I’m not buying the Toyota recall outrage hype

I’ll be honest. Lately I’ve been stifling myself here, in my own house, on my blog. I’ve been searching for inspiration to share and ignoring certain things that I’m really passionate about. So tonight, I’m going to start returning to my roots of having an opinion on everything.

Today’s opinion topic: The railroading and scapegoating of Toyota for a massive recall for what appears to be an obscure defect. One that has been reported to result in a few dozen injuries and maybe a half-dozen deaths. Yes, death is a serious, even tragic result, but we’re talking probably 50 out of millions of cars and people.

Considerably fewer deaths or injuries cased by the Bridgestone/Firestone tire defect.

Thing is, 50/2.5 million is still pretty good in the safety department when you consider all the things we do every day that put us in danger; including driving cars. So if there’s some rare defect on a car that’s still considered one of the safest, I say the outrage is misplaced.

Ah, but the plot thickens. I don’t think the media circus and Congressional Hearings are all being instigated and created by some very savvy PR folks representing the American car makers.

Think about it: The best PR is the kind you never see. It’s about pulling the right strings, getting the ear of the right people and finding the right channels to distribute your message. It’s about manipulatingconvincing a targeted audience that the message is true, even when it isn’t.

And no one does this better than lobbyists for big business interests.

And the American car making industry is one of the biggest interests in the country.

Bottom line. Its all a show and a scapegoating of the competition. We can only have the expectation the cars are reasonably safe; i.e. safe enough to pass safety standards. We can expect and even demand quality. What we can’t expect is perfection.

So I call bullshit on the Congressional hearing and I call bullshit on the smear campaign against Toyota.

Tags: Business, Just Sayin, Open Mic, Toyota Recall

Proof that Dispite All Our Progress, Racism is Not Dead

Most people who really know me, know that I highly tolerant and accepting even. I used to be militant and wear my blackness on my sleeve. This was a result of being accused by my black peers of “talking like a white girl,” and feeling like I always had to prove I was black enough. I know it sounds silly, but where I grew up proper English was a black kid’s kryptonite and so I just got used to either being alone and eventually building a multicultural group of friends.

But back to my point, I was terribly disappointed to find out a picture sent out by a local mayor, depicting the lawn of the White House as a watermelon patch. Are you fucking kidding me?! How is this appropriate in any way shape or form?

I’ll let you decide for yourself and even if you think I’m wrong you are more than welcome to let me know in the comments:

I was disturbed to find that there are actually people who really do not to get why one might be offended by this image. They say those of us who are offended are looking for reasons to be so. Just for the record, there is historical context and reason for the offending in this case. What with our new African American president, the caricatures of the black minstrel with the big pink lips eating watermelon…Seriously? There’s no reason to be upset or be disappointed in a public official who circulates something like that around his office?

There is actually a term for people who think racism is dead: enlightened racist. Yes, I know its harsh and I’d hate to think any of my friends (virtual or otherwise) are racists, but the fact is that’s what you are, if you can completely ignore racism and accuse the target of overreacting…sigh

Like I said, I don’t look for reasons to be offended. I was actually more bothered by the defense than the actual image itself. By the fact that people said that it should just be ignored. By this standard, this racist mayor would have been allowed to stay in office and that city would have reverted back to 40 years ago.

Seriously, 40 years is not that long folks…my grandmother was only a teen-ager during the desegregation civil rights movement. Her grand parents had been slaves and like so many African Americans, we have no way to trace our ancestry because we don’t know where we come from. Obviously we have made huge progress between then and now, so I don’t want to harp on the negative history. At the same time, the dismissive attitudes can take their toll.

Fine, don’t be offended. But don’t tell me I should just get over it, or ignore it. Don’t pretend that it can’t be racist because there are no racists anymore. Its not true and it makes you seem even more racist and ignorant than the person who created the image or circulated it. You, dear enlightened racist, are a barrier to progress with your turning a blind eye and denier syndrome. Racism is still very real and depicting the white house – currently inhabited by our first black president – is proof that as far as we have come, we still have a long way to go.

Employee Privacy and The Internet

How much of your private life can employers control? Well, truly, most jobs begin and end at the office (whatever form that office may take), and on a schedule. It would seem there is a new era in which employers are beginning to encroach on the private lives of their employees; using the Internet and social networking as a scope.

Its horrible to hear stories of people being fired from jobs because of pictures and/or comments left on their social networking profiles. What does having fun over the weekend have to do with a person being sober on Monday and able to get the job done? Prior to the advent of social networks, one could trip the light fantastic on their day off if they wanted, go into work refreshed and productive no one be be the wiser.

It was also almost two years ago that the “Drunken Pirate” was denied her teaching certification because her MySpace pictures represented errors in judgment, and still there has been no precedent set to draw a line between what part of your public online life should be taken into account for the purpose of employer evaluation.

Personally, I try to keep my image online as clean as possible, and make my privacy settings high. I consciously select the parts of my life that I want to make visible to the general public and those I prefer to keep private. I understand that I have to create a personal brand and while it might not squeak, I have no fear of my image causing damage to my reputation.

However, the fact still remains that employers should not be able to use the information about employee private lives available via the Internet. Except in the cases when people’s profiles expose criminal activity (stealing from their workplace), job related negligence (photos in restricted areas on military bases), and lying about being sick (posting dated party pics on a “sick day”)…those are fireable offenses and should be treated as such.

Having a few drinks during your personal time and taking silly pictures…eh…not so much. The line isn’t super thick, but it’s not all that thin either.

Tags: Business, Employee Rights, Internet, Technology, Work/Life Balance