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[personal profile] x_icarus
Would someone care to explain to me why people, authority figures especially, feel the need to publicly advertise their drunken asses? It really doesn't say much when so-called role models behave like a bunch of hicks on the Fourth of July (but without the illegal fireworks, at least as far as I know). With all this nonsense people spout about trust and family here, it's really hard to get to that point when some people act like this.

Date: 2004-09-14 10:42 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] x-shinobi.livejournal.com
Everybody acts like an idiot when they're drunk, Jay. Authority figures or otherwise. Authority figures can reach their keyboards just as easily as anyone else when they're wasted.

Date: 2004-09-14 10:45 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] x-icarus.livejournal.com
I could give a rat's ass about people getting wasted. It's not my liver that they're destroying. The problem is with acting like a mule where everyone can see. He didn't have to get on to his computer did he? No, but he thought it would be fun.

Date: 2004-09-14 10:46 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] x-shinobi.livejournal.com
Possibly he thought it would be fun because he was wasted.

Christ, boy, take a chill pill.

Date: 2004-09-14 10:57 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] x-sanfuaiyaa.livejournal.com
He has a point, Shinobi. Respect is hard enough to come by. It does no good for anyone when someone of Mr. Summers' position conducts themselves thusly.

Date: 2004-09-14 10:59 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] x-vega.livejournal.com
Would you prefer that the teachers' journals were filtered, Shiro, so that none of you have to see the fact that we have lives?

I can easily respect someone who knows how to live as well as teach and lead. I don't see where the shortfall is here.

Which one of these is not like the other?

Date: 2004-09-14 11:14 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] x-sanfuaiyaa.livejournal.com
Consuming vast amounts of ethyl alcohol and having a life aren't the same thing. I do understand the need to balance responsibility and fun, as much as that may surprise some people. The problem is that alcohol is a drug that causes harm to both body and mind. Mr. Summers is not the first person to get pissed and write about how great it is. I think that we may be well on our way to seeing alcohol dependency problems here if someone doesn't say anything about it.

And no, I am neither advocating Prohibition nor saying that Mr. Summers has to be Cyclops every second of every day. The fact remains, though, that it's a matter of health and of decorum.

Re: Which one of these is not like the other?

Date: 2004-09-14 11:19 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] x-vega.livejournal.com
Moderation and wisdom in all things, Shiro. Read the research. Alcohol's effects on the body and brain are well documented and can be helpful as well as detrimental. Scott wasn't writing about how great it is to get drunk - and honestly, he wasn't that badly off if he could use the journal system, I have trouble with this thing when I'm sober. He was being silly. I've done stupider things under the influence of a pretty smile.

As for decorum, that's a matter of opinion, I suppose. We'll see what Scott says when he's up and about.

Re: Which one of these is not like the other?

Date: 2004-09-14 11:19 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] x-blink.livejournal.com
but Shiro, sometimes relaxing is hard and alkie helps that.

He's over 21, drank privately and didn't give it to minors. I don't see a problem here. We're in such a closed environment here that things like this are going to happen. He handled his drinking responsibly - which is about what I'd expect from him.

Date: 2004-09-14 10:44 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] x-vega.livejournal.com
I don't see where Scott was out of line, Jay. He was being silly, in his own journal, on his own time. He was responsible about everything. He's human. So are the rest of us. Blowing off some steam is never a bad thing, when it's done right. The younger children are filtered from most casual posting, if I recall correctly. I'm sure that anyone who need to be protected from the off-duty lives of the staff can be added to that list.

Older students have the priviledge of open communication with staff and other students. We all have to live together here and that includes having a normal personal life, if one can manage it. It may not be what you're accustomed to, but it's not a bad thing.

Date: 2004-09-14 10:50 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] x-icarus.livejournal.com
Like I said to Shinobi, it doesn't matter to me how people entertain themselves around here. If they want to poison themselves, then go right ahead. The problem is with them acting like it's all fine and dandy, and with other people not raising a stink about their behavior.

