— On Assholes

(OK, not exactly easy.  Anyway…)

STEP 1: Avoid him if you can (even at a significant cost)

That might mean not marrying someone you love; divorcing the guy; changing jobs; passing on a profitable business partnership.

For workplace managers—at least according to Stanford management professor Bob Sutton—it means never hire an asshole, fire them if some slip

[Guest post by Dr. A. James Frisbee, Advanced Scholar at the Center for Advanced Studies, USA]

During a trip to South Africa last summer, a local and I were sitting in a Durban cafe having a fun conversation about who is and who is not of a certain morally foul personality type.  (The usual name starts with the letter ‘a’—but I”ll call these people by the British name “wazzocks.”)  Then my friend had the gall to ask whether I and my country, the United States of America, might too count as a wazzock.

He went on, but I definitely wasn’t persuaded by whatever it was he was saying in his admittedly cool South African accent.  But I’ve being thinking a lot about the question in the meanwhile, and now, on behalf of my country, I

Jim Maloy from Barrie, Ontario, was wondering about various types that do not quite “make the cut” as assholes, and sent me these great suggestions about how to distinguish the prick, dick, shit, and jerk. The suggestions seem promising at first blush. (So to speak, if you’re blushing. Who am I kidding? I’ve long stopped

[A lecture for students and the general public, recently delivered at Bloomsburg University, by yours truly.]

In the course of human affairs, after we have duly reflected on the great trends of our time, and we have spare time for personal self-examination, a question may present itself, to every thinking person, of his or her place in society, and his or her own virtues or vices of character.  More to the point, at the present stage of history, in age of “greed is good” capitalism, of raging Facebook and reality TV narcissism, and of defensive unwillingness to entertain an opposing perspective—in short, with a rising cultural tide of assholery—it behooves each of us to contemplate the possibility that we ourselves are, or are prone to become, an asshole.

The question ranks among the least profound of philosophical questions of all time.  And yet it is both necessary and an occasion for useful philosophy.  How can we say whether we are or are not an asshole without knowing what an asshole is, without knowing what the term “asshole”

Are they assholes?  At first blush, it seems so.  Rejecting the legitimacy of legal authority, especially federal legal authority, the apparently 100,000 person-strong movement is known for mouthing off to police officers, filing frivolous law-suits, engaging in “paper terrorism,” paying fines in photos of silver coins (instead of US currency, which they reject as illegitimate), and, in some cases, violently lashing out in ways that have caused several police officer deaths.  (See here and here.)

All of this is clearly motivated by a moral belief, however implausible, in the illegitimacy of US legal authority (or at least most of it, beyond some common law rules).  It *would* amount to blatant assholery if the movement’s followers thought they had an exceptional claim to be free from

In Moves Magazine, here.

It seems not, at least if Apple’s apology to China for its warranty policies (see here) was sincere.  An asshole, or a company acting like an asshole, won’t usually apologize, instead of remaining entrenched in its sense of entitlement, finding all manner of rationalizations to bolster its confidence.

A skeptic might point out that the apology only came after increasingly vociferous criticism in the Chinese media.  Apple was said to be “arrogant,” and this was endangering 

Kanye West’s contemplated next album title, as reported by the BBC, here.  A source associated with West says the title is “half-serious.”  (So he’s only half-joking?)

Before we rush to judgment about the man who also recently said “I am Picasso,” let us note that, theoretically speaking, West might be planning to *merely mention the phrase* in his album title, rather than to *use it in his own voice, as applied to himself.*  He might do that in order to explore themes

After one of Cruz’s recent legislative performances, Diane Feinstein felt moved to tell CNN that Cruz was being “somewhat arrogant.”  Gail Collins, in recounting the details, here, suggests that this is an understatement, because “there apparently is still an unwritten rule against calling someone “a stupendously irritating twit” on national TV.”

“Stupendously irritating twit” could itself be an understatement (which is perhaps explained by the Grey Lady’s timidity about potentially more appropriate language).  Cruz might be better described as an ass, an ass-clown, 

Because it is my job, I report this, ahem, colorful way of calling someone an asshole, apparently in Texas style.  (Thanks to a Texan friend of my associate.)