Death Penalty

It's been decades since I've done anything deserving of the death penalty. Obviously, I couldn't let this opportunity go by. So, here goes, let me add myself to the list by reprinting this here:

Face

Face is a very important concept, although unfortunately one not consciously catered to in our society. One can write reams and reams of material on how face has cost someone life, fortune or love in other climes, as well as an equal amount of material on the prizes to be obtained if one successfully defends someone else's face.

I've been engaged in a battle for a while now, with my new, clueless and ineffectual manager. I recently scored a signal victory, one that gained me a lot of face, and cost him almost all of his. Still, at the end I allowed him a way of saving some of it, and pretended not to notice as he took that lifeline. It's interesting to see how Japanese we both behaved, proving that the concept of face is embedded in us, regardless of what society one has been brought up in. Needless to say, neither of us is Japanese, although I have acquired affinities for the Japanese outlook that stretch back for decades, making my instinctual reactions very Nipponese at times.

I'm sure my manager will still let his shame fester, though, instead of letting it go once the confrontation is over, especially since I did not press for a total victory and attendant humiliation. I'll have to be careful till he manages to inept himself out of his job.

This would be the 5th manager I push on to the Path of Blatant Display of Mediocrity in my career so far. The past four were fired or quit within a month of my gentle nudging. This one may last longer, seeing as I withheld my todome right at the end.

We'll see...