When I answered the phone at 5:00 am, I was surprised to hear the voice of a former financial advisor. He was upset. I was destroying careers.
The previous friday I had called his office, and the staff being away, had left a courtesy message. I was filing a complaint against an insurance company that was refusing to pay me what they owed. The annuity in question had been sold by the financial advisor's firm. I thought I should let them know.
Now I was being told that the complaint would be a mark against one of their young advisors. I should have discussed the problem with them. I didn't add to the issue by pointing out that I had written to the other advisor seven months before and had not received an answer. I explained what I was doing and why. The financial advisor calmed down when he realized that the complaint was not against his firm. He finally said he understood. I asked him if he knew that it was 5:00 am.
To add to my reputation as a "Career Destroyer", I have recently been labeled a "Bible Twister" and a "Breed Racist".
The "Bible Twister" label was given to me by a Jehovah's Witness when I said, among other things, that I didn't think that when the Bible said that Eve was created from the rib of Adam, that this was to be taken literally. Didn't it mean that Eve was created as a partner to Adam, created in a similar manner? To say that she was literally created from his rib would make her his clone. She would have the same DNA and be a man.
No, I was assured, God gave Eve estrogen. Estrogen? But you can't change a man to a woman by giving him estrogen. Well, I was told, Eve was really created from dust. Safer ground, I assumed.
The label "Breed Racist" came from a statement I made that Pit Bulls can be aggressive and that I'm glad that neither of my neighbors have one. Didn't I know that it's the owner, not the breed, that causes dogs to be aggressive, I was told. It may be, I said, but how can I tell which owners raise well-socialized dogs and which raise attack dogs? It's something I'm happy not to have to worry about.
New labels always come as a surprise. I try to be a reasonable person. I guess I'll just have to try harder.
I'm a total breed racist. When I was three years old, I was at a birthday party for another little girl. I tried to feed my hotdog to their pitbull, a friendly dog they had for years and years. I put my hotdog on the ground for him, but he didn't take it. I went to pick it up and he lunged, taking my entire face into his mouth. My mom watched, horrified, as the dog shook my little three-year-old body back and forth. The family felt horrible, but instead of getting the dog put down they gave it away. The dog then ended up tearing up another little girl, who had to get sixteen stitches. The dog was then put down. I don't like pitbulls.
ReplyDeleteAs far as I'm concerned, pitbulls and certain other breeds (rottweilers)are unpredictable, even when properly raised. A house in the next block had two rottweilers that sometimes got out in the morning, as I was walking to the bus. Although I wasn't particularly concerned for myself, these dogs were alert and intense. I hoped no children came along on their way to school.
ReplyDeleteI'd be nervous if I had pitbulls next door too, mainly because I have a curious little daughter. I agree that it's usually the owners, not this breed, that are to blame when they're aggressive. But I'd still be nervous because I'd be thinking why do you have them?
ReplyDeleteAn aside: I have a friend who has a scar on her face because she was attacked by a pitbull when she was little. Her family sued the owners and her parents put the money in a fund for her to get plastic surgery when she was an adult. She decided the scar was who she was (it was on her lip - but she's very beautiful) and used the money for other things.
People in Taiwan often label me "foreigner." I normally correct them, telling them I'm a new Taiwanese and that the country of Foreign cannot be found in an atlas. I don't have much use for labels.
The pit bull issue has put me at odds with people I usually agree with, such as Cheri DiNovo NDP MPP for Parkdale-High Park in Toronto (my old riding). I'm sure I have things to learn here.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=168292380876&ref=ts