Ask Questions Later

One way of celebrating my birthday is not paying attention to anything that's happening in the news.
It's my day.
Give me my day.
That said, on with the show.
In the early morning hours of Thursday, August 22nd, James Edwards, 52, of Shaler Township (about 15 minutes from downtown Pittsburgh) opened fire on his family less than a week after being suspended from his $52,000 a year job as an electrician at Pittsburgh International Airport.  He had only been there for two years.
He then turned the gun on himself.  His daughter and a pet beagle also died.  His son and wife were hospitalized.
It's always incidents like these that have everyone crying "why"?
Why, indeed.
Because you lost your job?
You lose your job, so you're going to further lose your family by destroying it with your own hand?  The one thing you CAN count on in this world above all else?
Having been in the radio business for more than two and a half decades, I've learned that it's a volatile, unsteady business where getting fired is a way of life.  In fact, I know of no job in the private sector these days that's safe.  Even the public sector is more shaky than ever, due to budget constraints.
Pensions are fragile to non-existent.  No thanks to the job crisis in this country, companies find themselves in the unique position of demanding and getting 'givebacks' from current employees and offering less to new prospects.
And not only that, it's not enough to give 40 hours of labor anymore.  Or even loyalty, for that matter. Companies have become more and more vigilant of owning every aspect of an employee.  Non-competes, unpaid after-hours work, and scrutinizing social media for any trace of your whereabouts.
They're getting it, too.
I've prided myself on the fact that while a company can own my labors for 40 hours a week, and maybe a little more every once in a while, there are some parts of me that are not for sale, nor should they be, and they never will be.
Ever.
Dignity.  Pride.  Integrity.
And many sacrifice those very things for the sheer sake of the almighty dollar.
It's not called "mean green" for nothin', ya know!
It's why we buy the things we can't afford, yet say we can't afford to be without.  The Rat Race.  It's not about the rat, but how many performance-enhancing substances it can ingest.
All a company can do is take away your paycheck.
The three qualities I just mentioned are yours and yours alone.  They're yours to keep, and they're the only things you're allowed to take with you when you leave this world.
So why sell them?  Or worse, give them away.
Eleanor Roosevelt once said "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
When James Edwards learned of his impending job loss, he surrendered control of everything he had and everything he stood for to anyone willing to take it.  Not the airport authority, but society.  He was upset by society enough to strike out and hurt the people closest to him whom he has an obligation to protect.
From high school dropouts to people with advanced degrees, people get fired.  Auto mechanics to aerospace engineers.  It's a way of life.
Pick yourself up.  Dust yourself off.  Move on.
There is nothing and no one in this life that is worth killing yourself or someone else over.  Nothing.
Dignity.  Pride.  Integrity.
Commit a selfish crime like this, and you've given all of these qualities away.  Because that's exactly what it is, selfish.
If you think your life is that bad, what gives you the right to deprive others of theirs?  Are they that much better off than you to the point where you can't stand it?
And the beat goes on.


NEXT WEEK:  Stay Tuned