Hi Looker,

I've got a good job; I run a tool & die shop. And, secretly, I despise my employer for the random testing policy I have to live with. It's a way for the employer and the insurance company to deny their accountability if you get hurt on the job, a method of control and retaliation for those who're frustrated and resentful toward creative, free minded people, and one more way that plodding, cowardly, incompetent morons can feel superior to at least somebody (you know, us depraved drug addicts). Trying to figure out ways to outsmart them has become a more than passing intrest, and I'm resentful for the effort I have to expend in that area as well. I could put the time to better use making switchblades.

The majority of people are herd animals, and if you're too different, you're suspect and something of an outcast. I live by the 11th commandment, per Groucho Marx; "Any club that would have me as a member, I wouldn't want to join". So the people who are in positions of authority would be very insecure about someone who could see through the illusion and realize they're merely good at one thing; pretending they know what they're doing. (In other words, the typical introspective stoner).

I see all this as the price of being different and indulging in a passtime I enjoy so much. Who said it was easy to be unique?

Some things I do are:
Refrain from buying products at places which openly boast about their squeaky clean "no tolerance" attitude such as Wal Mart, Home Depot, etc. Let your money do some of the talking.
Work to change the system legally by voting against hard line anti-marijuana politicians and criticizing hypocritical policies openly.
Being the best example that I can of someone who likes to indulge in moderation without it causing any socially negative effects (always on time to work, never sick or taking time off, doing my job well, causing no inter-personal problems on the job or elsewhere, etc.)
Doing my best to shatter the stereotype images the general public has; I think you get the idea.

I think that if you're employed by a company that's got this anti-fun mentality, there's more at issue than just the recreational drug situation; they want to control what you do even when you're not on the clock, and that's an invasion of privacy of the first order. What will be the next step, telling you what brand of milk you must buy, what religion is acceptable?

A lot of people in my generation fought and died to oppose totalitarianism. This is just another form. Fight the bastards!

I'm looking for an employer who won't try to control my personal life, and it's a major project. Maybe if enough people refuse to sell out for a couple of bucks more on the job, or refuse to work for an employer who's self interest drives them to disregard common sense, they'll get the message some day and back off. Resistance isn't a weekend type of thing, it's a long, unrelenting commitment.

End of diatribe.

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