It has been far too long since I've posted anything real here for which I profoundly apologize. I'm touched by those of you who emailed, expressing concern that the government has finally hauled my ass away, but thankfully that's not the case. As I mentioned in earlier posts, I've been going through some life transitions, namely graduating, moving from Pittsburgh to New York, buying a house, moving it (and my wife) into the new place, and starting a new job, so rest assured I am quite safe and well.
In that time, however, I've done something far scarier - according to the New York Times, I've gone and joined the establishment. Just two years ago, according to the Times, I was ranked in the 50th percentile of Americans in terms of my class. I now rank in the 77th percentile.
Most of that mobility is the result of my master's degree, which places me in the 97th percentile, and my new job which also boosted me up considerably from my old line of work. Also, by getting married, I can now count my wife's assets as my own.
Of course, while I agree with the Times' analysis that these factors contribute considerably to one's class, I'm not sure whether the numbers really mean anything. It's not like I'm hobnobbing with Donald Trump and I'm sure the Establishment really doesn't want to have anything to do with me. It's only a matter of time before someone complains to the FBI that I'm some kind of terrorist for no good reason.
Moreover, in terms of upwards economic mobility, I still rank below my parents so they've only been able to take me so far. The entire Times series on this has been excellent - especially since it's unusual to see a mainstream media organization take on an issue that deals so strongly with social inequity. Too bad it doesn't seem to be trickling down to other media.
The greater lesson appears to be the value of education - most of my mobility is a direct result of my education, which opened greater doors for me economically.
That said, I should also be clear that I've taken a job within corporate America - not a small company, but a household name. I know I'll get a lot of flack for it from my detractors, so I should be upfront and clear. I am not against corporations as I do not think that they are inherently evil or corrupt. Just as there are corrupt and evil nonprofits, corporations themselves are neutral entities whose nature is determined by how they are led. Unfortunately, the structure of capitalism rewards short-term orientation and anti-social behavior on the part of corporations. For an excellent analysis of this, pick up William Greider's The Soul of Capitalism.
I am by nature a reformer and I think capitalism and corporations themselves can be reformed by making structural changes to the reward/incentive system and also through strong moral leadership.
That said, I want to make clear that the transitions in my life have demanded that I also change how I run this blog. It doesn't appear that I will have regular access to the Web, which was my primary access to my blog. Fortunately, it looks like Typepad allows mobile blogging, so I'll be blogging more using email in the future. (This post is being written through email as a test.)
Second, I think that my schedule will no longer allow the multiple-day postings that I had been accustomed to. I'm still transitioning - it's only my first week at work and I still don't have a concrete idea of what my schedule is like. I'm hoping to return to at least one daily post. We'll see how things go...
Again, thanks for your concern and support. I really appreciate it.
Desi, you are, simply put, a cheap sellout. You blather on incessantly about how the big corp is screwing the little guy. Then, the minute you get offered some money, you rollover on all your previous diatribe and join 'the Man'. Wow man. Oh wait a minute, now you say, "I was never against ALL corporations... just the ones that didn't buy me off!" That turnabout didn't take long or much money at all, did it?
Reformer my ass. He is going to tolerate 'the Man', only because he, Desi MBA, will FIX what's wrong. Oh sure. Structural changes to reward/incentive system... big words, fresh from his MBA textbooks, but what the hell do they mean to Desi? What experiment wouldst thou run, oh Whiney one? When thou comest up with the answer, why not march up to the Man's office, that would be CEO for the rest of us, and tell him what's what and how come.
Nah, he'll say in a wimpy rationalization, I'm gonna do it from the bottom up. Yeah, right. Keep it coming.
Wait till your new large household world corp finds out the anti US bile you've been spitting out. Notice that in the next five years, in the extremely unlikely event you can hold down a real job, that you just aren't getting promoted at all, grad degree or not. You're being continually passed over by numskulls with half your intelligence, but with thrice better your 'blame the establishment for my failures' attitude. You're screwed already, and you don't even know it.
Yes, you would link to those poor innocent muslims in Lodi... they're just victims of a witchhunt... it's not like they really graduated from terrorist school already, or completed a terrorist act yet. Forget the affadavit about being trained to kill Americans. Probably coerced into that statement under threat of having to watch someone touching the Qoran with dirty hands... the horror, the horror.
Oh, and I can help you with your transitioning to this new schedule thing called work. Here's a program designed for you: show up at 0830, and actually try and do some work till like 5:30pm, then as soon as the boss leaves, you run out the door too. Make sure the boss sees you pretending to work diligently as he heads out the door. Here's a tip though: big corps trace employees online activity... if you don't want to get fired right away (I mean you will in less than a year in all probability, but let's try and get you as close to the one year mark as possible), then try not browse all those Islamic and hate-the-US blogs, like you used to as a grad student, feeding off our educational system, all the while criticising those who provide it to you.
I know this schedule will be tough for you, and I predict to your audience that, in less than one year, you will conjure up some work environment excuse to quit and go back to be a full time 'student'. If only your company knew what a legal liability you are.... you're just probably waiting to sue them on all kinds of discrimination actions.
Posted by: Joe | June 10, 2005 at 12:53 AM