Briar Patch Gospel
Last week I ran a semi-serious piece
on the trials and travails of being a trade show warrior in our industry. On the serious side,
I highlighted a very positive experience
I had with Marriott Hotels.
On the lighter side I ran a photo of me surrounded by a covey of attractive young
ladies I met at a trade show last year, and I compared working at a trade show to
throwing Br'er Rabbit in the briar patch.
Since my wife didn't think much of that photo,
I asked readers to weigh in with their opinions of whether that picture was appropriate or not.
The responses were evenly mixed, ranging from the very serious, reminding me of keeping up my standards and being a role model, to the humorous (from a female), saying that I should use that photo for a Christmas card, and another saying that my wife should be thankful that she has a husband with a such a great sense
of humor (also from a female)!
As illustrated in the picture below,
I guess it's all a matter of perspective.
But seriously, I appreciate each of you who took the time to reply and voice your opinions!
A Couple Of Observations:
1. It is a sad commentary on our culture
that a photo of attractive women in a
whimsical moment can almost immediately
be construed as lewd or cheap.
It is not fair to the women in that photo
OR to women in general who deserve
to be assessed by the merits of their character
and their accomplishments. In short,
being female and attractive should not be something to have to apologize for. And a woman should not have to dress like a 19th century school m'arm to emphasize her virtue.
2. A lesson I learned long ago;
if I pour salt on your arm and your arm is healthy, you will have no reaction. If I pour salt on your arm and you have an open wound, you will
flinch in pain. That doesn't mean that everyone who disagreed with me has an open wound.
It means that something that
I perceive to be harmless, can be extremely
painful for someone else who has experiences
that I can't even begin to identify with.
It brings back a vivid memory I have from my youth that is a classic example of this phenomenon. In the interest of brevity I must conclude this and ask you to stay tuned
for the details next week.
Until Then, Happy Trails!
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