[« The sweetest words I've ever read since October's bitter disappointment....] [If only I'd been ingenious enough back then.... »]
02/15/2005: The Thought Police Are Regrouping As We Speak
James D. Miller over at Tech Central Station wrote this intriguing little piece called Will Blogs Produce a Chilling Effect? with this opening paragrah:
"Imagine that mind reading were suddenly imposed on humanity automatically transmitting all our thoughts to those around us. Involuntary telepathy would destroy countless marriages as wives learned of their husbands perverse fantasies. Bosses would fire millions after they found out what their employees really thought of them. Police would be inundated with reports of ordinary citizens contemplating hideous crimes. But eventually we would realize that all humans harbor evil thoughts and an equilibrium would emerge in which we forgave bad thoughts that didn't lead to terrible deeds."
Is there something on YOUR MIND that We Ought to Know About....James? Hmmmm?
The article is really about three powerful or political men who were brought down by their own utterances or damaged in their professional reputations: Eason Jordan, Trent Lott; and Harvard Law President and Prof. Larry Summers.
James Miller muses:"I fear that blogs may soon make many Americans afraid to speak their minds. Imagine you're a manager of a company. Your new blog nightmare is that you will say something stupid in a meeting and this will be reported in a blog. Other blogs will report the initial comment and soon whatever group you have offended will pressure your company to fire you. Or perhaps your distasteful remark will go unreported until you're promoted to CEO. Then your employees, while blogging about what kind of boss you are, will literally tell the world about your past unfortunate utterance."
I wonder if I ought to begin to be worried about this...and if by what I say here at DBV, I could jeopardize my entire next-and-most Future Career as Supreme Ruler of the Planet Earth (see my What if Women Ran the World essay.)
But the more guys who take the Big Professional Tank, the Nose Dive of Tenure Death, the Golden Parachute of Early Forced Retirement...the closer and easier my goal becomes. Now, I only have to avoid the Thought Police, or their Designated Agents and I'm Home Free...or at least one step closer...
Karen on 02.15.05 @ 04:07 PM CST
