Re: Depression, Harrassment, etc.

[Dave Till <davet -at- idirect -dot- com>]

(This is my first post to TECHWR-L; I hope I'm
not straying too far off topic on my first trip
out of the gate.)

My own thoughts on Anonymous are that we don't have
enough information to determine whether this person is
genuinely clinically depressed or is just someone who is
being over-sensitive.  Like some of the other respondents
in this thread, I'm uncomfortable with the idea of
telling someone to "snap out of it" if this isn't
really an option.

But I want to add: while we all have
to accept that the world doesn't owe us a living,
it's also true that (a) some people are naturally
more resilient than others, and (b) the modern
working world tends to have a marked preference
for people of extroverted and entrepreneurial
temperament.  (If I had a dollar for every job description
I've seen calling for someone with a "dynamic" temperament,
I wouldn't have to work for a living. :-))  People who
are more thin-skinned may find it harder to deal with
what seem to others to be the ordinary struggles of
working life.

This doesn't mean that the sensitive
are entitled to a free pass, but I think it does mean
that those who are more resilient should recognize that
some people are structured differently.  (It could also
mean that technical writing might not be the field
for certain people, as dealing with abrasive SME's is part
of the job.  But my point is that there aren't a lot of
other options available for people who stress out easily.)

Compare this with the problem of weight control:
while it's true that virtually everyone can maintain their
ideal weight with sufficient self-discipline, some people find
it easier to keep their weight down than others.  And
those who find it difficult to control their weight probably
don't find it helpful to be lectured by people for whom the
struggle is less difficult (and I'm lucky enough to
be one of those people), as they probably know all that
stuff already.

--Dave
davet -at- idirect -dot- com
http://www.davetill.com



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