Northbound Betty Suarez

I have a confession to make – I am a big fan of the new show Ugly Betty. I am not a Prada junkie nor a Hugo Boss-man – my interest in the show lies in the fact that it depicts a subsection of the business and political types that one must interact with on a daily basis.

While most people (95-99% thankfully) I have the pleasure of dealing with over the course of my day are nose to the grindstone salt of the earth types, there are also the Mode Magazine types. These people go through life with the honest belief that the rest of the world is there to serve their every whim and fancy.

If they are a business person, they treat employees as chattel. Bank loans and their own businesses are a slush fund to finance their lifestyle of luxury cars, clothes, vacations and fine dining. When it comes time to pay their suppliers, they plead poverty while wearing a watch worth more than most people’s first home down payment. Front line employees are treated with a level of contempt usually reserved for serial murderers or rapists. While these people have a sociopathic disregard for charities and the people/creatures said charities are supposed to help, they are all too quick to make the rounds on the rubber chicken circuit in order to be seen.

The irony here is that while these folks conduct themselves in such a boorish manner, they are oblivious to the fact that others can see through their patently phony demeanour. You may be married to a high powered local lawyer but that doesn’t give you carte blanche to abuse your server at a restaurant. You see, your server is paying his/her way through college. And like the one you saw fit to use as a punching bag 10-15 years ago, he/she will come to deal with your husband’s firm while ensuring your “power broker” mate NEVER touches any one of his/her files. (This true story brought to you in part by Mrs. P&UW)

A subset of politicians and union leaders also fall into this trap. While the avenue of exploitation may be different – union dues or public money instead of bank loans and supplier carry/abuse, their conduct is still the same. And yes, we see through them too.

For those folks who think they are putting one over everyone else in our fair city – guess again. We are just too polite to say anything. Plus, we get a kick out of you parading around in such a laughably haughty manner…

(Bonus points to anyone who can guess where the other half of my title came from – any 92 Citi fan should be able to get the reference)