In the latest issue of The Epoch Times, author Jeffery A. Tucker laments the decreasing level of dinner parties. In 1975 42% of people put on or attended dinner parties according to Substacker Derek Thomson. Today that percentage is 12. Along with this decline are church attendance, picnicking, attending club meetings and eating out (with a group of family or friends). The entire spectrum of social activities has taken a nosedive. So this atmospheric change in corporate activities in many ways mirrors society in general. The increasing level of risk has become widely understood as simply an accepted fact. To be sure there have been other factors, not least the rise of social media and its tendency to isolate people, but the population in general acknowledges that life is more dangerous these days.
I'm retired, so work clothes are moot for me. Maybe it's just because I'm older, but having been a concealed carrier for a while, I made similar changes long ago. Nothing on my vehicle about politics or my interests. No clothing that advertises my activities with firearms, training, religion or political persuasion. I avoid crowds anywhere. I don't go anywhere after dark. I realize these choices are not for everyone, but I live by the motto: Don't go to stupid places at stupid times with stupid people and do stupid things. One doesn't have to go to a gas station or ATM at 0300 hours.
Hey Ernie - I appreciate your approach. What I think is a little different is that the people I was talking to weren't wearing clothing with political or religious affiliations, or going somewhere risky. They were just wearing company-branded gear and getting confronted at the airport, and restaurants, and public places.
The way the stories were told to me, it wasn't that they were doing dumb things, they just happened to run into people who didn't like their company and felt comfortable starting a confrontation over it.
The part that stuck with me was that I think there is a difference between taking precautions and being in an environment where you feel like you have to.
Not significantly different than what big-city cops do on a daily basis and have done for at least decades. And when the Army sent me TDY overseas, you simply didn’t wear your uniform off post, and you made sure that you got the terrorism brief and updates—this in the days before GWOT. I’m not sure what that says about the current conditions, but it does give some benchmarks for comparison.
I appreciate the perspective, Brian. What stood out to me in the conversations was that the people sharing these stories weren't military or law enforcement, just everyday civilians, and the clothing they were wearing was things like pullovers with a company logo on them.
While I agree that people serving in protector roles should take those precautions, I don't think it's a great situation or a positive reflection of our society when civilians need to question whether they can represent their company without getting confronted over it.
In the latest issue of The Epoch Times, author Jeffery A. Tucker laments the decreasing level of dinner parties. In 1975 42% of people put on or attended dinner parties according to Substacker Derek Thomson. Today that percentage is 12. Along with this decline are church attendance, picnicking, attending club meetings and eating out (with a group of family or friends). The entire spectrum of social activities has taken a nosedive. So this atmospheric change in corporate activities in many ways mirrors society in general. The increasing level of risk has become widely understood as simply an accepted fact. To be sure there have been other factors, not least the rise of social media and its tendency to isolate people, but the population in general acknowledges that life is more dangerous these days.
I'm retired, so work clothes are moot for me. Maybe it's just because I'm older, but having been a concealed carrier for a while, I made similar changes long ago. Nothing on my vehicle about politics or my interests. No clothing that advertises my activities with firearms, training, religion or political persuasion. I avoid crowds anywhere. I don't go anywhere after dark. I realize these choices are not for everyone, but I live by the motto: Don't go to stupid places at stupid times with stupid people and do stupid things. One doesn't have to go to a gas station or ATM at 0300 hours.
Hey Ernie - I appreciate your approach. What I think is a little different is that the people I was talking to weren't wearing clothing with political or religious affiliations, or going somewhere risky. They were just wearing company-branded gear and getting confronted at the airport, and restaurants, and public places.
The way the stories were told to me, it wasn't that they were doing dumb things, they just happened to run into people who didn't like their company and felt comfortable starting a confrontation over it.
The part that stuck with me was that I think there is a difference between taking precautions and being in an environment where you feel like you have to.
See my latest comment.
Not significantly different than what big-city cops do on a daily basis and have done for at least decades. And when the Army sent me TDY overseas, you simply didn’t wear your uniform off post, and you made sure that you got the terrorism brief and updates—this in the days before GWOT. I’m not sure what that says about the current conditions, but it does give some benchmarks for comparison.
I appreciate the perspective, Brian. What stood out to me in the conversations was that the people sharing these stories weren't military or law enforcement, just everyday civilians, and the clothing they were wearing was things like pullovers with a company logo on them.
While I agree that people serving in protector roles should take those precautions, I don't think it's a great situation or a positive reflection of our society when civilians need to question whether they can represent their company without getting confronted over it.
Thanks for reading and the comment!