Fifteen Seconds of Fame

Sometimes, a simple television interview can be...well, interesting.

After things happened in Ballwin Monday night, I was interviewed by the local Fox station. Normally, I'm not into television interviews - I would rather be behind the scenes, making anonymous efforts (I don't mind praise - I just like sharing it, in a weird way). If it wasn't for the fog and general icky weather, more people who supported it would have been at the meeting, and I might not have been interviewed...but I was, and prepared myself for the congratulations of moving my agency's mission forward.

Yesterday, however, with the usual atta-boys came, well, unexpected praise for the way I handled myself on the screen. (Luckily, one of my bosses was able to give an honest critique of my "performance"), but the hosannas came fast and furious. People I work with, both inside and outside of my office, expressed their pride and admiration, but now, it's back to work, and all the "normal" little intricacies and dysfunctional dynamics of before

It reminds me of this person, but in a different way - if you didn't know already, he works at a very prestigious British bookstore, and was fired for (satirically) talking about this job.

Now, let me get this straight - a bookstore (usually a bastion of intellectual freedom, free speech, etc) fires their employee because he says something they don't like, and what he says isn't hateful (e.g, "Hey, I think Hitler should shop here!"). He is getting much attention on the blogosphere, not because his blog is clever, but because his employers decided that his words cut a little too close to home. That, my friends, is complete and utter sash - in these troubled times, there should be more diverse speech, especially satirical speech, especially that which offends.

I normally don't post about my work or my employer - part of it is fear of repercussions, part of it is that I talk about job stuff with others outside of it, but much of it is...my job details wouldn't excite most of you. Paperwork, statistics, phone calls - at times, my life lacks excitement. I don't have a hot and sexy job, like, say, working in a comic shop. I am not a "look at me and how wonderful I am" attitude - I try to be wonderful and get things done. However, every once in awhile, greatness is thrust upon us (to paraphrase Shakespeare) and we have to do our best to handle it.

For this gentleman, you have my support. Keep on, brother. Fight the power. (And if you're a woman, my sincere apologies)