:(

[Sheldon13]

And if you don't see things the way they do... well. You're clearly against them.

This is the problem right here. When people won’t talk about things anymore they will start to bring out their fists, then swords, then etc...

I just want to hit the brakes on this culture war.


Love and Sphynx ~ It’s all you need

 

[Sheldon13]

Btw, what is FFP2?


Love and Sphynx ~ It’s all you need

 

[Condo commando]

Btw, what is FFP2?


Love and Sphynx ~ It’s all you need

It's like N95 masks here.

 

[Condo commando]

Although this quote is attributed to George Washington, it is actually one of 110 Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation that George Washington copied by hand at the age of sixteen. (This link will take you to an article with all 110 rules listed.) Although many people attribute the 110 rules to Washington, because the rules were found written by his hand, Scholars today believe that the rules were likely copied by Washington as a penmanship exercise.
The actual quote is #56 of 110 rules and reads…

Associate yourself with Men of good Quality if you Esteem your own Reputation; for ‘is better to be alone than in bad Company.

The 110 rules are based on a set of rules composed by French Jesuits in 1595, and they were first translated into English in 1640.
by Doug Staneart | Leadership Tips

 

[Silke]

It's like N95 masks here.

Actually the FFP2 ones are one step below N95 from what I understand. But you're not allowed cloth masks, or FFP1 Paper masks anywhere anymore.

Of course, people who had the vaccine are bitching that they still have to wear a mask when they are now "immune" (not so, just less likely).
The thing that annoys me is the bunch who are adamant about not wearing a mask, and then they bitch about lockdowns. Well... duh. We have lockdowns because some people think they are better than everyone else. I keep hearing how "A mask won't protect you". Um... no. Your mask doesn't protect YOU. It protects those around you FROM you. So if you don't wear one around me, it tells me you don't care if I get sick. Seems to be difficult to understand for some people.
The world has become very selfish.
One thing is certain... I haven't even had the sniffles since the masks were mandatory.

 

[Condo commando]

It really does seem to come down to whether or not people are willing to sacrifice some personal convenience for the common good. In the Asian countries people act more as a group. Right when Covid started on TV I saw people walking down the street in I don't know what Asian country and everybody was wearing a mask. I don't even know if anyone had to tell them. It's possible they've been through avian flu and some other stuff already so they just know the drill. At the same time here in the US, what you saw was the wealthy people going to their country homes, people moving out of apartments and buying private homes .....it was "every man/woman for himself/herself." We are all humans; why do we react so differently?

Oh and how can I forget - everybody here was buying guns and extra ammo. There was this thought that maybe food would be scarce and people would be hungry and maybe try to steal, and the solution to that would be ....shoot them. I don't know if that happened in Europe. I just mean this is more of the "every man for himself" approach instead of saying we're all in this mess together. It's not all bad though; there are places where people can go for food if they need to.

 

[Silke]

I'm sure the bigger cities have more problems.
Here, in rural France, people help each other out. During the first lockdown, I was practically drowning in eggs. But, everyone around me has chickens, so they definitely didn't want any eggs. As I don't have close neighbors, and I was on my own... no way can I eat that many eggs. (4 eggs every day!)
Went online to a local FB group and asked if anyone would like some free range eggs.
Now, since we weren't allowed to mingle... I arranged with a local lady to meet in the carpark of the supermarket when we were doing our bi-weekly shop.
She took 12 of my 24 eggs, and another took the other 12. (Bear in mind that's less than a weeks worth of the eggs I was getting.) Both were low-income single moms, and they were delighted to get the eggs. I had a message from one telling me that they felt spoilt with those eggs, because free range "bio" eggs are very expensive at the supermarket. And that she'd "never seen" an omelet with such a vibrant color before. (and tasting so good)
I was just glad not to sit on a stack of eggs and that someone got use out of them lol.
We did the same thing again 2 weeks later. I just messaged them both and went "More eggs?"
At that point the supermarket was out of eggs because everyone was baking like mad.
There were people who turned their nose up originally, who were now asking if I had "More eggs to give away" and I simply went no, they are all spoken for.
I still pass on the extra eggs to the two ladies, who are more than happy to get them.
Yes, I could likely sell the extra eggs at a premium. But I'd rather they go to someone who needs them.
In turn, they dropped off some strawberries and raspberries they grew in summer as a thank you.
Today, I had three guys arrive with a trailer to get the rested manure I had offered in the group, we'd been trying to get that sorted for a good 8 weeks now, but either their car was busted, or my field was under water, or the roads were treacherous. I've already been told that they'll bring me some veg once they are harvesting. (and I got a bottle of rose cider)
Another is coming tomorrow to get some rowan trees, bringing me some chili plants and veg plot seeds (we decided to do a seed swap. )
And that's how it should be, quite frankly.
It's a nice way to make friends, too.

