Manda and Will are going on vacation!
Err.. Well, Manda in the literal "vacation" sense and Will in the "no writing for a month ahhhh" sense.
This is brought on by a mixture of writing burn out, Manda going out of town, and the general need for some time off.
So for the month of July, this blog will not be updated. Feel free to read or reread the past 100-some posts and leave comments or critiques...
Hopefully we'll be back next month refreshed and ready to crack some more writing out.
See you August first!
-Manda and Will
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Under Who?
So in North Carolina there's this billboard, well there's five Billboards but we're only talking about the one along the Graham Parkway in Charlotte. This Billboard displays a backdrop of the American flag, and in large silver letters "One Nation Indivisible". Now on it's own there's really not much to say about it, until you realize that it Graham Parkway was named after an evangelical, and the Billboard has been vandalized.
In blue graffiti the words "Under god" appears under the wording of the billboard, with an arrow pointing up to where the words would be in the Pledge. Now I'm not about to talk about the pledge, as much as you may think I am. We've all heard the debate, we all know the Pledge never started out with 'Under God' in it, despite a Baptist Preacher writing it. We all know those two words that cause some sort of controversy in a school every few months was a result of the Cold War, and our great leaders trying to distance itself from it's Atheistic enemy by buddying up with god, despite it going against the Constitution.
So now that I've lied and have in fact put out my two cents in on the Pledge, lets get back on with my real issue. The fact that someone would even do this just boggles the mind. The Billboard rose very high from the ground, and the ladder leading up to the sign did not come all the way down, the only way this was at all possible was if the vandals brought along a ladder with them, or were circus giants. They climbed high into the air, risked their lives, to what? Deface a sign that will be fixed before the 4th? And here's the thing, this sign was not put up to offend, nor to start any debate or argument over the pledge. The five Billboards were put up for two reasons, to attract fellow Atheists to the various organizations and clubs in North Carolina, and to state proudly that Atheists can be patriots too.
The story is just puzzling, as I can sort of relate. When leaving my town for work there is a small billboard like sign posted in the lot across the street from the church. It's a sign I really hate, as it says "Babies are a gift from God" with a photo of a baby with a bow on it. It's a pro-life sign, and every time I find myself passing it I can't help but spout out 'Yeah, but God doesn't give gift receipts.' The other side of this posting has a sign of a hand painted baby with bold laters proclamating "Mother behold your son!" And while that was doesn't offend me as much, mainly because it's harder to make fun of, it's still pushing a message I very much disagree with.
But I would never vandalize these signs, I would never walk up and deface these signs, even though they portray a message that's much more direct and volatile than the Atheist's, that being that Abortions are bad. And if someone against these signs did vandalize them, you can be assured the fury storm would topple the one of the Atheists, as both articles I read on this topic stated in the title that these billboards were controversial. This confused me because none of the other four billboards were vandalized or put anywhere remotely tied to religion, and the one that was was only placed there because the only other locations open were too expensive or had low viability, as stated by the head of the organization that bought them.
Aside from this one sign the campaign has been a success, pulling in nearly sixty new members to Charlotte Atheists & Agnostics. This one incident of strange efforts of a few going out of their way to battle against a benign enemy. This harmless message opening a window for like minded folks, and telling the world that Atheists are Americans as well. It's sad though, because the only reason this message is needed is because some have seem to forgotten that while God has a place in America, he doesn't have a place as America.
No, I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered as patriots. This is one nation under God.” George H. W. Bush - Used again because it's still relevant.
In blue graffiti the words "Under god" appears under the wording of the billboard, with an arrow pointing up to where the words would be in the Pledge. Now I'm not about to talk about the pledge, as much as you may think I am. We've all heard the debate, we all know the Pledge never started out with 'Under God' in it, despite a Baptist Preacher writing it. We all know those two words that cause some sort of controversy in a school every few months was a result of the Cold War, and our great leaders trying to distance itself from it's Atheistic enemy by buddying up with god, despite it going against the Constitution.
