Halloween is a time for scary stuff. Witches, bats, spiders and monsters.
But there's a new "scary" on the block and it's been all over the news. This one isn't all in fun. It's real and happening and does not bode well for the future of our society as a whole.
For me, the conversation started with, but is so much more than, this status I posted on my personal FB page a month ago. I said:
"OK, I am seriously getting pissed off at all of these stories in my trending news about people who are shocked that there are ramifications associated with refusing to do their jobs. First the KY clerk refusing to issue marriage licenses and now a Muslim flight attendant suspended for not serving alcohol.
I understand that the issue is that these jobs have requirements that the job holders feel incapable of performing due to personal beliefs. I have no problem with people living a life consistent with their beliefs.
But where does the responsibility lie for having taken these jobs in the first place? When are people going to take ownership for putting themselves into these positions?
If the KY clerk could not, in good conscience, issue licenses to anyone and everyone meeting the legal criteria for those licenses (whether that criteria has changed once she was in office or not . . . and honestly, who did not see this coming?), then she should have known that she did not have the heart of a public servant.
And is the flight attendant asserting that she did not know she'd be asked to serve alcohol? Because I'm not in that industry but I could have told her.
So is this where society is headed? Gone are the days where we make thoughtful decisions? Apply for, take, train for a job and then blame the job for our discomfort in its requirements? Gone are the days of taking responsibility for living up to our word?
Yes, in order to grow and improve we, as a society, need to be sensitive to and accommodating of people's personal rights in terms of how they choose to live their morals and their values and their religious convictions. BUT governments/businesses cannot function when the people who have agreed to do a job pick and choose the parts they feel they can do. It's up to each of us to do our due diligence when applying for a job or running for office. If, despite doing this, we cannot function in the situation in which we've put ourselves, we need to accept responsibility for our mistake and find a different situation. One that allows us to live as we choose and provides an atmosphere in which we can accomplish that."
College
Boy gets it. Granted, he lives with me so he hears these
opinions all the time. His response to my post was "It's as if I were to
apply for a job as a tatoo artist. Then, since having tattoos is
against my religion, just sitting there until my shift is over."
Exactly.
A
business is charged with vetting you as a potential candidate from a
professional perspective. But they do not, cannot, ask you about your
religion. It is your responsibility to know what the parameters of the
job are. You need to determine whether you can meet the requirements and
handle the tasks associated with that position from a personal
standpoint. I repeat: That is on you.
I'm not saying the worker is responsible for all job situations that do not work out. I am saying we all have to be proactive in obtaining any pertinent information before entering this or any relationship.
Limoncello and Spiced Orange Pudding Cocktails
Thanks Menopausal Mother for the inspiration for this recipe
Here's an example of what I consider to be the opposite situation, one involving College Boy:
He ran through all of his money and had to get a job. He chose one in which he'd be unloading trucks at night from 4 pm to 1 am. He'd work 4 days a week, get two 15 minute breaks and one 1/2 hour meal break and make $10.50 an hour. At some point the hours would change to 2 pm to 11 pm. Anyone hired after the hours changed would be hired at $9 per hour, but those already working would continue to make the $10.50.
From the start he was put on the schedule 5 days a week, not 4. He never got out before 2 am not 1 am. I'd understand if his job hadn't been completed in the time allowed, but he was stocking shelves and doing the jobs of others because they were short staffed. There were days he was told there was no time for a meal break (illegal). He (and his co-workers) were asked, since management is under pressure not to log overtime hours, to clock out but just continue working (illegal, and they all refused).
One day, an hour and a half after he'd taken a pallet of paint out to an employee stocking the shelves, the worker claimed that the paint spill on the floor was College Boy's fault. It couldn't have been 1 1/2 hours later, but College Boy was verbally abused publicly in the store aisle (not in private) not only by the back room supervisor but by the store manager as well. He was told to clean up the paint. Alone. Ruining his jeans, shirt, and shoes. And still he stayed and worked out his shift.
After only 2 days the hours were changed and he was supposed to get out at 11 pm. Never happened, he was still being kept working late, sometimes until 2 am. Once, long after his job was done, he was told that he was not to leave until all of the restocking was complete. He had already worked his shift, put in an hour of stocking and there was a good 3 - 5 hours worth of work to complete.