 

[Condo commando]

Great story @Silke it kinda makes me wish I lived in the country but I then I can't even stand bugs so I would suck at country living

One thing I seem to do a decent job of is not holding back on my thoughts LOL. Here is something I did .....the US had a lot of infections in slaughterhouses and it caused a shortage in some basic things like hamburger meat. It made me angry that the companies were blaming the workers for bringing Covid from home to work. So I emailed the CEO of one of the companies. It's a gigantic company but I guess my message hit home because he wrote me back.

Here was my message

Sent: Tuesday, April 21, 2020 11:58:59 PM
To: Sullivan, Ken <ksullivan@smithfield.com>
Subject: Covid-19

Dear Mr. Sullivan:

Your corporate spokesperson has attributed the spread of Covid-19 in your factories to “living circumstances in certain cultures.”
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/albertsamaha/smithfield-foods-coronavirus-outbreak

I’m writing you because you are the CEO. What your spokesperson said was disingenuous and perverted. The problem isn’t culture but priorities. Namely, your company’s priorities. I’ve seen numerous stories about Covid-19 in slaughterhouses. Slaughterhouses aren’t glamorous work even without Covid-19.

So if you want those workers to live in better circumstances so they don’t bring the virus to work – if you really believe that’s the root cause – then prioritize them. That’s not rocket science.

Sincerely,
Disgusted consumer


And his answer (after he checked with his Legal Dept for permission)

From: Sullivan, Ken
Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2020 1:49 PM
To:
Subject: FW: Any issue if I send this response?


Ms. ________

I will not defend the statement attributed to our spokesperson. Full stop.

I'm guessing there's nothing I can say to change your opinion of our Company, our values, and the conditions in our Sioux Falls plant. Whether you believe me or not, the Buzzfeed article is a gross misrepresentation of all these things.

For decades, we've been an integral part of the community. We provide opportunity for thousands of employees, many of whom are immigrants or refugees, to make a decent living and provide for their families. Our base wage rates range from $15 to $29 per hour. Shift differentials could add up to $1/hour. Overtime wage rates are paid at 1.5x to 2x base wage rates. During this pandemic, we’ve added “Responsibility” premiums during this pandemic supplement these base rates by more than $3 per hour on average. Our employees are afforded full benefit packages, including paid vacations and holidays, and our workforce is unionized. We’re proud of the multi-culturalism on display every day in Sioux Falls. I can assure you we value our employees.

Suffice to say, we disagree vehemently with nearly every aspect of the Buzzfeed article. Journalistically, it’s rubbish.



And my reply to his reply:

Mr. Sullivan,

I appreciate your saying that and more importantly, I believe you.

The optics are bad once you have reported cases of the virus in the facility so I hope you can get that under control quickly.

Thanks again.


I had to follow up with the journalist that wrote the story and he stood by the story:

Re: Smithfield story​

Albert Samaha <albert.samaha@buzzfeed.com>​	Thu, Apr 23, 2020, 122 PM
to me, katie.baker@buzzfeed.com

Hi Martha,

Thank you for reaching out and for reading. We rigorously reported this story, speaking to workers and reviewing company documents, and we stand by everything we published. We also took care to make note of the Responsibility Bonus in the story, and of how the plant's wages were higher than most other jobs in the region. As we mention in the story, the company would only allow us to speak with a representative on the condition that we didn't use her name.

