To Ramsay or not...the Gordon or the Gorgon????

Boycott Gordon Ramsay...

Gordon Ramsey is visiting Australia. Some may call this man a celebrity chef, some may call him arrogant, whatever, he is certainly a celebrity. But it seems to me his greatest claim to fame is for his unkind and profane tongue. He makes a living...and a fairly good one at that...out of being the biggest and meanest bully in the playground. In a world where bullying is largely unacceptable and where governments spend sizeable sums of money on programmes in schools to deal with this increasingly problematical issue, it seems a shame that we so easily exalt such behaviours on TV. Goodness, he even has a TV show named after his unseemly devotion to swearing, ‘The F- Show’.

In short, while Ramsey is no doubt an exceptional chef, he has largely become infamous for his blistering disposition and free use of expletives. Ramsay once famously ejected food critic A. A. Gill along with his companion, Joan Collins, from his restaurant, prompting Gill to state that "Ramsay is a wonderful chef, just a really second-rate human being". That’s all well and good, but Ramsey’s shows are built around this second rate human being. His manner of dealing with fellow chefs in the kitchen is not only despicable but adds huge credos to the abuse metered out by other already arrogant head chefs ( kitchens are notorious for abusive language and the general bad behaviour of head chef’s). In any other work place this would be definitely seen as unreasonable and unacceptable behaviour. Just because one has a position of power it does not give one the right to treat individuals rudely, to undermine their self confidence and reduce them to tears. This may be prime time viewing, but what sort of message is it sending to our children?? To be a good chef you need to be an arrogant prick? To be a successful man you need to be inconsiderate and rude?? That as long as you have more power and might you can get away with anything and its ok??? No, it sure doesn’t sit right with me...I believe we should all boycott his shows. Ramsay has been involved in allegations of Gross indecency, Theft and drink driving.......and yet is able to avoid major controversy...are we all such easy prey for this bully in the playground...is our message to our children...put up with it, you haven’t got a chance against the bully...give him what he wants, pat him on the back, tell him how great he is??
Personally I cannot abide anyone who gets pleasure out of belittling another human being. There are ways to deal with incompetence in the work place and out and out rudeness is not one of them...would we be happy then if little Johnny was to get a poor grade on his maths test after genuinely trying to do his best and the teacher threw his paper across the room and proceeded to announce to all the class that he was a dunce and stupid as hell...??? If we are happy with that then I guess we would also be happy with an employer calling us fat, old, ugly, hopeless or whatever, and throwing things at us whenever he/she felt like it!

I like humans to have respect for each other and to behave in a way commensurate with that. And I expect those individuals who are in positions of power or authority to be role models for the rest of us. In an ideal world perhaps...or so it seems.
The Australian Workplace Work and safety Training Resource Kit describes bullying thus: ‘It is continuous bad treatment of someone at work by someone else. Workplace bullying and harassment can continue unchecked because people often don't want to talk about it. Some people think it is just a part of the workplace environment but it can be very harmful to a person's health and wellbeing.'

Victorian Legal aid describes Bullying in the workplace as follows:

manipulation,
intimidation,
belittling remarks,
unreasonable persistent criticism which is not part of a managing performance process,
loud and aggressive attacks or more subtle intimidation such as constant criticism of a trivial nature,
verbal and physical abuse, for example, shouting and throwing objects,
isolation from colleagues,
refusing to delegate or the withholding of information employees need to perform their job,
Removing responsibility and/or imposing menial tasks.

The NSW Occupational health and safety act defines bullying as follows:
Direct verbal and physical threats.

Unfair use of disciplinary and assessment procedures.
Blocking access to promotion, training, overtime, etc.
Setting impossible deadlines and targets.
Withholding information essential to do the job properly.
Excessively tight supervision.
Public humiliation including being shouted at.
Persistent and undue criticism including inaccurate accusations about quality of work.
Undermining responsibility.
Abusive references to age, sex, race, disability or other personal characteristics.
Spreading malicious rumors.\

I wonder why we happily watch such behaviours on TV and give accolades to the perpetrator of such behaviours? Has reality TV dulled our reaction to reality?

Recently he has fired off some inappropriate remarks about Australian Journalist Tracy Grimshaw. Gordon laughed them off as a joke. Tracy Grimshaw responded with this: ‘Truly, I wonder how many people would laugh if they were effectively described as an old, ugly pig.…we all know that bullies thrive when no-one takes them on, and I'm not going to sit meekly and let some arrogant narcissist bully me." I concur!

The NSW education department says: ‘Bullying is behaviour not tolerated by NSW Public Schools.Bullying can happen anywhere: at school, in sporting teams, between neighbours. Bullying can take on various forms including giving nasty looks, making rude gestures, calling names, being rude and impolite, spreading stories and rumours and teasing.

This behaviour may include:
· keeping someone out of a group
· acting in an unpleasant way near someone
· 'mucking about' that goes too far
· Harassment or any form of discrimination based on disability, gender, race or religion.

Many could be said to be true of this TV “hero”!
How confusing is our message to our kids then…don’t be a bully, don’t put up with bullying….but admire this bully…laugh at his antics…get off on the tears and stress he inflicts on another…after all it makes good TV?

It sure does bother me! I have seen many young folk put up with bullying in the work place because they are not so sure they deserve better…the messages are not clear enough…
I have seen individuals lose their passion for a previous labour of love because of continued belittling and rudeness from bosses that should have been mentors and engendered respect, but instead were bullies and engendered fear.
I have seen friends reduced to thoughts of suicide because of workplace stress and undervaluing.
I have seen remarkable and talented individuals taken entirely for granted, treated badly and belittled publicly who end up giving less than their best to a job they originally were giving 110% to…..bullying does not make us better employers it makes us disillusioned employees…and if it is not stopped…it can lead to disillusioned human beings…

How can we promote this via the media….boycott Gordon Ramsay I say…stop making it ok to be a rude, disrespectful, hurtful human being….start giving the message that it is not alright… not ok… not a joke!!

As Laurence Sterne quotes: ‘Respect for ourselves guides our morals; respect for others guides our manners.’ And then again Harry S. Truman: ‘We must build a new world, a far better world - one in which the eternal dignity of man is respected.’

And finally in the words of the Dalai Lama: ‘Responsibility does not only lie with the leaders of our countries or with those who have been appointed or elected to do a particular job. It lies with each of us individually. Peace, for example, starts within each one of us. When we have inner peace, we can be at peace with those around us. This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.’


http://www.legalaid.vic.gov.au/428.htm
http://www.workershealth.com.au/facts027.html
http://www/. Scotsman.com-news august 2006
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Ramsay