My Ex-Boss John Is A Dick

"I PITY THE FOOL"

After driving home in mild shock and explaining things to my wife in hushed tones so as not to wake the kids, I phoned Clarence at work later that night.  He had been on my shift the longest, next to me.  A brief handshake while John waited to escort me out of the building hadn't been enough closure for me.

    He asked what had happened and I told him, explaining that John was making an example of me.  Clarence said one of the CSRs was concerned that I'd been fired because of them.  I said no, they hadn't done anything wrong.  I was in charge, I was responsible.  I told him to say good-bye to everyone and that I had enjoyed working with them.

    "You're the best supervisor I ever had," he said.

    It took a moment for the words to sink in.  I hadn't expected to hear that.  I'd never been a supervisor before taking the job, and I had no prior experience leading a shift full of people.  I'd started with two and ended up with seven.  Aside from a few folks who didn't last long enough to matter, they all did what I asked and seemed to respect me.  Even the Marine that I unintentionally insulted a long time back had understood where I was coming from.

    If asked, John would probably say I was mistaking respect for something else.  He would say I was easy on them and let them get away with too much.  He might even say they were taking advantage of me.  Remember, though, that John is a dick.  I disagree with anything a dick says.

    Instead, I like to think that I gained the respect of my co-workers by being there the longest, knowing the answers to their questions, and doing all the work they did--right down to the worst assignments like tallying the mail and filing thousands of records a night.  I was their supervisor in title only.  My actual function was conduit for orders from on high.  The "S" word wasn't ever used.  Sure, they called me over when someone on the phone asked for a supervisor, but I never had to remind anyone who I was.  John was the only guy in the department who felt compelled to remind everyone of everyone else's title whenever a meeting was held.  He was big on chain-of-command.  It probably stemmed from his delusions about being an officer in the Marines.

    So now Clarence was calling me his supervisor.  And more, that I had been the best one he'd ever had.  It felt pretty good.

    Which brings me full-circle back to pity.

    I called John a dick earlier because he was whining about his situation while he was firing me.  He was looking for pity when I was the one being terminated.  Deep down, that's the kind of guy he is.  And I stand by my assessment of his weak character.  But I realized something in the process of writing this.

    I DO pity him.

    I pity him as much as everyone under his "command" disrespects him.

    And I wouldn't have come to this revelation if Clarence hadn't said what he said to me that night.

    "You're the best supervisor I ever had."

    When will John T. ever hear that from anyone?