So now that I've lied and have in fact put out my two cents in on the Pledge, lets get back on with my real issue. The fact that someone would even do this just boggles the mind. The Billboard rose very high from the ground, and the ladder leading up to the sign did not come all the way down, the only way this was at all possible was if the vandals brought along a ladder with them, or were circus giants. They climbed high into the air, risked their lives, to what? Deface a sign that will be fixed before the 4th? And here's the thing, this sign was not put up to offend, nor to start any debate or argument over the pledge. The five Billboards were put up for two reasons, to attract fellow Atheists to the various organizations and clubs in North Carolina, and to state proudly that Atheists can be patriots too.
The story is just puzzling, as I can sort of relate. When leaving my town for work there is a small billboard like sign posted in the lot across the street from the church. It's a sign I really hate, as it says "Babies are a gift from God" with a photo of a baby with a bow on it. It's a pro-life sign, and every time I find myself passing it I can't help but spout out 'Yeah, but God doesn't give gift receipts.' The other side of this posting has a sign of a hand painted baby with bold laters proclamating "Mother behold your son!" And while that was doesn't offend me as much, mainly because it's harder to make fun of, it's still pushing a message I very much disagree with.
But I would never vandalize these signs, I would never walk up and deface these signs, even though they portray a message that's much more direct and volatile than the Atheist's, that being that Abortions are bad. And if someone against these signs did vandalize them, you can be assured the fury storm would topple the one of the Atheists, as both articles I read on this topic stated in the title that these billboards were controversial. This confused me because none of the other four billboards were vandalized or put anywhere remotely tied to religion, and the one that was was only placed there because the only other locations open were too expensive or had low viability, as stated by the head of the organization that bought them.
Aside from this one sign the campaign has been a success, pulling in nearly sixty new members to Charlotte Atheists & Agnostics. This one incident of strange efforts of a few going out of their way to battle against a benign enemy. This harmless message opening a window for like minded folks, and telling the world that Atheists are Americans as well. It's sad though, because the only reason this message is needed is because some have seem to forgotten that while God has a place in America, he doesn't have a place as America.
No, I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered as patriots. This is one nation under God.” George H. W. Bush - Used again because it's still relevant.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Throw in the Towel
A little while ago I talked about how the company I worked for was going under. I talked about the cut backs I saw occurring, the desperate attempt to bring in money by pushing high gross items and changing store policies, and generally making all our lives hell. In that article I mentioned that I was mad at the people up top, corporate, for our current predicament, but I can't say I'm mad anymore. I can't say I'm mad anymore because it just doesn't convey the message anymore, I am now utterly furious with these people, and it's because they haven't given up yet.
There's something noble about going against the current, about fighting against the odds, about not giving up even when everyone says there's no chance. These are the stories that make up our fiction, the lone hero standing against the impossible. It's these stories that inspire us, these stories that make us smile and remind us that we can do anything if we have the will. But this is not that story, this is a company long since overdue of it's death, actively hurting it's employees in attempt to stay open a few feeble months longer. This is a company that hemorrhages money every day and refuses to simply cut it's losses and care for it's own. This is a company that isn't fighting a hopeless battle, the battles done, it's lost, and is now milking it's tragic and tiresome death scene for all it's worth.
This company is stomping on it's employees. It's our responsibility, they say, to keep the company afloat. We are held accountable for the companies success or failure, not it's archaic business practices. They cut our labor hours more and more as the months go by, I was once battling to get sales so that I may have the favor of gaining hours, now with this recent cut I will be battling to get sales so that I may have the favor of not losing hours. Put simply, I was once selling for a bonus, now I am selling to avoid punishment. My manager is being driven to madness, forced to work extra shifts if we do not meet goals, being berated over and over for the smallest transgression, watching in horror as every week a new and worse idea comes down the corporate pipeline on how to sell, what to sell, how the store should look.
