The idea that Jerry has a private view and describes it as "his" in a protective flanking maneuver is reflective of the ideology of individualism, which was all originally elaborated in theories, but also elaborated in Protestantism. The prefatory "his view" tells us something about subjective knowledge, as if it is owned by Jerry. It is "in his view" signaling that it is not really up for discussion because, in the end, it's "his" view -- similarly for the phrase "just my opinion". That he writes/speaks this way -- and most of us do -- is because theory becomes 'this wordly' (<< a joke.it's a joke!) and shapes everyday social practices. Here, I'm referring to the shift from an ARistotelian worldview to the Enlightenment (represented in theories like that of Locke, Hume, etc.)
The notion that Jerry is even conversing here and has a view at all, one worthy of discussing, and is not a member of a class that receives knowledge/truth (views) from god, stems from the radical shift from an Aristotelian worldview to that of the Enlightenment. These systems advanced very different theories about what counted as knowledge and who could know.
The widespread use of the word "pragmatic" (in the commonplace use of the word) and USers love for all things "pragmatic" is -- voila! -- tied to theory. uh. huh. i went to google the name of the book/author on this topic, and came across this, first hit: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.cgi?path=212301071470923 the author attributes this not just to US pragmatism, but also to Native American philosphy. innarestin')
The idea that there is something that is "descriptive" depends on the notion that there is something else to which it is opposed. Typically, what people mean is that they can simply describe the world in the absence of theory about the world, that one can merely describe things and events and that one does not impose any theory on what one observes. This is a theory about language and meaning -- the idea that there is a neutral observation language that _mirrors_ in a one-to-one way the world it seeks to describe.
I think this is what Dennis has in mind.
At 12:07 PM 12/21/2006, Chuck wrote:
>Tell me about it. I've been in the job market for over 5 years, so I have
>lots of stories about job interviews and the application process. On the
>one hand, the Internet has made it easy to apply for tech jobs. I applied
>for around 15 jobs the other night in the span of about 30 minutes. On the
>other hand, university jobs and government jobs, in my case, jobs at
>public libraries, always require stupid amounts of paperwork. The Kansas
>City Public Library makes applicants to professional positions fill out
>3-5 pages of essay questions as part of the application process. I find
>this offensive, because it is a waste of my time, it disrespects my
>professional degree and experience, and I end up getting asked the same
>questions in the interview anyway.
I particularly love the standard 156 question federal form you must answer. It is spectacularly obvious that its primary purpose is to see if you are lying about your experience. heh.
My favorite question was this, which I thought quite offensive in that it deigned to compare fastfood workers to sleazy stockbrokers (Jk jk): "Have you successfully provided good customer service while constantly working under difficult time constraints (for example, worked in a fast-food restaurant, worked as a stockbroker, etc.)?"
and yeah, applied for some sort of librarian position, just for the fuck of it, because, as you say, three clicks and you're done. i was quite astonished at the request for all this narrative about your experiences which, in the end mean squat. what happens is, just as you point out with resumes, everyone gets on the same bandwagon, says the same thing, and you still need to find a way to weed people out.
I wrote some rant a couple of weeks ago bitching about precisely that, about how even lefties, progressives, and radicals are completely blind to this issue and go on trumpeting these half-way house measures which simply reproduce the system. whatever.
><...> But on the flip side, employers constantly throw in all kinds of
>obscure requirements into their job ads. Experienced people like myself
>know to apply anyway. Employers just throw in everything but the kitchen sink.
perzac'ly!
>How is the job market for geeks right now? Still sucks. I had an interview
>last week for a web designer position at a local company which would
>probably fire me if they found out that I was an anti-capitalist. The good
>news is that I was one of the top 12 people out of 200 applicants. The bad
>news is that even in KC, there are 200 people applying for web designer jobs.
depends on where you are. it sucks here, suck there -- but in Atlanta, etc? booming. DC, etc. What truly sucks is the pay. By coincidence, I was reading last night that it takes a $12/hr job to afford a 1 br 1 ba around here. Web design jobs? The bulk are going for $10-12/hr.
Without fail, nearly every client (with just two exceptions b/c I know them from this list!) I've encountered thinks its reasonable to expect people to work for $10/hr which, after you account for the costs of running a freelance outfit, you're barely over min. wage.
Some have the audacity to expect you to work on spec. Others are offended that they must pay up front. Others simply drag their feet about paying. If this keeps up, I _will_ redefine the meaning of "postal" because I have utterly nothing to lose. I have a new Web site in mind and all. It's going to say something like, "Look, let's face it. You're a cheap ass bastard who wants a 25p Web site for $800. Right? Riiight. Do me a favor, tell me how much you want to spend and what you want. I'm tired of dicking around writing proposals. You are either ready for a site or not. Order it, send the $800 and you're on. I'll send the contract, you sign, stay out of my fucking way."
Alternatively, I'm going to go to all my interviews with this: "Let's face, all of this is a lot of bullshit. I have the skills, you have the job. I can do the work, when do I start. Everything else is a waste of everyone's time. No deal? Later dudes? You got any free donuts and coffee by the way?"
Fuckitol. I had the pleasure of telling off a client two days ago and I'm on a roll. It is a joy to tell the truth for a change. Moreover, once I slash and burn it all and head out to the shelter or hop in my car and hit the road for cash and prizes, I can stop into the library and post the whole sordid story about every fucker client and every fucker boss I've had.
I can die an honest, happy woman.
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"You know how it is, come for the animal porn, stay for the cultural analysis." -- Michael Berube
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