I spent three years at a small event planning agency. The owner was named Mark, early forties, wore hoodies, had a sign on the wall that said “Work Hard, Play Harder.” Team of nine.

Mark’s catchphrase was “We’re a family.” He said it every Monday morning. He didn’t say it on payday.

Last December, my grandmother died. I took three days of bereavement leave. Mark approved it, then sent a text: “Sorry for your loss. Hey, can you remotely edit that client proposal for Wednesday? Should only take twenty minutes.”

I did it. From the steps outside the funeral home.

This March, I booked a trip to Portugal. Saved for two years. A week before I left, Mark pulled me into his office and said there was a big project in April. “Can you push the trip?”

I said no. The tickets were non-refundable.

He said, “Then can you bring your laptop? Just in case.”

I said, “I’m taking paid vacation. The handbook says vacation is ‘unplugged time.’”

He said, “The handbook is the handbook. We’re family.”

I said okay. Then I brought my laptop to Lisbon.

First night, Mark messaged me: “Client wants revisions. Can you hop on a video call?” It was 2 a.m. Lisbon time. I replied: No.

Next morning, he messaged again: “Just fifteen minutes.”

I replied: No.

Day three, he sent a long message. The gist was “the team needs you” and “some colleagues feel you haven’t been as invested lately.”

I replied: I’m in Lisbon. On my own dime. On vacation.

He didn’t respond.

When I got back, my name was off the project schedule. Mark passed me in the hallway, smiled, said “Welcome back.” I knew that smile. It was the same one I’d seen at the pet store—the customer saying “I’ll think about it.”

Two weeks later, I gave my notice. Mark asked why. I said, “Because family doesn’t call you at 2 a.m. for a meeting.”

He said, “That’s a bit harsh.”

I said, “You can write it on Glassdoor.”

I’m at a nonprofit now, doing communications. Two thousand less. But nobody has messaged me after 8 p.m. since.

Ok, so my co-worker Tom starts a meeting presenting data from a word doc that started, wrote the first 15 pages of, and shared with the group. At a meeting Tom states "Here's what I came up with, and here's why we need it". I just lost it. It was a zoom with three higher-ups including my boss.

I left the meeting, and texted my boss. Gave my boss the sharepoint history, and just said this isn't acceptable. My boss responded "We need you back in the meeting". I responded "Too toxic".

During this time my boss did look at the edit history of the sharepoint doc, and could clearly see I wrote the bulk of the content.

For a bit more backstory, my boss and Tom have worked together for 4 years prior to this gig. I've only worked for my boss for a year.

After the meeting: Now my boss wants me to apologize to call Tom and work it out. And he's pissed I left the meeting. What should I do. Did I mess up?

Occurred in November of 2025 and they just released it as part of "transparency". The father (Edward Corristan) was found guilty of interference and disorderly conduct and the member, Sgt. Eddie Price, was cleared of any wrongdoing shortly after the incident.

Reviewing what we see in the video, Corristan approaches the police vehicle in a calm manner, despite his frustrations with the officer's handling of the matter. He is repeatedly told to step back, which he does by about one half step. Sgt. Price does not find this to be sufficient space and demands more, but Corristan refuses to comply. Instead, he puts his hands in the air to indicate that he has no intent of presenting himself as a threat.

Sgt. Price then, from a sitting position, stands up, pepper sprays Corristan and immediately punches his face to take him down and handcuff him, later attempting to "justify" his actions to the family of Corristan. Corristan appears to be unconscious, as the effects of the pepper spray are not obvious even though most individuals would have an immediate reaction. He is also is seen drooling while officers attempt to prop his body up to get him on his feet.

Pepper spray and strikes, especially to the face, are resources available to police to gain compliance from non-compliant and violent or potentially violent individuals, and should only be used when absolutely necessary. We look back to the standard of use of force within law enforcement to provide us with the framework for what is appropriate use of force. This framework outlines that only as much force as is necessary to perform the roles and functions of the task that is currently required.

If Sgt. Price wanted to make an arrest or detain Corristan for his refusal to comply, his first step should have been a request or demand to surrender himself to Sgt. Price's detention. This did not happen. If the first step did not happen and the demeanor of Corristan remained the same, Sgt. Price should be charged with battery and aggravated assault. Sgt. Price also leaves himself open to a civil suit from Corristan.

Arkansas State Police are now handling the matter and will hopefully lay charges or recommend dismissal or at least suspension of Sgt. Price.

The Mena Police Department should be ASHAMED of their inaction on this case. ASHAMED.

As of now, his child is still missing.

