Wednesday, March 16, 2011

30 Days of Truth - Day 16

Day 01 → Something you hate about yourself.
Day 02 → Something you love about yourself.
Day 03 → Something you have to forgive yourself for.
Day 04 → Something you have to forgive someone for.
Day 05 → Something you hope to do in your life.
Day 06 → Something you hope you never have to do.
Day 07 → Someone who has made your life worth living for.
Day 08 → Someone who made your life hell, or treated you like shit.
Day 09 → Someone you didn’t want to let go, but just drifted.
Day 10 → Someone you need to let go, or wish you didn’t know.
Day 11 → Something people seem to compliment you the most on.
Day 12 → Something you never get compliments on.
Day 13 → A band or artist that has gotten you through some tough ass days. (write a letter.)
Day 14 → A hero that has let you down. (letter)
Day 15 → Something or someone you couldn’t live without, because you’ve tried living without it.
Day 16 → Someone or something you definitely could live without.
Day 17 → A book you’ve read that changed your views on something.
Day 18 → Your views on gay marriage.
Day 19 → What do you think of religion? Or what do you think of politics?
Day 20 → Your views on drugs and alcohol.
Day 21 → (scenario) Your best friend is in a car accident and you two got into a fight an hour before. What do you do?
Day 22 → Something you wish you hadn’t done in your life.
Day 23 → Something you wish you had done in your life.
Day 24 → Make a playlist to someone, and explain why you chose all the songs. (Just post the titles and artists and letter)
Day 25 → The reason you believe you’re still alive today.
Day 26 → Have you ever thought about giving up on life? If so, when and why?
Day 27 → What’s the best thing going for you right now?
Day 28 → What if you were pregnant or got someone pregnant, what would you do?
Day 29 → Something you hope to change about yourself. And why.
Day 30 → A letter to yourself, tell yourself EVERYTHING you love about yourself

Day 16 → Someone or something you definitely could live without.

Ignorance and intolerance.  Look, I'm a social worker.  Which means that, by nature, I'm pretty tolerant of other lifestyles, cultures, beliefs, etc.  Working in a hospital, where we encounter those different things on a day-to-day basis, I believe that we should all be equally tolerant and forgiving.  We should all be able to turn the other cheek when something is different.  When something is "weird."  When something doesn't match our sense of "normal." 

Apparently, some of my colleagues don't agree.  At least once a day, I am brought to frustration, anger, and - sometimes - fury over comments of the people I work with.  Jokes about transgendered individuals.  Rude remarks about people of different cultures.  Ignorant statements about people with mental health problems (or mental health in general, really).  And then what makes me really angry, is the "sympathy" they give for people who can actually help their issues - like not following through with doctors visits or not filling prescription. 

I think that all hospital staff (even social workers, though I think you'd find that we tend to be more educated and tolerant than others) should have to go through sensitivity training.  So that I'm not forced to listen to comments like "You know, lots of people in the Philippines have sex changes.  Ooh!  Look at John!  He's trying to think, 'Did I ever date one?'"  Yeah, you guys.  That was an actual comment made by an actual person.  That conversation quickly disintegrated into "My friend said that in the Philippines, they ride around on mopeds with goats strapped on."  "Ooh, so maybe the goat is the boyfriend!"  Yup.  That's what I have to deal with.  Every day.   If people would just educate themselves on what other cultures are like and how other people live, I wouldn't hear things like "So is it a boy to a girl?  Does he still have his thing?  I don't understand how they live like that." 

Sometimes, I want to punch people.

1 comment:

  1. Oh my goodness how awful!! I can't even imagine working with people like that... sensitivity training is a great idea!

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