On Self-Censorship and Independent Identity
As both my blog content and readership expand in size, some negative feedbacks are bound to arise. To be fair, I have been a writer of controversy, and I fully admit this point (and am quite proud of it, despite the "unfriendliness" I sometimes receive). But as a paid full-time white-collar worker that I have now become, the trigger-happiness and the joy of lashing out at anything and anyone I feel like, inherited from my college days, may become a serious liability to my future directions in life, career, and plainly said, amount of cash I will receive.
Yes, I am talking about the many job-related posts I have been writing on this blog. All of them have been shared on Facebook, on which I already have many "friends" who are from Rakuten, not to mention some who happen to be in very high places and can easily derail my long-term plans in the company by putting in some light complaints. Right, an easily replaceable new graduate with a big mouth, certainly an uncontrollable commodity when some skills are obtained and a few ladders climbed.
But, what they should realize I do have a message for them beyond my constant ridicule of their obscenely inadequate English skills, not to mention their complete lack of understanding when it comes to cultures of English-speaking countries. It is a message that says, right now, I actually care enough about the company to honestly point out her problems. And more importantly, I actually want to stay have for a LONG time if they do make amends and work to resolve these issues.
"They," the top-tier leaders, should listen. Yes, the way they deal with new graduates does have problems; Yes, there are interesting business ideas they have not considered; Yes, sometimes they, as a collective, behave like the leaders of a certain unmentionable East Asian political entity. I am still able to express these opinions because I have yet to be brainwashed to simply follow commands and wait for promotions.
But of course, for some, that "robot-nization" will come just as surely as "English-nization." After the hopes and high expectations of placements are blown away for most people, the only way to escape the "sad" reality is to shut up and do what you are told, perfectly. Just make to "think for yourself" and "do it yourself" enough so that your honorable superiors and bosses do not get overly offended from answering all your stupid questions.
With or without these borderline (or outright, depending on how you see it) inappropriate commentaries, this blog is, and will always be, my personal diary, one that just happened to be published online for everyone to examine as closely or sparsely as they feel. Inscribing my personal thoughts is the whole reason for its existence, so there is absolutely o reason for me to compromise on that point as long as the blog continues its existence.
René Descartes said it well, "I think, therefore I am." A person without fully independent thoughts cannot be considered to have a fully independent individual identity. Without individual opinions, a mature adult can only be labelled sub-human. And as I taught my students in English, true writing, done as enjoyment and not purely as a task and a chore, need to display the logic and the character of the writer, pulling the reader straight into the writer's world, no matter how discomforting that situation is to the reader.
And discomforting is exactly what certain readers of this blog should feel. I am making an all-out assault on their established positions, and I am shooting signal flairs into the sky as I do so. Those entrenched in the established positions have to choices: (1) to fight back from their positions and become my enemies, or (2) sit down at the negotiation table to compromise on our respective positions.
And lastly, a comment for all those sitting on the top of corporate hierarchy. In business, rebellion based on logic is inherently equal to innovation. Just as uprisings led to political reforms, dissidence in a business organization represents forces of change. If the leaders of the status quo insist on suppressing rather than learning from the dissidence, perhaps (and I say this very reluctantly out of respect) that the company itself does not deserve us to be gracing her with our efforts and even presences.
Yes, I am talking about the many job-related posts I have been writing on this blog. All of them have been shared on Facebook, on which I already have many "friends" who are from Rakuten, not to mention some who happen to be in very high places and can easily derail my long-term plans in the company by putting in some light complaints. Right, an easily replaceable new graduate with a big mouth, certainly an uncontrollable commodity when some skills are obtained and a few ladders climbed.
But, what they should realize I do have a message for them beyond my constant ridicule of their obscenely inadequate English skills, not to mention their complete lack of understanding when it comes to cultures of English-speaking countries. It is a message that says, right now, I actually care enough about the company to honestly point out her problems. And more importantly, I actually want to stay have for a LONG time if they do make amends and work to resolve these issues.
"They," the top-tier leaders, should listen. Yes, the way they deal with new graduates does have problems; Yes, there are interesting business ideas they have not considered; Yes, sometimes they, as a collective, behave like the leaders of a certain unmentionable East Asian political entity. I am still able to express these opinions because I have yet to be brainwashed to simply follow commands and wait for promotions.
But of course, for some, that "robot-nization" will come just as surely as "English-nization." After the hopes and high expectations of placements are blown away for most people, the only way to escape the "sad" reality is to shut up and do what you are told, perfectly. Just make to "think for yourself" and "do it yourself" enough so that your honorable superiors and bosses do not get overly offended from answering all your stupid questions.
With or without these borderline (or outright, depending on how you see it) inappropriate commentaries, this blog is, and will always be, my personal diary, one that just happened to be published online for everyone to examine as closely or sparsely as they feel. Inscribing my personal thoughts is the whole reason for its existence, so there is absolutely o reason for me to compromise on that point as long as the blog continues its existence.
René Descartes said it well, "I think, therefore I am." A person without fully independent thoughts cannot be considered to have a fully independent individual identity. Without individual opinions, a mature adult can only be labelled sub-human. And as I taught my students in English, true writing, done as enjoyment and not purely as a task and a chore, need to display the logic and the character of the writer, pulling the reader straight into the writer's world, no matter how discomforting that situation is to the reader.
And discomforting is exactly what certain readers of this blog should feel. I am making an all-out assault on their established positions, and I am shooting signal flairs into the sky as I do so. Those entrenched in the established positions have to choices: (1) to fight back from their positions and become my enemies, or (2) sit down at the negotiation table to compromise on our respective positions.
And lastly, a comment for all those sitting on the top of corporate hierarchy. In business, rebellion based on logic is inherently equal to innovation. Just as uprisings led to political reforms, dissidence in a business organization represents forces of change. If the leaders of the status quo insist on suppressing rather than learning from the dissidence, perhaps (and I say this very reluctantly out of respect) that the company itself does not deserve us to be gracing her with our efforts and even presences.
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