Stay safe,
Albert

In the end I don't know if I accomplished anything but all you can do is try and maybe, just maybe, the next time people will think "I don't want to hear from that woman again" and take better care.

 

[Silke]

Great story @Silke it kinda makes me wish I lived in the country but I then I can't even stand bugs so I would suck at country living

One thing I seem to do a decent job of is not holding back on my thoughts LOL. Here is something I did .....the US had a lot of infections in slaughterhouses and it caused a shortage in some basic things like hamburger meat. It made me angry that the companies were blaming the workers for bringing Covid from home to work. So I emailed the CEO of one of the companies. It's a gigantic company but I guess my message hit home because he wrote me back.

Here was my message

Sent: Tuesday, April 21, 2020 11:58:59 PM
To: Sullivan, Ken <ksullivan@smithfield.com>
Subject: Covid-19

Dear Mr. Sullivan:

Your corporate spokesperson has attributed the spread of Covid-19 in your factories to “living circumstances in certain cultures.”
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/albertsamaha/smithfield-foods-coronavirus-outbreak

I’m writing you because you are the CEO. What your spokesperson said was disingenuous and perverted. The problem isn’t culture but priorities. Namely, your company’s priorities. I’ve seen numerous stories about Covid-19 in slaughterhouses. Slaughterhouses aren’t glamorous work even without Covid-19.

So if you want those workers to live in better circumstances so they don’t bring the virus to work – if you really believe that’s the root cause – then prioritize them. That’s not rocket science.

Sincerely,
Disgusted consumer


And his answer (after he checked with his Legal Dept for permission)

From: Sullivan, Ken
Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2020 1:49 PM
To:
Subject: FW: Any issue if I send this response?


Ms. ________

I will not defend the statement attributed to our spokesperson. Full stop.

I'm guessing there's nothing I can say to change your opinion of our Company, our values, and the conditions in our Sioux Falls plant. Whether you believe me or not, the Buzzfeed article is a gross misrepresentation of all these things.

For decades, we've been an integral part of the community. We provide opportunity for thousands of employees, many of whom are immigrants or refugees, to make a decent living and provide for their families. Our base wage rates range from $15 to $29 per hour. Shift differentials could add up to $1/hour. Overtime wage rates are paid at 1.5x to 2x base wage rates. During this pandemic, we’ve added “Responsibility” premiums during this pandemic supplement these base rates by more than $3 per hour on average. Our employees are afforded full benefit packages, including paid vacations and holidays, and our workforce is unionized. We’re proud of the multi-culturalism on display every day in Sioux Falls. I can assure you we value our employees.

Suffice to say, we disagree vehemently with nearly every aspect of the Buzzfeed article. Journalistically, it’s rubbish.



And my reply to his reply:

Mr. Sullivan,

I appreciate your saying that and more importantly, I believe you.

The optics are bad once you have reported cases of the virus in the facility so I hope you can get that under control quickly.

Thanks again.


I had to follow up with the journalist that wrote the story and he stood by the story:

Re: Smithfield story​

Albert Samaha <albert.samaha@buzzfeed.com>​	Thu, Apr 23, 2020, 122 PM
to me, katie.baker@buzzfeed.com

Hi Martha,

Thank you for reaching out and for reading. We rigorously reported this story, speaking to workers and reviewing company documents, and we stand by everything we published. We also took care to make note of the Responsibility Bonus in the story, and of how the plant's wages were higher than most other jobs in the region. As we mention in the story, the company would only allow us to speak with a representative on the condition that we didn't use her name.

Stay safe,
Albert

In the end I don't know if I accomplished anything but all you can do is try and maybe, just maybe, the next time people will think "I don't want to hear from that woman again" and take better care.

Well done!!

 

[Condo commando]

Well done!!

Thanks