Replies to '01/15 Internet Mistakes'

Quote From: kleesun

 I cannot imagine what is going through those girls' heads when they post pictures of themselves passed out or throwing up.  Why does everyone seem to think that "self-expression" means "self-humiliation"?  Write a poem, learn to play the guitar, paint . . . do something productive, if you want to express yourselves!  Hugging the porcelain isn't expressing yourself--when you're that drunk you're completely vulnerable and the only "personality" you have is the alcohol.  There isn't even a "yourself" to express.

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On the other hand, I disagree that the teacher should have been fired for his music.  I agree that he should not have been promoting his band at school, even to one select student, but I think it's ridiculous and completely biased that employers seem to feel they can not hire (or fire) anyone who doesn't fit every last point on their "ideal employee" list, even in areas that do not come up in their professional settings.  Who defines "edgy music", anyway?  I think Christian rock is pushing the limits of taste but I suspect that the blues, rockabilly, and roots country I listen to at home would be more likely to get someone fired (alcohol and drug references). 

I play and listen to a lot of music of which my straight-laced employer would not approve.  However, I do not play it at work (I am allowed to play music on my office computer, but I carefully select songs with no swearing and that do not have controversial lyrics, are not noisy or really twangy, etc.).  I am careful about my demeanor and language, and I dress conservatively.  I rarely stay out late on work nights and I never allow club time to interfere with work by showing up late the next morning, etc.  (I rarely drink, and never more than one drink, which helps a lot.)  I have never been reprimanded at work, at any of my jobs, and have always gotten good reviews.  My boss does not need to know about tattoos, etc.; nobody at work knows about them and they will never see them.

My boss and my job own me 40 hours a week; they should not get to dictate what I listen to or what I look like in my private life.  I don't humiliate myself, and I don't go around blabbing that I work for so-and-so in settings with which my boss might not want to be associated (and I never say specifically for whom I work unless there is good reason to, which is usually only in professional circumstances).  I do have a MySpace page.  There is nothing on it that I would consider particularly compromising (no pictures of me in my underwear).  It is not under my real name and my hometown, alma mater, and employer are not listed on it.  I mostly go there to keep track of the bands.  I occasionally post a somewhat irreverent blog entry and some of the bands on my Friends list are pretty raw.

On the other hand--do employers ever find out anything GOOD by accident?  Because if they could overlook the psychobilly bands on the Friends list, they would find out that I'm a very good photographer and that I'm great at Internet research.  All we ever hear about is the bad stuff.

Quote From: kleesun

 I cannot imagine what is going through those girls' heads when they post pictures of themselves passed out or throwing up.  Why does everyone seem to think that "self-expression" means "self-humiliation"?  Write a poem, learn to play the guitar, paint . . . do something productive, if you want to express yourselves!  Hugging the porcelain isn't expressing yourself--when you're that drunk you're completely vulnerable and the only "personality" you have is the alcohol.  There isn't even a "yourself" to express.

 * * * * * *

On the other hand, I disagree that the teacher should have been fired for his music.  I agree that he should not have been promoting his band at school, even to one select student, but I think it's ridiculous and completely biased that employers seem to feel they can not hire (or fire) anyone who doesn't fit every last point on their "ideal employee" list, even in areas that do not come up in their professional settings.  Who defines "edgy music", anyway?  I think Christian rock is pushing the limits of taste but I suspect that the blues, rockabilly, and roots country I listen to at home would be more likely to get someone fired (alcohol and drug references). 

I play and listen to a lot of music of which my straight-laced employer would not approve.  However, I do not play it at work (I am allowed to play music on my office computer, but I carefully select songs with no swearing and that do not have controversial lyrics, are not noisy or really twangy, etc.).  I am careful about my demeanor and language, and I dress conservatively.  I rarely stay out late on work nights and I never allow club time to interfere with work by showing up late the next morning, etc.  (I rarely drink, and never more than one drink, which helps a lot.)  I have never been reprimanded at work, at any of my jobs, and have always gotten good reviews.  My boss does not need to know about tattoos, etc.; nobody at work knows about them and they will never see them.

My boss and my job own me 40 hours a week; they should not get to dictate what I listen to or what I look like in my private life.  I don't humiliate myself, and I don't go around blabbing that I work for so-and-so in settings with which my boss might not want to be associated (and I never say specifically for whom I work unless there is good reason to, which is usually only in professional circumstances).  I do have a MySpace page.  There is nothing on it that I would consider particularly compromising (no pictures of me in my underwear).  It is not under my real name and my hometown, alma mater, and employer are not listed on it.  I mostly go there to keep track of the bands.  I occasionally post a somewhat irreverent blog entry and some of the bands on my Friends list are pretty raw.

On the other hand--do employers ever find out anything GOOD by accident?  Because if they could overlook the psychobilly bands on the Friends list, they would find out that I'm a very good photographer and that I'm great at Internet research.  All we ever hear about is the bad stuff.