I was busy on Thursday and succeeding days. But I want to at least acknowledge the momentous event that occurred on May Day. The West Coast longshoremen shut down all West Coast ports in protest of the Vietnam Iraq war. If you haven’t already, go Watch, listen to, or read the Democracy Now! interview with union official Jack Heyman. We can only hope that this strike is portent both of a revitalized labor movement and of increasing engagement of labor in attempts to end this war. After all, the vast resources spent on this war are depleting the resources available for all the other vital needs in this country. And it is workers who do most of the fighting. Further, the threat of internal resistance to the war is one of the best brakes the populace can put upon the war-makers planning the next war.
The story of Stuff explains how the system of Extraction — Production — Distribution — Consumption — Disposal works to destroy our world and make our lives miserable as we pursue more and more stuff. Here’s the film’s description:
What is the Story of Stuff?
From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It’ll teach you something, it’ll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.
Watch it in a big format on the film’s website. Or watch smaller the embedded version here:
Swearing seems to be popular. Steven Pinker has written a book partially devoted to the topic; he was interviewed on NPR today about it. Today, AFP describes a new study claiming that swearing at work is good for morale:
Regular swearing at work can help boost team spirit among staff, allowing them to express better their feelings as well as develop social relationships, according to a study by researchers.
Yehuda Baruch, a professor of management at the University of East Anglia, and graduate Stuart Jenkins studied the use of profanity in the workplace and assessed its implications for managers.
They assessed that swearing would become more common as traditional taboos are broken down, but the key appeared to be knowing when such language was appropriate and when to turn to blind eye.
The pair said swearing in front of senior staff or customers should be seriously discouraged or banned, but in other circumstances it helped foster solidarity among employees and express frustration, stress or other feelings.
“Employees use swearing on a continuous basis, but not necessarily in a negative, abusive manner,” said Baruch, who works in the university’s business school in Norwich.
Banning swear words and reprimanding staff might represent strong leadership, but could remove key links between staff and impact on morale and motivation, he said.
“We hope that this study will serve not only to acknowledge the part that swearing plays in our work and our lives, but also to indicate that leaders sometimes need to ‘think differently’ and be open to intriguing ideas.
“Managers need to understand how their staff feel about swearing. The challenge is to master the ‘art’ of knowing when to turn a blind eye to communication that does not meet their own standards.”
The study, “Swearing at work and permissive leadership culture: when anti-social becomes social and incivility is acceptable”, is published in the latest issue of the Leadership and Organisational Development Journal.