Mean Bosses Suck!

Many eons ago, before Desktop Publishing was a glimmer of hope on the horizon, we artist labored over drafting tables, bright lights, galleys of typesetting outputted on film drying off a ledge, hours in real darkrooms creating or enhancing photos (no Photoshop yet), all of these things were carefully sliced apart with single-edged razors, exactor knives often balanced against T-squares. I actually had a slightly calloused middle finger from the way I held a single edge razor:  and I was like a surgeon with a blade, and deadlines were pretty intense.

We had a smart mouth manager, who just loved to insult us, our skills, time spent on jobs, and of course any errors AND what they cost. Loudly in front of our coworkers, long drawn out details, just belaboring the issue—all with a mean goofy grin. He even loved to stand under the open stairwell and listen in on our conversations—NOT even embarrassed when we caught him!

And one afternoon it was my turn to be lectured and he just wouldn’t let it go. My desk was alongside that open stairwell, and as he was slowly walking down those stairs, repeating the criticism and letting the sarcasm just linger in the air.

No worry, I was ready.

Barely taking my eyes off my work on the drafting table, holding a single edged blade in my hand, I slowly turned to stare at him and stated, “You really shouldn’t piss off a woman who really ENJOYS playing with razor blades.” And I held his gaze until HE became uncomfortable and his smirk left, then he slowly turned and made his way down the stairs. The squint and anger in my eyes must have spoke volumes because he kept looking back at me without another word.

Later, that day or soon afterwards, I gave a direct demand to both the owner and that jerky manager: No longer should any of us tolerate either of them ripping us in front of the entire staff. It is wrong. “I do not want an audience when either of you are criticizing my work and I sure as hell did not want to be the audience for someone else! “

They mumbled somewhat, kinda discussed it, then that jerk made comments for several days later, but I held my own! We were ALL DONE with his sarcasm, even mocking our children and their health! Seriously, he had the fucking nerve to gossip about a coworker’s daughter’s emotional health, accused her of drug use and worse. That teenage girl was also the owner’s niece.

Moral: There will always be jerks in your life, stand up to them, sometimes you will win and sometimes you may be fired. Damned if I will be a doormat for mean people and their insecurities.