I first encountered Kenny in 2010 during his last revolving-door
job search. In terms of his job-hunting prowess, Kenny represents today’s
version of an April
Fool.[1]
More than five years lapsed, and to our mutual dismay, he had not changed. He
blamed his lack of employability on Blacks, Hispanics, Jews, and women who
don’t know their place. More recently, he added the leftwing media and Muslims
to his list.
Kenny showed up
on the eve of 2016, still sporting his red flip phone that had never been setup
to retrieve missed calls. The Gmail account I setup for him years earlier had
gone unused, and he had long forgotten the password. As a result, he limited his
job search solely to ever-dwindling want ads appearing in the local newspaper.
Kenny’s
troglodyte ways left me breathless and astounded. The hours spent showing him
how to access technology had gone unused. Nor did he avail himself to my prior
job-hunting suggestions. There was nothing to indicate things might be
different this time around. I bit my tongue while anticipating he would proceed
to blame others for his predictable circumstances.
For me, Kenny represents
a case study in the lengths some jobseekers will go to camouflage failure. Depending
upon one’s source, there are more than 4 million job openings currently available.
Clearly, 98% of the advertised openings can be found using basic technology.
Yet there he sat—the epitome of a here-to-day: gone tomorrow job
chaser—clutching a newspaper with only one want ad.
Kenny initiated
the session by inquiring as to my political beliefs. His first question was, “Do you ever listen to Rush Limbaugh?” I
challenged him on what that had to do with seeking new employment, and he simplistically
responded with, “Everything. Besides, I
need to know we are on the same page.” My previous suspicions about Kenny’s
beliefs contributed to his inability to hold substantive employment was
reaffirmed.
For the next 20
minutes, I indulged him, while he extolled upon me Limbaugh’s virtues, and whom
he supported for the upcoming GOP nomination, and why supposing the frontrunner
would make America great again. The more he rambled, the more I realized why a
political entertainer known for his bombastic and narcissistic rhetoric appeals
to April-Fools mentality struggling to find outdated glory.
Kenny represents
a throwback to the Reagan-era, a time before the onset of today’s technological
reality. As technology changed, Kenny put up stiff resistance, which over time,
caused him to become overwhelmed, and he eventually fell further and further
behind. To compensate for his resistances to change, Kenny bought into the Twilight Zone concept of creating his
own reality, where every problem has a simplistic, quick fix solution.
“Building a great wall will solve our job-stealing
immigration problems,” he proudly assured me.
Hoping to jolt
him back into reality, I asked him, “Have
you asked anyone from East Germany how well their great wall worked for them?”
Kenny ignored the question as if it failed to register.
Kenny is
heavily betting on an April Fools’ agenda that alludes to rolling back time.
The slogan ‘make America great again’
has resonated and generated unrealistic beliefs. As an aging white male who let
time, tide and opportunity slip through his fingers, he yearns for any huckster
who will confirm his racial hatreds and support his darkest fears—a technique
perfected under fascism by the Reich Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels.[2]
We finished Kenny’s
project by providing him with exactly what his asked for, but not necessarily
with what he needed. As we parted, he assured me that I was the one being
fooled and misguided by so-called radical extremists and reliance on technology.
I, however, was equally convinced that Kenny was letting his politics interfere
with employment reality.
We waved our goodbyes,
while I smiled with incredulity.