An Ugly Truth in Mexico
Published August 25, 2003
Man: It's a very different culture down here. The employees really don't do much without being told.
Craig: I have noticed that the autonomy of the employees is really almost non-existent.
Man: That's right. If you recruit any of the older employees you can forget about them being a positive contribution to your operations. They don't have any idea how to think for themselves.
Craig: It makes sense really. They have a history of the boss being the king of their world and they would want to do anything they can to not defy them.
Man: That's why human resources departments are such a joke here.
Craig: Why do you say that?
Man: If you are a manager, you end up doing all their "work."
(as he throws his burly hands in the air with the clichéd quote signals)
Man: I mean if you are a manager you can get away with anything you want anyway.
I nod, pretending that I have some clue as to what he is referring, although I truly do not. I don't even want to guess.
Man: It happens all the time down here. How do you think women even get promoted? It isn't by their brains or their hard work. It's about my "hard" work if you know what I mean.
By this point I am chuckling knowingly as my discomfort grows with every moment. This guy is relentless though. I am slowly becoming completely disgusted with this guy.
Craig: Yeah, I could see that happening down here with the relationship between managers and employees. It's too bad that it is the most immoral thing that I can think of. I am such a guilty person that I would never be able to do it myself. (I laugh to try and cover up my criticism.)
Man: Yeah I could never do it either.
I didn't buy it for a second. I am sure this late 40's asshole has abused tons of women in his 5 years in Mexico. I mean he chose to LOCALIZE after being an expatriate for 4 years. Not only that, but he was looking to impart his "wisdom" to a complete stranger (me) as if I was going to be impressed or something. As if his "triumphs" in guilt-trip sex would make me respect him more as a man. Little did I know it was about to get worse.
Craig Lyndall rants, raves and writes other stuff at FilteringCraig.com and at The Cleveland Sports Curse
- An Ugly Truth in Mexico
- Published: August 25, 2003
- Type:
- Section: Politics
- Writer: Craig Lyndall
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Thanks Dawn.
This was the kind of conversation where you think for two hours about all the things you woulda/coulda/shoulda said, but ultimately, this wasn't the kind of guy and/or circumstances I wanted to mess with.
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Man that was really sad and well told. The two times I have visited Mexico I really liked the people a lot. While I was certainly in a tourist zone, we did all we could to absorb the local flavor and understand more about their "real" culture. I agree with you about the Mexican desire to work hard and raise their sights.
That guy you met is dispicable and grotesque, but Craig men try to get away with that crap in this country too. Most women are too smart to fall for it, but some aren't.
In this case, he was truly lazy and taking advantage of people seeking to better themselves and their families.
He should be shot.