That Was, Like, Not Totally Awesome, Dude!
The social weight on the shoulders of the 80's generation may be complete with leg warmers being "in fashion" rather than the practical application they have always held and beauty shop hair clips making it also into the mainstream and despite pictures still being used as a source of proof that "Hey look at this schmucko! Can you believe what they were wearing decades ago? Quick! Lose them before they let their poor taste loose once again," even pasta sauce is getting into this slice and dice opportunity by asserting that unless you choose their sauce, your judgment is severely flawed and worthy of repeated reminders of just how "foolish" someone looked the last time they went ahead and made a judgment call.
Absent are the names of those who were promoting the fashion, nor can choice of clothing be so defining that even baggy pants laws continue to lurk amongst a group of politicians who believe the only way to control crime in their area is to outlaw a list of clothing, complete with measurements of how such clothing should hang.
Now although my own dress is certainly stalled in that particular era while living squarely in 2012 (not the mini-skirt side!), even Corporate Whatever Nation carries forth dress codes and policies, complete with measurements, guidelines and repercussions if one does not measure up to the expectations set forth in corporate policy.
Over the years, I have often wondered how many families and once-friends remain entirely detached from one another due to a social divide created by clothing and hair cuts. I also know that a nice suit and tie cannot disguise characteristics far more distasteful than that of any material laying upon the skin of a human.
I grew up during a time period where things were reeling and dealing their way through mountains upon mountains of data so incalculable, calculations still cannot be made as to the distance these decisions trees still travel forth and more especially, none can promise their numbers are any more "proprietary" or "accurate" other than the "throw the spaghetti on the wall and see if it sticks" test to see if anything can withstand this time-tested tradition and then reporting on the results.
Of course, those who know how long to cook a piece of pasta long enough to make it stick is virtually guaranteed credit for stickability of their contribution, but even I can lay claim that barring any major event preventing otherwise, the sun will rise in the east and set in the west from where I am on the globe. Should I get a pat on the back for such a connection? Perhaps. If someone was willing to bet me that such an event would not happen, I could certainly reflect on the profit potential with less uncertainty, but I'm talking about people literally betting on how many times the word "penis" or even "politician" will be broadcast at any given moment and trading on such a gamble at rates faster than lightening.
One of the larger collections of data to filter into the mental accounting of the many was content classified as part of the Mental Health Profession. Make no mistake that this data does not stay proprietary within a licensed community setting, rather it is a skill set that can be drawn upon in a wide variety of job titles, including those who are unemployed such as myself. Illinois was home to a handful of questionable facilities over the years utilizing knowledge procurred under even more questionable circumstances, such as the release of materials surrounding the Edgewood Arsenal, let alone notes and notations from more notorious acts such as human skin being found used as lamp shade covers less than 80 years ago and put there by people wearing badges of government and military. All of this knowledge was wrapped up in glossy brochures and polished by professionals with clear intent to attract a customer base...which is nothing new in terms or process or architecture, but these new sources of statistics went into supporting or opposing a position in virtually every aspect of our lives, including but not limited to the creation and implementation of law.
The truest point of origin for knowledge of any kind or shape is a constant variable, all reliant on hind-sight to provide the glance or glimpse at such a moment already passed and solely dependant upon time invested in such exploration. Learning from history is an admirable marketing campaign, but what brand name is currently carrying the most certified collection of who's history has always played a significant stressor within the process of publishing.
Winding and long-winded as these paragraphs are, I remain hopeful they helped me set the stage for a new introduction to the 1st Tab of The 2012 V Decision Tree.
I have been helping with research on a new project dealing with municipal meeting minutes and municipal code books (http://themeetingminutesindex.wordpress.com and http://thecodebookindex.blogspot.com) and part of the research is attending a public meeting to observe for myself the process and content of the meeting and that once the meeting minutes are approved, I have to go back and compare my notes and observations with the text in front of me and then turn them in to the publisher for consideration.
I had already gleaned a sense of personality issues from a variety of news reports, most seeming to display a need for constant conflict and complaint in as public of a forum as what can be mustered up at any given time and most being insisted by the Mayor that it is Every Other Person Boogey Person (trying to be PC here!) who is causing the friction for his municipality.
I still shake my head that even I did not speak out loud and demand the Mayor to stop, but perhaps more profoundly, no one on the Board attempted to censor or reprimand the Mayor for his behaviors...apparently for years, I might add.
The 80's was all about straight forward conversation being key and while the mountains of data continues to grow, apparently so does the tolerance for hostile and outright abusive verbal assault by a government official towards a citizen during the Public Participation portion of a meeting.
If this exchange witnessed by some had happened in a courtroom, a judge would have slammed the gavel to bring the tirade to an end after the first two sentences out of the Mayor's mouth.
If this exchange had transpired under the governance of a mental health professional, the Mayor would have been rebuked, reprimanded and reminded that although it's okay to be angry about something, it is not acceptable to take it out on others, especially when they are expressing their opinions.
Now granted I do not possess an actual audio recording of the meeting to support my two statements above, however I certainly saw multiple digital recorders sitting in front of the Mayor and the Clerk so rather than take this any further, feel free to FOIA request a copy of this audio record and discover for yourself the demeanor of those you encounter during the requet process.
In the meantime, it's actually The Water Guy that still has me the most intrigued. While the Mayor hung his head with a scowl on his face, his hired hand took over the microphone and spent a good chunk of time filling the room with fluff and stuff and complete with a charisma cherished by only a few. His sales pitch was that if the citizens did not want to save a couple hundred bucks on their water bills, then they are absolutely foolish and fiscally irresponsible.
Exactly like those who portray fashion choices from the 80's to be a fatal character flaw...complete with the "and here's the evidence to prove it" pile of data.
So while this is the same Mayor who's municipality is still quite non-compliant with transparency laws, I can't wait to see if the same level of transcription service provided to the speeches made by Mayor Patrick Kitching end up being the same distance and detail as that of this Water Guy, who put forth a far more extensive effort to give at least a few details before slipping in the "...but I can't tell you how exactly we do it because it is proprietary information" puff of the chest before moving onward. I have no theoretical problem with the "proprietary" stuff being absent, but if he gets but a few sentence summary...?
Yeah.
Not gnarly and awesome, but gag me with a spoon level behaviors having no place in our modern day political scape while so many continue to be pushed in and out of these types of public forum scored mental health factories that ignore all factors going into points of origin and dismiss any possibility and potential that the one reacting to the circumstances is only trying to protect themselves from otherwise outrageous and entirely unacceptable behaviors.
So while this particular citizen who endured the Kitching onslaught held his own quite well, the idea that even I stayed silent is perhaps the more uncool portion of the meeting, but I still think it is the job of the government to publicly reprimand itself every now and again...even if its a board member voicing opposition to the hostility being put on display in exchange for nothing more or less than a paycheck.
Just like everyone else who receives a paycheck for work performed.
I also said nothing when the Water Guy was portraying the program as a free-will program in which you're stupid if you can't see the savings.
Yeah.
I can't wait to see the public documentation for this particular meeting. Too bad there will be no audio with it...
