Judgment Day

At my day job, I work in and amongst many Highly Educated People, folks who tack various combinations of letters after their names and, apparently acrimoniously, spend some time putting up with The Rest of Us.

When I first was first hired at my current position, I traipsed down hallowed halls naively saying hello to anyone that passed me in the hallway, not knowing who was whom or who did what and where. Some of my coworkers responded in kind with a smile and a cheery "Good morning!" but many, to my surprise, upon seeing me, became intensely interested in the worn linoleum, their stained coffee cups or a yellowing poster of Heinrich Hertz tacked haphazardly to the wall. Anything, anywhere to avoid making eye contact with me, let alone say hello.

It took me a couple of months, a few curious conversations and some pretty painful one-on-ones to realize that there are actually people that I work with that consider themselves superior to me because of the differences in our educational backgrounds and what we each do for a living, and therefore refuse to acknowledge my existence in this world.  During my tenure in higher education, I have attended meetings where, because I can't include PhD after my name, I have been completely ignored, as if I do not physically exist in the room. A non-entity. Without feelings or an opinion or anything of any worth to say.

So then, really, of what can I speak? It is almost 11:00 PM and I've struggled since I left work with how to put into writing my feelings on this subject. I wish I could say that I just laugh it off, call the group a bunch of assholes and move on, but honestly, it's painful and it hurts. To interact (or not) with people who find you a second class citizen is unlike anything I've experienced before. It's a raw experience to find yourself sub-par in another person's eyes. Call it an overabundance of self-confidence, but I've never fashioned myself someone others should feel particularly superior to.

I think the take away message in all this has to be that you just never know. You really can't judge a book by its cover; you never know why people are the way and the where that they are. Indeed, every time I've made an assumption about someone based on an initial perception, I have been completely wrong. We don't know what lies beneath and beyond and we never get the full answer from a simple "What do you do for a living?"

I'm not out to dismiss anyone, especially those that have invested much time and effort into their names, numbers and careers, as these can be admirable and laudable accomplishments.  All I am suggesting is that before one scrambles to the top of a mountain to admire the view, consider what you are resting your laurels on and your proximity to the sun.