Assume Nothing

About a month ago, a friend and colleague of mine earned a promotion. He was made the executive producer of Good Day NY, the morning show at Channel 5 in New York, an affiliate of a network named after a sly little furry animal (hint). Another friend and colleague shared a link to an article about it on Facebook, congratulating him. Someone else, someone I don't know and who doesn't know my friend who got the promotion, left a disparaging comment about the network under the link.

This really pisses me off.

The blind vitriol and venom. The distaste. The ignorance. That someone can see the name of the network, ignore everything else in the sentence, make assumptions and use it as an opportunity to bash the entire entity. On a link congratulating someone on a promotion. A person who was unemployed a year before. The guy earned it.

And he wasn't even working at the mother ship. He's working at an affiliate. A local station. Big difference. Doesn't matter. If it involves the network named after that sly animal, it must be evil I guess.

I get that people have different political views. I get that there are news personalities who elicit dislike, hatred even. So don't watch them. Change the channel. Every news channel has personalities and political points of view. Just choose the one you like, or agree with, and watch that. Why torture yourself and watch something that makes you so angry? Who has the time or the energy?

My employer (not really)

I get so angry about all of this because I work at that sly little furry animal network. I've worked there for more than three years now. My wife was worried when I started interviewing there. She asked, "Will they make you drink the Kool-Aid?"

No. And what Kool-Aid, exactly?

Last summer we attended a wedding. We sat at a table with a woman who happened to work for a well-respected New York-based newspaper. I was listening, with interest and without bias, to stories about articles she was working on and had worked on. I asked questions. I was pleasant. I was cordial. When the time came for me to say where I worked, her entire demeanor towards me changed. She was defensive, combative, and insulting. In fact, the whole table jumped in and piled on. Hadn't we just had a nice conversation?

All because of where I worked. She had no idea what my politics were.

Fueled by your favorite newspaper

Fed up, I finally told her, "I like (your newspaper). It makes for great kindling in my fireplace." She had just pushed me too far, while proving my point exactly. I could have said a lot worse. Who, exactly, was drinking the Kool-Aid here? (For the record, I read that paper every day. Have done so for almost 15 years. And I enjoy it.)

My political views are mine. And they are not necessarily the political views of my employer. I only argue them when I need to. At home, at work, or apparently at a wedding reception. I produce a show anchored by a man who is as conservative as they come. And I've never enjoyed working with someone more in my entire 14 years in television news (and I've worked with some awesome people).

Do we agree on issues? Yes. Always? Absolutely not. Do we argue? Yes. Do we respect each other's differences of opinion? Absolutely.

This is where I work, not who I am. The place I worked right before here has a more likable reputation, if you will. You know, the place with the colorful bird logo? And you know what? They didn't treat me very nicely. In fact, the first thing I had to do when I took the job was sign a piece of paper saying they could fire me at any time for no reason. That should have told me something. My managers were nasty and condescending. Nice place to work.

At my current job, my boss understands that I have to come and go at random times because of child care. Because he knows I get the job done, whether I'm there or not (there's a new invention called a blackberry). In fact, I've earned a significant raise every year since I started working there (in this economy). I'm in line for a promotion of my own. And I was entrusted to launch and produce one of their signature shows. How horrible.

I will be loyal to my employers as long as they treat me fairly. That doesn't mean I agree with everything everyone who works there says or does. It's a gigantic, international corporation. So that's impossible.

So stop making assumptions about me because of the logo on my business card. I'm proud of where I work and what I do.

This job saved my career. It saved my family.

I decided to use this forum to write about something I would never write about on my blog. I hope you enjoyed it, whether you agree or disgaree.

I am, however, no stranger to ranting. I did recently go off on my blog about kids meals at restaurants. Click here to read that post. And fundraisers at day care. Click here to read that one. Oh, and when other parents judge me to my face. That one is one of my most-read posts of all time. You can read it here. 


Judges Comments:

"Reading this i could think of many times this happened to me and I just had to keep reminding myself that i do what i do because i love it. It's a shame this happens. This is a great post and i'm looking forwards to reading some of your other rants! thank you for linking those, an added bonus! :)
really ejoyed reading this post. "
Erica, from Good Job Momma  

"Ignorance is amazing isn't it. You would think that people would at least be considerate to your friend's accomplishment, not disparaging. I work at a place that is constantly being disparaged by people that are ignorant to what the place really is and the people that are a part of it, and your post simply brings all of this up again to me. Great post! "
Chris, From Dad of Divas 


"Ahhhh.... guilt by association.  It kind of reminds me of when I was married to my ex-husband.  The cops knew him by name.  And I had his last name.  Not fantastic.  Especially when I'm 8 months pregnant, have to pee, and get pulled over, and the cop decides to search my car because of my last name.  This post shows you that prejudice isn't just a racial thing, or something related to sexual orientation.  It happens in other ways too.  I think it's something that people need to remain conscious of on a daily basis.  Good post, Justin.  It's a thinker, for sure."
Heather, from My Husband Ate All My Ice Cream