An environment of meanness

Which is to say I’m 100% happy to still have a oaycheck.

The meanness I’ve seen take over the last, say, 2 years, is far more pronounced when you sit 3 feet from its source.

In addition to the delivery of meanness towards individuals when anything else could’ve been chosen to say, yesterday we had The Joke. For my benefit, which makes me sound narcissistic if you hadn’t been where I am to see this kind of Larks by owner:

When an innocuous statement made by somebody who answered the phone said, ‘Marty, line 4’ to him.

VP, by means of training asked, ‘Marty WHO!’

Owner blurted: ‘Not Marty X, that’s for sure.’

Marty X was my friend and fellow World Cup watcher* who was shot to death by the police 3 months ago, in his own front yard.

Hilarious. Thanks for being kind enough to bring up my friend who’s barely gone cold as a wee joke.

It’s not a joke. It’s meanness, chosen by you.

I know my face showed pain (and weakness, to him) because that’s how he wanted it to be, so I’m sorry that I couldn’t hide it better. I turned away and continued working.

*the only person in my IRL acquaintance who followed it, some who read my twitter feed will have seen a few mentions this month because WC happening so close to his death has cast a pallor on my viewing intensity.