Nismos, have a careful read of the posts above, especially the
ones about being problem children. Would they have been problem
children if they hadnt tried testing their ideas and solutions
out? I think its presumptuous of you to assume that we
havent.
Look at peoples reactions to Xprobes initial statement about
being a problem child. These are people who have been there, pushed
the limits and run up against a wall time and time again. No,
actually Ill correct myself they have been run up against a wall
time and time again. These are people who have tried to do the
right thing by convincing, consulting, confronting and eventually
coercing, and at the end of the day theyre lucky if the reaction
they get is confusion. From the looks of the posts here, what you
have quite easily adds up to at least 30 combined years of
experience in testing out ideas and solutions, only to have them
canned by the naysayers and sheep. Its no sudden change were
asking for our conclusions are driven by continuous and chronic
resistance to change.
And here you come, adding insult to injury, assuming that these
people have not tried. If they had not tried to change things and
been noticed for trying, why were they labeled problem children?
Wouldnt they just have been another face in the crowd? The
sentiment that you have expressed is one of the things that makes
the people who have tried, pushed, been knocked about for trying,
and then having had it all written off as a nonevent, say Forget
it, Im cutting my losses here. You said at least youve
attempted to make a difference, at the same time blithely ignoring
the prior attempts of these people to make a difference. You ask if
it counts for something? I think youve just provided us with an
answer yourself, and its a resounding no.
Just have a look at the people who have posted here the level of
intelligence you find here is much higher than the average in
Singapore (yes, that even includes ST, loathe as I am to admit it
). From what I know of these
posters, we have an accountant, a successful business owner, a race
engineer-to-be and a psychologist (apologies to the rest - I dont
know what you guys do). We are the ones who want to build Rome, and
we are the ones who see that whats actually being built is a
Hollywood set. Every time we point out the obvious, we have our
intelligence insulted by being told, No, the proper answer is yes
sir, no sir, three bags full.
And still you assume weve never tried. Where have you been,
Nismos? What have YOU done? Have you been to teach in a government
school, to find that your colleagues meant it when they told you
not to work too hard on the first day? Have you been backstabbed
for delivering better results than your colleagues, because you
spotted a grievous error and corrected it? Have you spent hours
presenting your case in the clearest and most compelling way
possible, only to be told, But thats just not the way weve done
things, while leaving the key issues untouched? Have you watched
someone 20 years your senior get knocked into the slow lane because
he dared to try and be innovative?
Until you can truly appreciate the feeling of the posters who
commiserated with Xprobe, I dont think youve got any business
speculating if weve tried. Thats naïve at best, sanctimonious at
worst.
Am I a quitter? Hell, yes, and proud of it. Ive got to see the
self-possession to step back and assess my situation and see that
in this environment, making a contribution means shutting up and
doing as youre told. Ive got the experience to tell me that
trying to help build Rome is a losing proposition, not because Rome
cannot be built but because some idiot in charge is using the
blueprints for Lot 5 at Universal Studios instead. Sure Ill quit,
and thats testimony to my common sense. Why would I want to be a
team player when the team (in the very loosest sense of the word)
doesnt even know the objective of the game?
Am I laughing at you because all of a sudden youre beneath me? Why
would I? The only thing that would show is that Im still carrying
the baggage of my experiences here. Im not even thinking about you
Ive got bigger fish to fry.
The laugh Im laughing is a relieved one Ive escaped those
miserable confines and gotten myself a real life.
Im under no illusions about being under a different shepherd now.
What Im happy about is that said shepherd is my conscience.