If Summers needs to blow off some steam, then by all means let him blow. But I for one expect just a smidge more maturity from a teacher. At least that's what I'm accustomed to.

Date: 2004-09-14 10:56 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] x-vega.livejournal.com
Behaviour? Like hanging out with his girlfriend in his own rooms and goofing off? Do you know how long I've been trying to get him to DO that? (I just usually turn off the internet connection. Training, see?)

I thought it was funny. Scott's one of the most decent, responsible, mature people I know. He's mature when he has to be. That's what counts. You can't come across in the crunch when you're worn down from being perfect for everyone all the time.

We /live/ here. We can't be polished and glossy for the benefit of the students all the time. We don't have a place to go and kick back that isn't this school. And if Scott posts a goofy post in his journal when he's having fun, more power to him. He'll be there when we need him and he'll be there in better shape if he's not cracked from trying to keep up some tidy little facade.

Date: 2004-09-14 11:26 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] x-icarus.livejournal.com
Then let him have fun. Go, I don't know, blow some crap up or something. I'm sure that there are plenty of ways to have fun and relax that don't involve acting like a damfool.

Date: 2004-09-14 11:33 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] x-vega.livejournal.com
Very, very few. Especially with such a rigid view of folly. Sadly, the government frowns on us blowing things up, even on our own property and in our own airspace. I'm working on demolitions permits for a couple old factories, though, but that's more for teaching purposes.

Years of training have ensured that I turn off my access to the internet when I'm going to relax. Good thing too. I think some of my students might well spit in my face if they had an inkling about the rest of my life, if Scott gets that much grief over some tequila.

Still.

Date: 2004-09-14 12:03 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] x-tarot.livejournal.com
Still, if the staff members are going to suggest that is it irresponsible of us to drink to excess, would it not be prudent for them to not take the tactic of "Do as I say, not as I do." ?

I am sure Mr. Summers is under a great deal of stress, but I do not care for having authority figures who tell me one thing and then do another. Lead by example, is that not what they always tell us older students in regards to our much younger roommates?

Re: Still.

Date: 2004-09-14 12:14 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] x-vega.livejournal.com
Define excess.

Define responsible behaviour.

A person of age has a few drinks and behaves in a harmlessly silly manner. He doesn't get sick, he doesn't harm himself, he doesn't harm anyone else. I'm still failing to see the problem.

Would it have been my choice? No. That's why I make sure not to use these things while under the influence. I still am not seeing the place where a moment's silliness negates or harms anything else.

Re: Still.

Date: 2004-09-14 12:21 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] x-tarot.livejournal.com
How odd. You question -my- ability to do a very simple and nearly stress-free teaching job when I make one - and I have only ever made -one- questionable post. Yet you defend an older, supposedly more responsible co-worker who is under more stress in a more difficult job.

This is a double standard.

Re: Still.

Date: 2004-09-14 12:28 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] x-vega.livejournal.com
Did I question your ability? No. You're still working. If I questioned it, I'd not let you have the job. I offered to find a replacement for you. Hardly a double standard.

Oh, by the way, there is a double standard for people of different levels of maturity and experience. End of story. I'm not fair, no. I'm okay with that.

Re: Still.

Date: 2004-09-14 12:35 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] x-tarot.livejournal.com
Yes. Your standard is higher than mine. Adults in this country have more privlidges, yes? And more responsibilites. Maybe Quebec is different, I suppose, but I doubt it.

Which means Mr. Summers should not be posting drunkenly.

As you say, end of story.

Re: Still.

Date: 2004-09-14 12:39 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] x-vega.livejournal.com
I'm afraid we'll have to disagree on that, I suppose. We do have a very different view of alcohol, that's certain.

I wasn't comparing adults and children. I was comparing people with different levels of maturity and experience. There is a difference.

Re: Still.

Date: 2004-09-14 12:42 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] x-tarot.livejournal.com
Perhaps it is simply because I grew up with wine at dinner that I do not see how public drunkenness is -ever- acceptable. You learn your limits early and then do not exceed them, or if you do, you face the consequences.

