit of parody on the poster:

To that end we’ve taken the best tried
and true techniques - from Guatemala,
Tel Aviv and Abu Ghraib - and
combined them into an unbeatable 2
week learning experience guaranteed to
turn your little heathen back into a godfearing
Christian - or your money back!

In specific they objected to the idea of Tel Aviv having anything in common with Guatemala and Abu Ghraib. I of course think that is ridiculous, as anyone who bothers to read about the Illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine knows that the Israeli’s have used plenty of dubious methods of coercion, and yes, yes, torture. (Just to get you started I will refer you to Amnesty International USA’s 1995 report on the subject, there are 10 more years of reports there if your interested, as well as myriad other sources of corroborating independent evidence out there if you want to do a little fact checking on your own.

Anyhow these two jokers complained, and I had to go talk to our HR lady about the poster and when I told her I thought this was both ridiculous and offensive, she punted to our company CEO. So, as you might have already imagined, his position on the subject is pretty much “don’t rock the boat, and we’ll all get along fine.” Which I’m sure makes a lot of sense on some business level, but doesn’t really endear me to the company. If this is the bar for freedom of expression to be restricted at our company, then it is set pretty low. And for that matter, part of what I liked about the Share is that it seemed liberal and progressive. The experience made me want to consider working here a little more strongly than I did last week. One of my friends works there, and she’ll get a $2,500 bonus if she refers me and I sign on. (As far as I know my current company offers no such compensation for bringing in talent.) Sourceforge also buys its employees lunch every day. I don’t know what the corporate culture is like out there, but I do know that I’m passionate about the open source movement, it’s tools, and would like to work for a company actively engaged in that field.

So that’s my rant for the day. =)

The Standard Biz