However

However, I might be wrong. Years ago, on my first day at Canada Post, a supervisor berated me. He said if I don’t start sorting with my right hand I would be fired. I should have quit. I have been talked to that way at work for 30 years. It’s been the way Canada post managers do business. They berate, talk down, and belittle employees all the time. It’s their way. Yet, I might be wrong.

            Wrong about what for Pete’s sake. Well Pete, I have felt this generation are pussy’s. They are weak, entitled, and lazy. However, I might be wrong. What if this generation is standing up to bad behavior? What if this generation says treating people bad is unacceptable? My generation lived with poor communication. We lived with being talked down to. We accepted a lot of things as normal like unappropriated flirting, comments, and abuse.

            In my day it was nuts. We called people gay, sambo’s, packies, and chinks. We were not racist but we were taught it was normal to label people based on their race and looks. Men and women flirted, cheated, and made lewd comments in the work place. Managers berated employees all the time. It was normal, accepted, and assumed. These days the culture has changed. I was calling them weak. Maybe I was trained to think that way. I am 52, and I have heard it all. Maybe I am wrong about a lot of things.

            I have witness both sides. Children that are never disciplined are usually monsters. Children that are disciplined can be monsters too. Was I trained to be a monster? Did I learn that certain words towards others was ok? Did I learn that being treated poorly is a rite of passage into the real world? I was taught there are no second best, finishing last, or just getting buy. We had to win, be on top, and be first or we were a loser. I see it in the tone of my managers all the time.

             What does God have to say?

Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go,

And when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Proverbs 13:24 “Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them.”

            The trick is what to believe. Should we train our children to me a mini me? Should we spank them to love them. People misinterpret God all the time. God is not saying beat your kids. He is also not saying to train them to be a little you. Training a child in the way they are bent is one way to say this. The bent is the way they excel and are different. The rod thing is tricky. I do think kids need to respect authority. Yet, there is a difference between respecting and despising. The answer is no some times. You can’t always win. Life should be lovable but it’s hard too. I was trained as my parents were trained. This generation is saying no to how we train a child. They might be right.

            Being berated at work constantly is no good. It’s the same at home. I read an article the other day that said we should only say positive things to our kids. I think it’s a little of both. Disciple is fine if it’s meant to grow your child. Punishing to train is stupid. Instructing to train is better. Only pointing out flaws has got to stop. Yet, pointing out flaws leads to better workers and performance. You would want a doctor to work on his flaws right before he works on you. It’s all in the intent.

            However, there is no easy answer. This generation needs to get a life. All this witch hunting and rights forums are killing you. Focus on doing better rather than seeking compensation. You will never rid this world of evil. That’s just not possible. Yet, we can choose good. We can encourage good. I was trained to mock races, people, and ways. That will change. It begins with us.

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