The pathetic pettiness of (especially female) government employees.
Because of the new laws that require all IDs are exactly the same, and because I have an eccentric Anglo Saxon name and ‘nickname’ or more formally ‘alias’, I’m on a year long journey to reproduce all the identification necessary to exist in the USA as a legal entity. (Which is obviously an issue in and of itself that we need such things.)
So today I’m spending my energy sufficient for one errand at the Deprtment of Motor Vehicles in Connecticut. Now remember, Connecticut aside from it’s history as the US Armory, most copied the Soviet Bureaucracy, and so is the state most burdensome, for both citizens and the few businesses that have not departed for the same reason.
Now, in my preferences I generally go to the Connecticut shore where I have more chance of waiting in line with and being served by my own people, who will, knowing cues, address and serve me, knowing I will reciprocate respectably.
But certain services are not offered there, so I’m in the one near Hartford, which is in a competition with Baltimore, New Haven Meriden and Bridgeport for turning once elegant Anglo cities of the puritans into sh—holes of poverty risk and nihilism.
So, after sorting out my paperwork, I return to the front information counter to ask a question, where two young men of obviously MENA background are trying to explain that they have no car, spent a long time getting here, and will wait. They are demonstrating perfect manners, and respect, and good nature. Which is, in the end, all that should be necessary to participate in western civilization’s administrative burden – regardless of their cultural compatibility outside of it.
While one woman has given up talking to them, and called in another more senior, they men are constant in saying they will wait, even though the mistake they re trying to correct is quite obviously one made by the staff who just moments ago served them. But the staff does not ‘save’ draft data, so the data must be re-entered.
Now I’m reading this correctly in that the younger woman does not like these men, does not want to admit that the staff failed them, and wants them to go away and wait additional days for another appointment – in pure soviet bureaucratic fashion. (Which I have some experienced with. The difference is that you can bribe the ex soviet people overseas and they will happily help you – and it’s even expensive. )
So the older woman is not even considering how to help these young men, but she is merely girl-defending her younger colleague.
I’m watching this clown show and the rudeness and inconsiderate and offensive behavior against two young men who are displaying every semblance of pleasantry manners and respect.
So finally the older woman gives in.
And so I say to the two men, “Good manners guys.” And smile.
Which of course inspires a look of hatred from the young woman at the station. Now, I’m next so I ask her to confirm my number because in shifting through my realms of paperwork I seem to have misplaced it.
Fifteen minutes before, when another man was joyfully performing the same role at the same place, he looked up my name, and gave me a ticket.
So, cunning little petty child that she is, she asked me for the number that’s on the paper in front of her. I said its right there. She responded with that I should give her the number so she didn’t have to look it up. Now at this point I’m laughing internally for myself, but just adding another grain of sand to the scale of revolutionary intolerance for the treatment of my people by those unworthy to even speak to them with other than love, kindness, and respect.
We can very easily train people in customer service and stress de escalation as easily as we can train police in de escalation, but we don’t do it, and don’t require it for positions serving the public. If we did, the pay for public service and it’s quality would rise rapidly in concert.
Cheers