There are some things in life that are real issues to deal with and some...well, really aren't. A real issue is if you believe that your family or friends are being treated badly. I guess the definition of "badly" will depend on your perspective, but what I am talking about is if a teacher, coach or anyone in a position of authority is mistreating your child or spouse, and a friend, I guess.
How do you handle an issue like this? What I hope I do is first contact the person directly that I have an issue with. That contact will hopefully be face to face, but a phone call would be sufficient. After discussing with this person the issue, I have two options. I can probably figure out that I was wrong or have a differing philosophy or I can then contact their immediate supervisor. From there, I can decide if I am happy or not then contact the next supervisor, on up the chain until I decide that I am at least satisfied with the outcomes. If something is that bad, my next step could be a letter to the editor. I would hope that the last thing would be an extreme decision. I am willing to be that most people are easy to deal with and the first option would end the problem.
How NOT to handle an issue. First, just go right to Facebook and/or Twitter and air my concerns. Without knowing all things involved, I have just created more controversy than there needs to be. Many people will comment defending you, making you feel better, but really they are commenting on something that even you don't have all the details.
Second, contact any level of the supervising chain without speaking to the person my issue is with directly. That is disrespectful, gets more people involved than is needed, especially if it could be handled with the person directly involved. What you have done if you go this rout is worsen a relationship that the person you had an issue with didn't even know there was an issue...if that makes sense. No one appreciates you going over there head immediately.
Third, do not try to get a "group" on your side and create discontent over an extended period of time. All you are doing is probably aligning yourself with some people who have no real issue, but there is usually power in numbers. What happens is you end up hanging with people similar to you on one issue. That questions your credibilty when the issue does come to light.
When I write in this blog, it is for me to get my thoughts down, it isn't for you. If you don't like what is written here, don't read it. These "issues" are how I hope I handle anything in the future and I know that I will slip and fail at times. Does that make me a hypocrite? Probably, but at least I can admit it.