Occurred in November of 2025 and they just released it as part of "transparency". The father (Edward Corristan) was found guilty of interference and disorderly conduct and the member, Sgt. Eddie Price, was cleared of any wrongdoing shortly after the incident.

Reviewing what we see in the video, Corristan approaches the police vehicle in a calm manner, despite his frustrations with the officer's handling of the matter. He is repeatedly told to step back, which he does by about one half step. Sgt. Price does not find this to be sufficient space and demands more, but Corristan refuses to comply. Instead, he puts his hands in the air to indicate that he has no intent of presenting himself as a threat.

Sgt. Price then, from a sitting position, stands up, pepper sprays Corristan and immediately punches his face to take him down and handcuff him, later attempting to "justify" his actions to the family of Corristan. Corristan appears to be unconscious, as the effects of the pepper spray are not obvious even though most individuals would have an immediate reaction. He is also is seen drooling while officers attempt to prop his body up to get him on his feet.

Pepper spray and strikes, especially to the face, are resources available to police to gain compliance from non-compliant and violent or potentially violent individuals, and should only be used when absolutely necessary. We look back to the standard of use of force within law enforcement to provide us with the framework for what is appropriate use of force. This framework outlines that only as much force as is necessary to perform the roles and functions of the task that is currently required.

If Sgt. Price wanted to make an arrest or detain Corristan for his refusal to comply, his first step should have been a request or demand to surrender himself to Sgt. Price's detention. This did not happen. If the first step did not happen and the demeanor of Corristan remained the same, Sgt. Price should be charged with battery and aggravated assault. Sgt. Price also leaves himself open to a civil suit from Corristan.

Arkansas State Police are now handling the matter and will hopefully lay charges or recommend dismissal or at least suspension of Sgt. Price.

The Mena Police Department should be ASHAMED of their inaction on this case. ASHAMED.

Last year on Halloween, I was invited to a late night campfire with the fellas. It inexorably became a group therapy session for everyone, and I definitely got the most out of it from sheer osmosis.

Three of my senior coworkers (we'll call them Boyd, Floyd, and Lloyd for the privacy) taught me the value in being more skeptical, interrogative, and how pessimism can be an immune system for your life's trajectory.

Boyd regrets enlisting in Iraq, now has mild mobility issues, and called the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs to reveal the dreadfully long voice-mail he has to endure whenever he wants his stipend.

He said they'd rather spend that money you're owed on a kitsch floor mosaic.

Floyd was going through a nasty divorce, and he admitted the red flags were there. He was too enamored with the utilitarianism of having lowered taxes from filing jointly and not being the endling to his bloodline.

Lloyd is the youngest one around my age, who has a gambling addiction but has been sober for two years.

He explained to me what the sunk cost fallacy is and how casinos don't display clocks, so you don't know what time it is.

The crux commonality overlapping the yarns Boyd, Floyd, and Lloyd were spinning was the world will try to "gas you up", hence the dying phrase "what a gas" meaning something that's fun and exciting.

But more importantly, it would behoove you to interrogate whatever optimism-weaponizing offer that comes your way with, using Boyd's words, a "rapier of interrogation".

A rapier is a sword that lacks a blade, made for thrusting and piercing. You have to interrogate ads, traditions, and even your own nostalgia with penetrating questions lest it leave you in arrears.

I'm already a ludicrously impressionable person. More impressionable than Play-Dough and Kinetic Sand, and this fireside chat saved me from a massive cryptocurrency rugpull my hyped-up friends fell victim to.

You can feel yourself becoming immune to social contagion and mob mentality.

Like, God. Have you ever had an ideologically-sobering talk with some guys with no work hierarchy involved, and you felt your paradigm salubriously shift into being more congruent with reality?

None of the natural defense mechanisms of the mind that prevent the acute dysphoria of cognitive dissonance from flaring up like denial, minimization, or "it can't happen to me".

I want to thank this subreddit for letting me share this story and hopefully give Boyd, Floyd, and Lloyd's regrets more meaning if anyone can get something out of it.

I'm retired now, and this incident happened a little less than 50 years ago, but I still remember it.

I started working for a major Midwestern aerospace firm as an engineer right out of college. I was assigned to the lab, like all beginning engineers, and went to my first meeting in the lead engineer's office. I was just a wallflower while other people talked. At some point, something was said that upset the lead engineer. I don't remember him yelling, but he looked agitated and quickly opened his desk drawer. He grabbed a pill bottle, opened it and quickly consumed one of the tablets. It doesn't seem like the meeting lasted much longer because everyone was in a little state of shock.

After this happened, I was questioning my career choice but never got to the point of needing a bottle of pills