College Boy did not do it. He set clear limits with his supervisor. He will work late whenever his job isn't done. He will help out if his job is complete but his shift isn't over. He'll even work overtime in another department sometimes, but he will not do two jobs. He needed to manage expectations not because he didn't take the time to understand the circumstances under which he was hired, but because he did. And if he cannot work it out to everyone's advantage, he will respectfully extricate himself from the situation.
This is not about religion. It is not about refusing to do what you were hired for. Accepting a job is entering into a relationship in which the terms are understood. Yes, things change, negotiations are possible along the way, but in the end both sides have an obligation to honor their word. Both sides.
Employers need to be held responsible for realistically portraying the parameters and the expectations of the job.
But we, the employees, need to be held responsible for our character. Both in situations that are what we expected but also in those that are not.
And this is where we are sadly lacking.
In KY and in the friendly skies, the job requirements were NOT hidden from the applicants but the applicants DID hide their willingness to meet those requirements.
They cannot misrepresent the job, but you cannot misrepresent you.
And to take it even a step
further, if you take a job knowing full well what it entails then claim
you cannot execute all of your duties; if that job required extensive
training, I believe you owe them the expenses they incurred on your
behalf.
But what really makes me sit here and smh in disgust is the indignant way in which I see people defend this behavior, plead their case on social media and expect support. They make it about religion, make it about their rights, expect the job to accommodate them.
And OMG, they get it. They get the support. They get "go fund me" accounts. Politicians rush to their defense. They are made martyrs for the cause. They become famous. They get validation.
Witches? Nope.
Bats? Nope
Spiders? Nope. Well, maybe.
Monsters? Nope.
What's scary to me?
This pervasive attitude of entitlement.
Limoncello and Spiced Orange Pudding Cocktails
©www.BakingInATornado.com
Printable Recipe
Ingredients (Limoncello):
6 good sized lemons
1 cup heavy cream
2 TBSP powdered sugar
1 box (3.4 oz) lemon instant pudding mix
3/4 cup milk
2 oz whipped cream vodka
4 oz limoncello
1 box (6oz) Lemonhead candies
24 drops of food decorating gel
24 mini chocolate chips
6 TBSP grenadine
Opt: additional whipped cream for serving
Directions:
*Cut
both ends of the lemons so that they will sit flat. Cut them in half
and hollow them with a spoon, being careful not to puncture the skin.
Place in the fridge.
*Set
aside 24 lemonhead candies. Crush the rest of the candies in a food
processor or in a closed plastic bag with a kitchen mallet.
*Use the decorating gel to attach a mini chocolate chip to each of the remaining 24 candies.
*Beat the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add the powdered sugar and beat until stiff peaks hold.
*In a separate bowl, whisk the pudding mix with the milk, whipped cream vodka and limoncello. Fold in the whipped cream.
*Fill the hollowed lemon with the mixture and refrigerate for at least an hour.
*To
serve, sprinkle with the crushed lemonhead candies. Top with the
Lemonhead "eyes", drizzle with grenadine "blood" and top with additional
whipped cream if desired.
Ingredients (Spiced Orange):
3 oranges
1 cup heavy cream
2 TBSP powdered sugar
1 box (3.4 oz) cheesecake flavored instant pudding mix
3/4 cup milk
2 oz Grand Marnier
4 oz Spiced Rum
12 Orange Slices candies
24 drops of food decorating gel
24 mini M&Ms
6 TBSP grenadine
Opt: additional whipped cream for serving
Directions:
*Cut
both ends of the oranges, just so that they will sit flat. Cut them in
half and hollow them with a spoon, being careful not to puncture the
skin. Place in the fridge.
*Use the decorating gel to attach a mini M&M to each of the candies.
*Beat the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add the powdered sugar and beat until stiff peaks hold.
*In a separate bowl, whisk the pudding mix with the milk, Grand Marnier and Spiced Rum. Fold in the whipped cream.
*Fill the hollowed orange halves with the mixture and refrigerate for at least an hour.
*To serve, top with the orange slice "eyes", drizzle with grenadine "blood" and top with additional whipped cream if desired.
