Whoop Ass

I saw the movie Borat over the weekend.  My son wanted to go for laughs.  I am not saying that I did not laugh, but it was probably the most inappropriate and irresponsible movie I have seen in a decade.  That said, I do not feel as bad about using the word "asshole", which makes up the title of the book by Bob Sutton.  Despite the title, the book has rave reviews and really has substance.  At first I thought Prof. Sutton should have called it the "No Jerk Rule", but the more I think about it, I cannot see how that term properly relays the image these people deserve.

I understand that most everybody probably has these tendencies and have lost it on occasion.  However, we are talking about people in general, and lawyers and judges in particular, that do not guard against it and being an "asshole" have become a way of life.  To them it is the norm.  The problem is they ruin, or at least dilute, the quality of our lives in having to put up with their sorry asses.

I dealt with one lawyer in Houston on a small issue that was always out of control, except while appear in front of the judge.  He was like Jekyll and Hyde.  This of course meant to me that he knew better and knew the extent of his behavior.  Over the phone and in person, I do not say he lost his temper in so much as he always began yelling in the most uncontrolled and frightening way imaginable.  He would threaten and cuss to the point I thought he would go into some kind of seizure.  When I mentioned it to other lawyers, and one judge off the bench, their answer was universal.  "Oh (so-in-so), that's just he way he is.  Just ignore him".  During one temper fit he was having over the telephone I asked him if he was "off his medication".  That got him started, but I think maybe he needs to be on medication.  I really was concerned for him.  I have to admit I have never seen him throw a punch, but he often appeared on the verge.  All I can say is that I am not going to his funeral if I outlive him.

Further, there a few large firms that I think put their new attorneys through "asshole" training before they can work there.  You know the ones I mean, they almost all act like "assholes".  It is the culture of the firm.

This said, Guy Kawasaki posts Sutton's laundry list of "everyday asshole actions".  Do you recognize any of these in you, me, or an attorney or judge that you have to deal with:

1. Personal insults;
2. Invading one’s personal territory;      
   
3. Uninvited personal contact;
4. Threats and intimidation, both verbal and non-verbal;
5. Sarcastic jokes and teasing used as insult delivery systems;        
6. Withering email flames;        
7. Status slaps intended to humiliate their victims;        
8. Public shaming or status degradation rituals;        
9. Rude interruptions;        
10. Two-faced attacks;        
11. Dirty looks; and/or        
12. Treating people as if they are invisible.        

Comments

[Curious]

Just curious... what is withering email flames?