Do we still remember the time when we were in school? For most of us, it was a time when everything was challenging and interesting at the same time. These challenges that came our way makes life enriching. Those challenges, ends us in different plateforms. We can win envy and vaunted by our friends and school for achieving success. We can also be despised and taunted for a failed attempt. Name calling and unusual epithet will stick with us. It will be a point of reference, years later when we meet an old school friend in the most unusual places, just to confirm that we are really that person whom he or she has a historical records stashed somewhere in the dusty archives of his or her mind.
Hey, do you remember Vicki the Specky? What about Fatty Bob? What about the teachers pet, Liam? Some where or another, each of the person in that class were tagged to remind us of them of the things they did, or love to do or just plain peculiar to that person.
Name calling just not end there and then. If you look into our own parliament, animal references are often made to a parliamentarian who depicts similar traits from the animal kingdom. As a reminder, those (the name callers) are the very people who were chosen to represent the rakyat. They are adults for goodness sake. Shouldn’t adults be better than kids? I recalled a statement from an old teacher of mine. "Behave like an adult if you want to be treated like an adult". I guess, those were the days when adults can be good examples.
What urged us to name calling another person? It can be funny at times. But the victim may not be happy to hear it, especially if it was the result of other people's angst. If the name calling is a vaunting one, it will be left at that, probably be made as one's motivating factor.
It is degrading to be called in a lowly manner. Some people may say, "so that he knows the type of person he is". Aha, that's the reply from an employee or subordinate when you point out the unnecessary name calling. It could be true to a certain point. It depends again on how the other person will react to it. Positive thinking person would take it in stride, and adjust accordingly for the better. A short fused person may retaliate, and the initiator could have his days numbered.
This brings up another topic, it may or may not be related to the ramblings above. How do we tell a person that there is some habit of him or her that is not favorable? The thing is, it is not personal, and more of other colleagues are having similar problems with him or her. There are quiet small talks on the ground behind this colleague's back. It isn't nice that way, to be involved in office politics. But, really, someone need to inform him or her . Offending or not, at least it is out of the system, and we all do not have to endure this guilty conscience again - though it may feel good. We need to save ourselves from committing sins! Sins from name calling!
Pass an anonymous stick it note on his desk? Email anonymously? Is there anything more subtle than that? "ahhh...! Tell it straight to his face!" the dare devil advocates. Gasp! Palms starting to get sweaty, the sensation of the heart beating just gets noticeable. "No way! Are you crazy?" I can hear my self in monologue. Imagine how huge and green he will turn into! His pectoralis will rip through his Langford tee and scare half of the staffs here!
Perhaps, it is better left alone. Just some day, the chance will come and he or she will be told.
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