Almost every shop now has a 'Zero Tolerance' sign up in big letters front and centre. Abusive behaviour towards their staff will NOT be tolerated.
However, they have LOTS of Tolerance for theft and shoplifting, which is a form of abusive behaviour, and it absolutely will be tolerated. Obviously, there is no sign for this.
So, that's society today: unpleasant words and behaviour prosecuted, and actual real crime isn't.
You see posters in the tube saying things like "sexual harassment is unacceptable" and I'm always thinking: the only people who'll read it are people who would never do it anyway, and people who do it won't take any notice of them.
I see this differently. Such behaviour does not occur in isolation; friends and acquaintances of the person offending may well know what is going on, and say "it's only a laugh!" or "It was only a bit of fun!" etc, etc. The shithead doing the offending may not pay attention, but perhaps those who surround them may just pull him away and have a word in his shell-like; "Don't be an idiot" or whatever.
It's like drink-driving. AIUI the rates have been falling over the decades, as have the number of injuries and deaths from drink-driving (1). It has sadly not fallen to zero, but it is now seen as much more socially unacceptable than it was before. There are lots of people who till tell someone: "You're drunk!" and stop them from driving back from the pub or party by taking their keys, calling them a taxi, or whatever.
A great way of stopping bad behaviour is to make it socially unacceptable; and that is a question of not just targeting offenders, but others who might be able to dissuade potential offenders. Such messaging helps with that.
Almost every shop now has a 'Zero Tolerance' sign up in big letters front and centre. Abusive behaviour towards their staff will NOT be tolerated.
However, they have LOTS of Tolerance for theft and shoplifting, which is a form of abusive behaviour, and it absolutely will be tolerated. Obviously, there is no sign for this.
So, that's society today: unpleasant words and behaviour prosecuted, and actual real crime isn't.
You see posters in the tube saying things like "sexual harassment is unacceptable" and I'm always thinking: the only people who'll read it are people who would never do it anyway, and people who do it won't take any notice of them.
Exactly. Which means it's mainly corporate virtue-signalling.
If anything does take place they can point to all the signs and training they do to try and wriggle out of any liability.
There's a real problem with aggression and threatening behaviour in a lot of customer facing industries like mine. Just last week I was called to intervene with a patient who was threatening one of my staff. I am pretty good at talking these people down and sending on their way, but seniority does help. It can be very traumatic for more vulnerable staff. I have flagged his notes so he is not seen without a chaperone in the future.
It's always happened to an extent, but seems much worse in recent years. A fair number of men have no emotional resources other than threats of violence. There's a subset of men that are simultaneously fragile and toxic so quite unpredictable.
Yes, it's terrible. People have forgotten how to treat people courteously and with respect.
This can work both ways. Whenever I get a "computer says no" response from an employee, without any attempt at empathy or taking my own personal situation into account, I can feel the red mist descend. And Revenue Protection can often be very aggressive from the get-go.
I wonder if social media and phones have a lot to answer for this.
Yes, I think so.
The man in question was coming out with the depressingly predictable conspiracies to justify his behaviour.
Not so sunny today, but still no rain. What a dry place Scotland is!
If you have time, Raasay is a wonderful (and quieter) island. Channel your inner Dr Johnson and dance a jig on the highest summit - just watch out for the hidden and unexpected crevasses!
That’s an option for Thursday; the ferry goes from where I am staying
Not so sunny today, but still no rain. What a dry place Scotland is!
My wife experiences a strange phenomenon. Whenever she goes somewhere for the first time, the weather is usually wonderful and this convinces her to return. On return (and all subsequent visits) the weather is no optimal... Happened in the Lakes, Scotland, Devon, you name it.
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And what's your alternative? The status quo or even regression?
The man in question was coming out with the depressingly predictable conspiracies to justify his behaviour.