Right.

Date: 2004-09-14 11:01 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] x-psylocke.livejournal.com
You don't know the man. You know nothing of the circumstances that brought this about, which I'm taking that into consideration. Therefore, I request that you keep your judgment to yourself until you do know something rather than spurt off about maturity and what you expect.

Re: Right.

Date: 2004-09-14 11:34 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] x-icarus.livejournal.com
The call-girl speaks.

You know, I'm sick of talking about this. Sorry I even brought it up.

Re: Right.

Date: 2004-09-14 11:37 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] x-vega.livejournal.com
That was out of line, Jay. Period, end of story. You owe Betsy an apology for that.

Re: Right.

Date: 2004-09-14 11:41 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] x-icarus.livejournal.com
She said it herself:

"NOW, I KNOW WHAT I'M GOOD FOR!"

Re: Right.

Date: 2004-09-14 11:44 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] x-vega.livejournal.com
Sarcasm, Jay, talking about a Halloween costume. Shinobi has shanghaied many of us into dressing up as the cast of Firefly for Halloween. Since Scott is going as Mal, it seemed like a good idea for Betsy to go as Inara.

Date: 2004-09-14 11:46 am (UTC)

Date: 2004-09-14 01:10 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] x-madelyn.livejournal.com
The thing about families, Jay, is that they are made up of human beings, and human beings are far from perfect. Scott is an adult, over 21 and as such, entitled to consume alcohol. Posting drunkenly was probably not the smartest thing he could have done, but given the insane amounts of stress we've all experienced over the last few months, I think he's allowed the odd lapse. Although I think in future, unplugging the Internet is a very good idea. Nice one, Paul.

Yes, we're teachers and adults. But we're still human, and sometimes we need to have moments of foolishness. Scott, especially, I think, since he spends so much of his time so tightly buttoned. And I prefer a night of tequila and silly journal posts to him bottling things up until he either gives himself an ulcer or explodes. Less damage, that way, to himself and to others.

Oh, and calling another teacher a call girl? Uncalled for. It looks like someone needs a humour transplant.

Date: 2004-09-14 01:34 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] x-sanfuaiyaa.livejournal.com
You know, the phrase "we're just humans" has been thrown around so often that it's meaningless. Just because we're human gives us the excuse to act like animals? Quite the opposite, I would say. Being human gives us a consciousness that should be used to overcome baser instincts. Shrugging off people's screw-ups as "acting human" is detrimental to everyone.

I have to say that I for one am so sick of being coddled. One person - one - had the guts to call me out for what I did before term started (besides my sister). Mr. al Rashid has my utmost respect for that. People need to take responsibility instead of being mildly slapped on the wrist.

Date: 2004-09-14 02:01 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] x-madelyn.livejournal.com
You made a foolish decision, based on a stressful situation and an emotional state. I do not see that as worthy of a lecture. Counselling and assistance, yes, but not 'calling you out'. Any responsibility lies with us not seeing the state you were working yourself into and providing that help.

People in pain, under stress, do stupid or hurtful things. I've lost count of the number of times a patient has inadvertantly injured me by lashing out, or the times families or friends have personally attacked me because I haven't been able to give them the news they wanted to hear. I don't blame them, neither do I condemn, and I won't start now. The day I assign blame to somone in a condition where they were unable to take responsibility for their own actions - as you were, Shiro - is the day I hang up the stethoscope and stop being a doctor.

Date: 2004-09-14 03:10 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] x-snowflake.livejournal.com
Blah, blah, blah. What were you expecting, an ideal microcosm of society? Surely someone with your excellent understanding of humanity should grasp that very few people here actually behave as they are supposed to (given the common behaviours delegated to them by this hemisphere's society as a whole).

In other words, what did you expect? Responsible adults?

Date: 2004-09-14 03:56 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] x-kitten.livejournal.com
With all this nonsense people spout about trust and family here, it's really hard to get to that point when some people act like this.

Ah. So I take it no one in your family ever lets down their hair and relaxes? How unfortunate.
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