Going Postal
Next time you hear about the Postal Service asking for a rate increase consider how they spend their money, our money. For instance, a significant chunk was spent on a two-year study of "going postal". Led by the ever-eminent Joseph Califano, their Commission on Safe and Secure Workplace determined that postal workers are no more likely than other workers to get violent in the workplace.
The study was prompted by the expression which found its way into the lexicon after a number of high visibility rampages at postal facilities and by postal workers. While driving down morale among our nation’s letter carriers, the events also generated myriad jokes -- for example, about the flag in front of the post office is flying at half staff because they’re reloading -- a computer game and a movie.
Point one, the research and conclusions reached by the commission after two years could have been accomplished by any decent researcher in a week with long lunch hours.
Point two, why bother with a study. Anyone paying attention would see how the national attention catches on any obvious snag and holds on, very briefly, before finding another ride. We love violence, especially slaughter of innocents, probably because it imbues us with a sense of well-being that we weren’t among them. The capricious nature of lunatics with guns is that when it’s your time, you’re there; even when it doesn’t make sense.
Spending money on studies seems like the inevitable choice of officials — in government, business, or civic organizations — when they haven’t the spine to tell the truth and to take appropriate action. Instead, visibly suffering a modicum of shared angst, they announce that this sort of thing must end, and they are going to appoint a blue-ribbon panel of world-class experts to find the solution. Gobs of money and many months later, they hold a press conference to announce that they have discovered the obvious. Their report also includes a desperate dozen directions to find a solution, but everyone knows they will be ignored. Not even the panel has read the report, which was written by an over-paid staff of unmotivated admin assists.
Sometimes these studies get wildly out of hand, and a report squishes out from amidst flabby federal folds and causes serious problems, briefly. Like the Kerner Commission report on race relations in our country, and "A Nation at Risk" on the disaster that is our educational system. These reports told the truth, boldly and importantly, and everyone knew it. Politicians huffed and puffed and said, Now we REALLY must do something about this. But they didn’t. They don’t.
I’m sorry that postal workers got their feelings hurt but doing a study was never going to stop the jokes. Only time would, and mostly has done. As happened with Susan Smith, 101 California, and Juan Corona. The money wasted on the study would have been better spent studying what new roles, if any, all these postal workers might find in the new communications technologies.
And that’s SetonnoteS...I’m Tony Seton.