Double Standards
A few weeks or a month go by with Brad as a member of the group. He was taught some of the forms we learned during this time. There were 8 basic forms that I learned. The entire class learned these 8 basic forms and spent most of class time practicing them. There were some basic warm up exercises that were performed at the beginning of class.
Honestly, we were not taught very much at all. The weekly meetings were more of a chance to practice the things we had been taught and to listen to the weekly talk. To make contact with the other group members.
For Brad, being a rich kid who got everything he wanted, I wonder how the class appeared. He joins the class, learns some basic warmups, listens to Mike talk, and then practices 8 forms. The rest of the time is spent standing around talking.
I know I had trouble with the work ethic of the class. I felt there was an awful lot of wasted time. I can imagine how the rich kid with everything felt. He was probably bored out of his skull. So it was with no surprise at all that I noticed that Brad was not at class one day. It was maybe 2 months after he had joined.
This really caught my eye. I detailed previously how Mike had taken my vacation as an opportunity to try and get rid of me. I had told Mike I was going on vacation and then when I get back he is acting like I am a failure and he wants to get rid of me.
Brad skips class and what happens? Not a thing. I don't know if anyone even mentioned it. Writing this down, I feel like a nanny or a mother. It was not me, it was the group. It was a very big deal to miss class. If you were not going to class, you were supposed to call and tell someone. If you did not call and tell someone, you got chewed out. This was for the entire group.
Brad joins, and with a month or two he is skipping class and no one says anything at all to him. Rich kid getting the special treatment again. When he returns to class, he of course goes straight to Mike and starts with the brown nose routine. Mike responds, of course, and Brad and Mike are best buddies. As if nothing ever happened.
That really annoyed me. My relationship with Mike was basically nonexistant at that time. I could not deal with his energy so it was very hard for me to be close to him. I did not really have anything to say to him. I was there to learn kung fu and practice. Not gossip like women over the back fence.
When I saw that Brad could basically do anything he wanted, and all he had to do was to bullshit Mike and everything would be fine, I was angry. I could not belive that Mike, the man I admired so much, could be so blind to Brad's lies. By that time I knew for a fact that Brad was one of those people that can and will say anything to get what they want. No respect for other people at all.
I could not understand why Mike would listen to all this baloney, then smile and act like Brad was his best friend. Becuase that is what happened. Brad was practically vying with the protege Jeff for first place in Mike's attention. This was 2 months after he joined. Mike and Jeff had known each other for years.
The thing that really blew my top was when Brad went on vacation. Yes, just like me, Brad went on vacation. He went to Europe I think it was. For a long time. He was gone for a month or maybe even more. He did this maybe a few months after he was skipping the classes.
Nothing was said. No derogatory comments about how Brad just joined and then disappeared. No trying to make him leave. No asking him to leave. No plots or games or conspiracies to get him to leave. Brad doing what he pleased and being completely accepted anyways.
By now Brad is acting like he is king. He occasionally stops by to bless the class with his presence. It is mind boggling to me. The total disrespect he had for the entire class, including Mike. And they all knew he was like that when they asked him to join.
I can understand why Brad had this attitude. After joining the class, a person would learn the first 8 forms in 3 months or so. After that, there was really no pressing need to be at the class other than expectation. If you skipped class, you would not miss learning any new kung fu. You would only miss Mike's talk that week and meeting with the other people.
For a person full of themselves, or with no concern about others, it would be the easiest thing in the world to tell yourself you had better things to do and to skip class. Which is exactly what Brad did.
Honestly, we were not taught very much at all. The weekly meetings were more of a chance to practice the things we had been taught and to listen to the weekly talk. To make contact with the other group members.
For Brad, being a rich kid who got everything he wanted, I wonder how the class appeared. He joins the class, learns some basic warmups, listens to Mike talk, and then practices 8 forms. The rest of the time is spent standing around talking.
I know I had trouble with the work ethic of the class. I felt there was an awful lot of wasted time. I can imagine how the rich kid with everything felt. He was probably bored out of his skull. So it was with no surprise at all that I noticed that Brad was not at class one day. It was maybe 2 months after he had joined.
This really caught my eye. I detailed previously how Mike had taken my vacation as an opportunity to try and get rid of me. I had told Mike I was going on vacation and then when I get back he is acting like I am a failure and he wants to get rid of me.
Brad skips class and what happens? Not a thing. I don't know if anyone even mentioned it. Writing this down, I feel like a nanny or a mother. It was not me, it was the group. It was a very big deal to miss class. If you were not going to class, you were supposed to call and tell someone. If you did not call and tell someone, you got chewed out. This was for the entire group.
Brad joins, and with a month or two he is skipping class and no one says anything at all to him. Rich kid getting the special treatment again. When he returns to class, he of course goes straight to Mike and starts with the brown nose routine. Mike responds, of course, and Brad and Mike are best buddies. As if nothing ever happened.
That really annoyed me. My relationship with Mike was basically nonexistant at that time. I could not deal with his energy so it was very hard for me to be close to him. I did not really have anything to say to him. I was there to learn kung fu and practice. Not gossip like women over the back fence.
When I saw that Brad could basically do anything he wanted, and all he had to do was to bullshit Mike and everything would be fine, I was angry. I could not belive that Mike, the man I admired so much, could be so blind to Brad's lies. By that time I knew for a fact that Brad was one of those people that can and will say anything to get what they want. No respect for other people at all.
I could not understand why Mike would listen to all this baloney, then smile and act like Brad was his best friend. Becuase that is what happened. Brad was practically vying with the protege Jeff for first place in Mike's attention. This was 2 months after he joined. Mike and Jeff had known each other for years.
The thing that really blew my top was when Brad went on vacation. Yes, just like me, Brad went on vacation. He went to Europe I think it was. For a long time. He was gone for a month or maybe even more. He did this maybe a few months after he was skipping the classes.
Nothing was said. No derogatory comments about how Brad just joined and then disappeared. No trying to make him leave. No asking him to leave. No plots or games or conspiracies to get him to leave. Brad doing what he pleased and being completely accepted anyways.
By now Brad is acting like he is king. He occasionally stops by to bless the class with his presence. It is mind boggling to me. The total disrespect he had for the entire class, including Mike. And they all knew he was like that when they asked him to join.
I can understand why Brad had this attitude. After joining the class, a person would learn the first 8 forms in 3 months or so. After that, there was really no pressing need to be at the class other than expectation. If you skipped class, you would not miss learning any new kung fu. You would only miss Mike's talk that week and meeting with the other people.
For a person full of themselves, or with no concern about others, it would be the easiest thing in the world to tell yourself you had better things to do and to skip class. Which is exactly what Brad did.
posted by Happeh at 7:27 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home