For once, say what you want, but it has to be nice! Cause Barnes & Noble said so

Barnes and Noble Announces January is "No Name-Calling Month" Barnes and Noble Partners with Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing and the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) to Raise Awareness on Bullying 

First of all, I am only linking to this abomination of a press release. The quality of writing, punctuation, and most hideous offender – lack of carriage returns, is enough to make me want to run away screaming. But the topic is just too, too good. Big thanks to Julie for pointing it out.

Okay, so, who died and made Barnes & Noble the king who can decide when we can and can’t call people names?

Second of all, Barnes & Noble is hardly original. Don’t believe me? “No Name-Calling Week” was first celebrated March 1-4, 2004. And this year’s “No Name-Calling Week” is January 24-28. Though, I do believe the month the great and powerful B&N declared sort of makes “No Name-Calling Week” moot, don’t you think?

Furthermore, if you look at the history of “No Name-Calling Week,” it’s inspired by the book The Misfits by James Howe. So, yeah, it’s hardly original for those people either. You know how a meal is good the first time – it might be okay the second time – but by the third, it’s just rubbery and old, and you’re just tired of it and want something new and different? Yeah, it’s like that.

I think the idea behind “No Name-Calling Week” (or month) has some merit, but first of all, it sounds kind of gay. (Wow, how many slurs are in that statement?) I just absolutely hate the fact they have to make a week, or a month, or a year, or anything to make people act the way they should in order to be decent human beings, things we should have been doing anyway.

As far as the notion of B&N sponsoring anything revolving around no-name calling is hilarious to me. Believe me, working there, particularly with the idiots who bought Nooks who had no business using anything as technical as a cellular phone, you call just about everyone names. It’s what we did all the time in the break room. Hell, we didn’t even wait for breaks, as soon as the idiot customer was out of earshot, he/she was fair game. Whatever will their employees do for fun, to ease the pain that their soul is owned by the corporate giant that is B&N and that their employee discount does not apply to Nook?

That’s it – it has less to do with climbing on the anti-bullying bandwagon – but rather a way to force their employees to play nice to their customers. Joke’s on you B&N, I don’t work there anymore and I make fun of customers all the time – those from the time I was there, or those I see while I’m in the store. Someone send out the no name-calling police because I’m going to make sure I tell as many stories about idiotic customers I encountered over the course of the next month, starting with this nostalgic gem. I mean, if stupid is as stupid does, then B&N customers are and B&N customers do.

Mean people suck ... yeah, well, f$%& you, it's my blog,
I'll do what I want!