Pity

Dear Miscellaneous,

Please do not think that because you are older than I that you are necessarily more intelligent. Please do not assume that the letters behind your name somehow designate you as higher status than those around you. Please do not think that your three hundred dollar pants represent anything for which I care. Please do not take pity on me and feel the need to explain procedures or the system to me.

I would like to tell you that I know for a fact that I am more intelligent than you, but I do not admire arrogance nor do I wish to display it. I would also like to point out to you that I have even more letters after my name than you do, but it does not matter. The letters are arbitrary. I would like to point out to you that I both wrote the policy and developed the program that you currently explain. I do not need your pity nor do I require your explanation.

Just because I am quiet does not mean that I am dumb. As a matter of fact, my silence may be evidence of my wisdom. If I feel you are worth saying something to, I will. If I do not, then I will not. I suspect that you would not necessarily favor the content of my thoughts nor would you particularly care to hear these words. Also, please do not assume that you are better at your job because you dress differently than I. The fact is that I do not need to dress in a suit to compensate for my inadequacies as a professional. More importantly, I enjoy my jeans. I think that you look nice the way you dress, but am not distracted by the tailored-fit to see that your work needs some attention. Afterall, no one really sees us in our offices. Does it matter? Just so you know: I am not particularly impressed by your resume either and do not understand your need to tell me that you have worked here, there, and oh yeah, there too on a repeated basis. This only tells me that you do not have much staying power. Also, when I do finally choose to speak, please do not interrupt me to correct me. Again, I know about that which I say. You, on the other hand, sound both clueless and conceited. Listen to all that I have to say before you defend your actions. I am not attacking you or your work. It is not worth the effort. I have too many other things to do with my time.

I will allow you to continue assuming that you are somehow superior than I am, as it seems to somehow get you through the day -- although it remains unclear why you need this to be the case. I fluctuate from not caring at all to finding your actions towards me almost humorous. In some ways, I guess I feel sorry for you. Your need to assert power over nothing in an effort to reach some mythical status is a little pathetic. Certainly all of those fancy degrees taught you that there is no corporate ladder worth climbing in this field, didn’t they? Finally, please please, please stop reciting the theories of others to me. I am pleased to see that you can read and am happy that you were able to buy a book that condensed others’ words into a format that made sense to you. The fact is, however, that they are only theories or methods. They will not work when applied to every situation. If you are unable to think independently on a critical level and lack common sense, the theories are of little value. More importantly, you will never ever succeed in your position.

I guess I just want you to know that yes, I do see you. Yes, I know that you think you are great. The thing is that you are wasting your time trying to convince me of the same. I do not care what you think I should think. More importantly, it should not matter to you what I think. Do everyone a favor and just be you. I am sure that you can be great. Do not worry about me. Do not worry about that guy over there either. At the end of the day, it does not matter whom you compare yourself to – you are the only one you have to answer to.

S