Dissing the Unemployed

Dissing (or mocking) the unemployed is a political meme that politicians have been accusing one another of regarding the recent debate to extend unemployment benefits. The meme became even more mainstream last week thanks to a controversial column written by celebrity Ben Stein.

Ben Stein, the millionaire economist, lawyer, former presidential speechwriter, author, and actor (“Bueller… Bueller… anyone… anyone…?"), writes a regular column for the American Spectator.  He made headline news last week over some remarks he wrote about unemployed people. In his column, he wrote:

"The people who have been laid off and cannot find work are generally people with poor work habits and poor personalities. I say “generally” because there are exceptions. But in general, as I survey the ranks of those who are unemployed, I see people who have overbearing and unpleasant personalities and/or who do not know how to do a day’s work. They are people who create either little utility or negative utility on the job. Again, there are powerful exceptions and I know some, but when employers are looking to lay off, they lay off the least productive or the most negative. To assure that a worker is not one of them, he should learn how to work and how to get along -- not always easy... Productive workers with real skills and real ability to get along are also sometimes unemployed, but they will be the last fired and the first hired."

Hello?? Someone needs to buy a calendar for Mr. Stein. It’s the year 2010 on planet earth, not 1968.
With nearly 7 million people experiencing long-term unemployment. plus millions more who are underemployed, plus millions more who don’t qualify for any benefits (including myself), there has been an uproar in response to his insensitive and ignorant comments.  He mentions the hardships of his unemployed friends in Washington D.C., Beverly Hills, and Malibu as if they are the exceptions (not exactly representative of mainstream America).

I guess the little people who polish his silver spoon don’t count as exceptions.

To make matters worse, Ben has written an “I’m the victim here” response to those who have called him out in response to his column. He defends his comments and makes no apologies. He says the following to Aaron Crowe, an underemployed writer who wrote an editorial response Ben’s column:

“Good luck to you, Mr. Crowe. You have found a simple key to getting your name in the papers – say something bad about someone famous. Now try for the next rung. Make it fairly reflect what I said... not just what gets you in the news.”

Ben should heed his own advice. With a new book out that isn’t selling well (it’s ranked #15,335 on Amazon), he’s put himself in the news with his own comments.

Seriously Ben, what about mergers and acquisitions where corporations reduce redundancies by the tens of thousands? My unemployment in 2007 came about through a €100 billion acquisition between a consortium of powerhouse financial institutions. Believe it or not Ben, neither myself, or the other 3000 others who were let go, took a personality test to determine our people skills or motivational attitude. It wasn't a factor.  In fact, in my termination I was treated with so much dignity and respect, it was almost embarrassing. My managers handled it right and I wouldn’t hesitate to go to work for them again. Unfortunately, all these good managers eventually lost their jobs as well. You see Ben, whether it's mergers or downsizing due to supply and demand, mass layoffs are determined by CFO types who need to please the shareholders. In today's economic realty, personnel managers have little or nothing to do with the decision making. Performance has little to do with low labor demands and the high unemployment rate we're experiencing today.

Last week it was reported that jobless claims have gone up each of the past 2 months. Apparently this news was shocking to economists who were saying we've turned the corner. They now blame the weak hiring rate in the private sector as undermining the economic recovery.

I have two friends who were laid off in the last month, both had been with their companies for a long time. I can only offer this advice: prepare to thicken your skin. People will kick you in your worst moments.

For me, I was kicked by a member of my family in a Facebook message. They wrote:

“We keep thinking of the following Scripture and are concerned about you: ‘If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.’”

Ouch! To make such a suggestion about my faith was a low painful blow during a difficult time. But I had to ask myself, was I receiving this message the way it was intended or am I overreacting? To be sure I wasn’t being overly sensitive, I asked my wife to read the message. She read it the same way and affirmed it was a cheap shot and uncalled for. It wasn't the first or even second time this family member has said something critical to me whilst unemployed. They mean well, but they criticize because it makes them better about themselves.

To my non-Christian friends who may read this, this is an example of the expression, “the Christian army is the only army that shoots their own wounded.”

Overcoming unemployment is emotionally difficult enough without having to deal with insensitive comments. Losing a job hurts deeply. Telling your kid she can’t go to summer camp because we can’t afford it is crushing for a father. Granted, there are far worse things like losing health insurance, having utilities shut-off or losing your home.

Criticism seems to always come when you least need it and rarely when we’re at the top of our game. It always seems to come on the heels of failure, misfortune or when we least deserve it. Everybody makes mistakes and has regrets, but when you’re innocent or tired from working hard to make the best of things, the unjust attacks are devastating. It also seems to come from those who are least qualified to give it, in terms of intellect or integrity, and rarely is it delivered with grace or in a constructive manner. There is a saying – speaking the truth about someone else never hurts the one who is speaking it.

But let’s face it, life is hard and ignorant/insensitive people just make it harder – and nothing is going to change that.

So how do we deal with the Ben Stein’s in our lives?

In 2 Samuel 16:5-14, King David encounters Shimei, who brutally curses the king and pelts him and his officials with stones. One of David’s aides offers to cutoff the Shimei’s head, but David declines. He understood that sometimes it’s God’s will to bruise His own, even if it comes in a harsh way or from a discreditable source. David said,"Leave him alone; let him curse, for the LORD has told him to. It may be that the LORD will see my distress and repay me with good for the cursing I am receiving today."

God has used such moments and people in my life to point out something wrong within me. We can dismiss it by saying, “Consider the source,” but maybe we should “consider the criticism,” especially if you hear it more than once - as in the old Yiddish proverb that says, “If a man calls you and ass, pay him no mind. If two men call you and ass, go get a saddle.”

The Christian life is punctuated with injustices – our Lord was falsely accused and murdered like a criminal. We can count on being unjustly nailed to our own crosses. Sadly, other Christians could be the ones pounding the nails.

This raises the question, should we defend ourselves? David Roper writes, “We can take every criticism to our Advocate and ask Him to vindicate us... We can get in God’s way when we try to protect ourselves from harm.” If people are attacking our character and we are living right before God, we need not do anything else. If people are deliberately ruthless without just cause, then the principles of Matthew 18 do apply.

Lastly, and this one is hard to do, is to pray for our critics. In Matthew 5, Jesus says to “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” It’s not easy to do, believe me I know, especially when you’re in pain, but it is incredibly freeing once you do it.

I pray for Ben Stein. Despite his misinformation, he seems like a good man. He may not understand the ways of corporate life in the 21st century, but then he doesn’t need to. He’s already made his mark in life. I pray for his continued success and prosperity and that his eyes and heart will be opened beyond the realities of Beverly Hills to the realities of mainstream America - where decent people with good work ethics and people skills are jobless and sacrificing to makes ends meet despite having their hearts and dreams ripped apart by the cruelty of this economy.