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I’m Mad as Hell and I’m Not Going to Take it Anymore!!

June 26th, 2023 by Kenneth Abrahams

Network is a movie released in 1976, yes, many of you have never seen it, some of you probably weren’t even born yet. Fear not, it is not one of those old black and white movies that your grandparents or great grandparents speak so lovingly about. It was made in full color and honestly still holds up today. In it, fictitious newsman Howard Beale, played by actor Peter Finch, delivers that line as he has a meltdown during the news. Beale isn’t mad at one thing or one person but at the world, the news, and society in general. He is mad as hell, and he is not going to take it anymore. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGIY5Vyj4YM

Howard, I know how you feel. No, I’m not mad at the world or an anonymous undefined group of people. I am mad at certain people, certain things, certain statements that really make my blood boil. If you want to push my buttons and illicit a volcanic reaction let me save you the trouble of guessing what will do it and provide you with the answer. Lately, it seems those buttons have been pushed more than a few times.

“Sorry I didn’t respond; I have been really busy.” Yep, that is absolutely one of those trigger phrases for me. You’re too busy, as opposed to the rest of us who have nothing to do but binge watch Wheel of Fortune and eat quarts of Ben and Jerry’s? Do you think that you have a monopoly on trying to fit 80 hours of work into a 40-to-50-hour work week? You couldn’t respond because things have been hectic in your life? Welcome to the real world. It is a world that most of us live in. I’m lucky my kids are grown up now, so my wife and I are not trying to juggle a 40 plus hour work week and the sports, school, religious studies, theater productions and a whole host of other activities parents in 2023 deal with. There are very few people that I know with full-time personal and professional staff attending to their every need. We are all busy. You weren’t too busy to respond, you chose not to respond. You prioritized other things ahead of responding. Funny thing is those are the same people that often get the most irritated when you don’t respond to them in a nanosecond.

Several years ago, the motto of the New England Patriots was “Do your Job.” Simple, direct, straightforward. It is a sentiment that I can get behind. Just do your job. Ever run into a person that is interested in doing everyone else’s job but can’t seem to do the tasks that they have been assigned? Yep, another issue that is like nails on a chalkboard to me. Perhaps, I am oversensitive to this because we are dealing with an issue with one of our accounts. Most of the people involved are wonderful. They are helpful, almost to a fault, appreciative of what we have done for them and continue to do for them, even pleasant and understanding when I have a Vesuvius moment, but there is one fly in the ointment. They are human choke points or roadblocks. Every time we believe that everything is resolved to the satisfaction of all parties, in they come. If they just did their job, life for many would be so much better. Not sure where the expression came from, but they are the fly in the ointment.

Read the room. Some people just can’t seem to evaluate the group they are speaking to or trying to connect with. Yes, I understand that certain health issues make it impossible to pick up social cues for some, but for many it is obvious, or should be, what the sentiment of the room is. Recently, my Alma Mater had their president resign. Her resignation was contentious with students, faculty, staff, and some alumni asking for her to step down or be removed by the Board of Trustees. The issue was a very public gaff. An alum was going to host an event at a facility that had a long and well documented history of racism and antisemitism. As a result, the head of Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion stepped down. There were rumblings that he had been pressured to support the event at the facility, although the college has denied that. After that, there were student protests, a sit in, and a faculty vote of no confidence where a whooping 90% of the faculty voted no confidence. It took a while, but she stepped down. After her decision to exit, the Board of Trustees went to great lengths to praise the work that she had done at the school. They have even launched a campaign trying to raise money to honor her legacy. Read the room! Wounds that were opened from the planned event, and the subsequent departure of the head of DEI, are still fresh. Teddy Roosevelt had a sign on his desk, as do other leaders, The Buck Stops Here. Whether she had anything to do with the planning of the event she sits in proverbial corner office, she is ultimately in charge and ultimately culpable. She should have stood up as soon as this firestorm happened and accepted blame, met with stakeholders, apologized, and had a campus wide discussion on how the institution could do better moving forward. If the board wanted to praise her, do it behind closed doors not in front of an angry public.

People are frustrating, but if any of us were perfect then we probably wouldn’t be human. Maybe all of us just need to be a bit more careful. Think before we act is a good way to ensure better outcomes. Understanding how our actions impact others will also help. Recently, the new President of the NCAA, and former Governor of Massachusetts, Charlie Baker, attended the Women’s College World Series as part of his “Listening Tour.” He is trying to identify and understand some of the issues that the NCAA is facing. He talked about receiving more and transmitting less. Or looking at it another way. Most of us have 2 ears and one mouth and we should use them proportionally. Maybe I need to take a step back and count to 10, or even a hundred. Come to think of it, I am not really angry, I think I’m just frustrated. After all, there is too much anger in the world as it is.

About the Author

Ken Abrahams is VP of Client Relations for FUN Enterprises and is absolutely a work in progress. He also finds people who drive with animals on their laps frustrating, maddening, and more than a little annoying. His sister once got a ticket for eating Kentucky Fried Chicken while driving. Technically it is distracted driving. If that is distracted driving what is having Fido on your lap?

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