Workplace Relationships

For John, BLUF:  What is acceptable behavior in the workplace, and does the workplace matter?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Whitlock: Tucker Carlson and the rise of matriarchal Marxism

From The Blaze, by Sports Reporter Jason Whitlock, 25 April 2023.

Here is the lede plus one:

The matriarchy can fly the "mission accomplished" flag across America.  It toppled the man-made meritocracy that imperfectly defined American culture for 200+ years.

The fall of Tucker Carlson at Fox News symbolizes the matriarchy’s prioritizing of message over merit.  Performance could not shield Carlson from the consequence of America’s adoption of a feminized culture that levels the playing field by castrating men, reimagining traditional standards, and embracing a false reality.

The author of the piece has had his own adventures with being laid off.  And, he has experienced the internal tensions of newsrooms.

However, he raises a question worth asking.  Have we allowed catering to the sensitivites of small groups to get in the way of production, innovation and hard work?  Is merit dead, supplanted by feeling good?

As a first step I would say the workplace is no place for sexual harrassment, for the trading of sexual favors or for making people feel uncomfortable with crude jokes.  In the same way, minorities need to be absorbed into the in-group, not shunned or belittled.

That said, an organization's performance is often enhanced by a camaraderie that includes inside humor and a certain psuedo-aggressive banter.  I have especially noted this in fighter squadrons.  But, will what works in a homogeneous group work in a more diverse group, where standards for judging what is funny may be different and sensitivities brought to the group may not be easily recognized?  In my day a fighter squadron was both a place of competition and of criticism.  Every mission was debriefed, with mistakes pointed out and responsibility assigned.  Missions were opportunities for competion.  A mission to the bombing range involved a bet on every bomb dropped.  (It was accepted that "gear in the well" buys the bombs.♠)  Not a large sum, but pride and money.  In this age, how much competition and criticism is acceptable and how much tension can be relieved by humor.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  That is to say, the bet regarding bomb scores starts at the point after takeoff when the landing gear had been retracted into the landing gear wells.  After that point, mission abort, say for a maintenance problem, meant the money for the bet was forfeited, even if no bombs were dropped from that aircraft.