The customers become worse and worse as the honest and good customers leave the company that is failing, leaving behind only the belligerent and wild, those who seek to scam or undercut us. Oh and they'll succeed, the company cannot afford to lose them after all. Every day I work I stare at the walls in the closing hours in disbelief. Strewn about, out of order, intentional messes. I stare and I feel my anger growing, because I know there is an impossible choice. We can stay late and clean up the disaster that is the store and be yelled at for going over hours, or we can leave on time as we're supposed to and be yelled at for the state we left the store in. With closing an hour earlier than we used to, and CSR shifts being rearranged to start at 6pm instead of 5pm, we are given a seven hour work load to be done in five hours.
This company does not give me any reason to work for it. It does not respect me, it does not care for me, it does not benefit me. There is no reward for doing especially well at my job and it does not give me enough hours I need to support my rather meager needs. The people up top are cutting costs to save themselves, they are cutting costs to keep their own status quot without even considering their employee's. They should have ended it by now, put up the going out of business sign and turned whatever money they had left to make sure the people who served them were taken care of. Instead they continue on and hurt their employees. I feel myself almost grateful for the little I work at this company, despite my need and pleads for more hours. I find myself happy knowing that I don't have to go back there for four more days because I'm just so filled with rage after every shift. I'm no slouch, I have been the top seller in my store for three straight weeks now, but they give me nothing to show for it, they give me no money, benefits, no perks. They simply give me no respect.
Now excuse me, I need to go fill out a few applications.
There's something noble about going against the current, about fighting against the odds, about not giving up even when everyone says there's no chance. These are the stories that make up our fiction, the lone hero standing against the impossible. It's these stories that inspire us, these stories that make us smile and remind us that we can do anything if we have the will. But this is not that story, this is a company long since overdue of it's death, actively hurting it's employees in attempt to stay open a few feeble months longer. This is a company that hemorrhages money every day and refuses to simply cut it's losses and care for it's own. This is a company that isn't fighting a hopeless battle, the battles done, it's lost, and is now milking it's tragic and tiresome death scene for all it's worth.
This company is stomping on it's employees. It's our responsibility, they say, to keep the company afloat. We are held accountable for the companies success or failure, not it's archaic business practices. They cut our labor hours more and more as the months go by, I was once battling to get sales so that I may have the favor of gaining hours, now with this recent cut I will be battling to get sales so that I may have the favor of not losing hours. Put simply, I was once selling for a bonus, now I am selling to avoid punishment. My manager is being driven to madness, forced to work extra shifts if we do not meet goals, being berated over and over for the smallest transgression, watching in horror as every week a new and worse idea comes down the corporate pipeline on how to sell, what to sell, how the store should look.
The customers become worse and worse as the honest and good customers leave the company that is failing, leaving behind only the belligerent and wild, those who seek to scam or undercut us. Oh and they'll succeed, the company cannot afford to lose them after all. Every day I work I stare at the walls in the closing hours in disbelief. Strewn about, out of order, intentional messes. I stare and I feel my anger growing, because I know there is an impossible choice. We can stay late and clean up the disaster that is the store and be yelled at for going over hours, or we can leave on time as we're supposed to and be yelled at for the state we left the store in. With closing an hour earlier than we used to, and CSR shifts being rearranged to start at 6pm instead of 5pm, we are given a seven hour work load to be done in five hours.
This company does not give me any reason to work for it. It does not respect me, it does not care for me, it does not benefit me. There is no reward for doing especially well at my job and it does not give me enough hours I need to support my rather meager needs. The people up top are cutting costs to save themselves, they are cutting costs to keep their own status quot without even considering their employee's. They should have ended it by now, put up the going out of business sign and turned whatever money they had left to make sure the people who served them were taken care of. Instead they continue on and hurt their employees. I feel myself almost grateful for the little I work at this company, despite my need and pleads for more hours. I find myself happy knowing that I don't have to go back there for four more days because I'm just so filled with rage after every shift. I'm no slouch, I have been the top seller in my store for three straight weeks now, but they give me nothing to show for it, they give me no money, benefits, no perks. They simply give me no respect.
Now excuse me, I need to go fill out a few applications.
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