I made a mistake

This morning, something weird happened.

To make it absolutely clear before you stop reading: I didn't make a wrong decision. But I came to it in a way that I regret.

I get up early, make my morning exercise, shower, than I awake from that weird dream. I check my e-mail. As a head of state, I have to read all of them. You don't know how useless spam filters are for people like me. You can't imagine what ruckus was caused lately when the Minister of Trade of our beloved neighborcountry, Zommer, sent the follwing e-mail:

"Hi buddy,
I fond a great way to en!han!ce your manylhood! WHatever takes you down, Va1igrA takes you up again. We offer Chea!Pset rates! You must try! You will love it!

P.S. If you want us to lift the spoiled milk import ban, call me in the next hour, I go to the spa at 5"

Of course, it got picked up as spam, and Zommer was not happy about his representatives being ignored. Apologies were exchanged, but our relationship still needs some time to heal.

We of ocurse immediately changed our spam policy, which includes now me reading all e-mails from head to toe. Just as background information.

So yesterday there was one with the sender "Information Technology Workers Union", arguing that they need some laws changed to make IT workers work less. I said WTF! A trade union for code monkeys? Bloody spammers! And I hit the Spam button.

A few hours later, I have an emergency audience with William and Steven, two of the head brains of our thriving IT sector. They inform me that they are very concerned about the current actions of the IT workers union, and that an increase of cost might may make us anticompetetive, they need more freedom in how they deal their workers, and that I need to upgrade my OS. It dawms me that the e-mail earlier probably was legit. Trouble.

To understand what kind of trouble, I have to give you some background information again:
As your leader, I enjoy a pretty efficient IT department. Hitting the "Spam" button puts into motion a Rube Goldberg device: Huge computers start humming while they track down the sender, a signal is sent to the IT Violation Task Force to get into yellow alert. Once the offender is located, alert goes to red, and they start, like the fire fighters you see in the movies. The offernder is usually captured, five cats are tied to him, and he is made to crawl through dark and musty cable ducts for the next ten years. (IT tells me that no "real cats" are harmed in this procedure, so fume down, PETA).

So probably the IT workers union now is kind of headless - sorry guys. Long term I think this will do good, trees need to be pruned now and then and you were getting pretty heavyheaded anyway.

But that leaves me having to deal with William and Steven. I think the IT sector is important to bring our small country to a powerful future. While I am not happy with the partly unfair and borderline inhuman working conditions, we have to make a compromise here for a better future for us all. (It's not everything about making me happy - a little joke on the side!)

As much as I hate it, I have to tell them "Gentlemen, you have all freedom you need to do everything you like, as long as you stay within the law". I could see they weren't happy with that, so I let them take two pieces each from the candy glass. (It was one of the first things I introduced in my office: A candy glass where visitors can take one piece when they go. It makes the place much more friendly and personal.)

Some people demean our economy by calling IT our "capitalist playground". It may appear, but the reasons go deeper.
You all know I am for diversity. Not only in skin color, gender and sexual preference, but also in social and economic approaches. Only diversity prepares us for the sudden changes that come over unsuspecting people and their governments.

Besides, I hate people that think that laws are mutable for them just because we showed off our first computers to each other (Remember how I did envy you, William?) or the media rehashes and regurgitates every and all of your lip droppings.

Concluding: I left the two parties to deal with each other - pretty much my intention about that segment of our economy. To repeat: the outcome is what I intended, but I might have alienated a few friends. It is hard to say "sorry", no matter how heartfelt, if your dropping the wine glass kicks the table candles against the curtains and burns down the house.

I promise to do better.