I had to fire an employee today. It was a horrible situation with a new employee who simply proved to be a bad fit. This is only the second person I have had to "let go" and it does not get any easier. After I walked her out the door with her still new employee badge in my hand, all I could think was "What a horrible feeling it was to do something so traumatic to another person."
Before walking her out the door, I had to explain to her that she was not a good fit for the position, a conclusion she was already well aware of. Despite that, she still begged. She has kids to feed, a house to pay for, and human pride. As I asked her for her badge, and she tearfully handed it over, I was keenly aware of the damage I was doing to her life and those connected to her.
After she drove away, I went for a walk in the sunshine and said to myself, "I can't imagine anyone enjoying firing people." Then it happened. I remembered Mitt Romney's memorable line regarding "I like being able to fire people." When he said it, he beamed with pride. How utterly cruel and disconnected from humanity must you be to enjoy damaging people to that extent.
Only a sociopath could react with visible glee at the notion of firing people.
sociopath definition:
A person with antisocial personality disorder. Probably the most widely recognized personality disorder. A sociopath is often well liked because of their charm and high charisma, but they do not usually care about other people. They think mainly of themselves and often blame others for the things that they do. They have a complete disregard for rules and lie constantly. They seldom feel guilt or learn from punishments. Though some sociopaths have become murders, most reveal their sociopathy through less deadly and sensational means.
When you think about Mitt Romney's greatest hits:
—dismissing the 47% as irresponsible beggers.
—discussing, without being disturbed, the new China plant where
the young girls were stacked in dorms surrounded by barb wire.
—the ability to lie repeatedly and constantly even when faced
with video evidence of his lie.
—Fraudulently running for gov of MA when a resident of Utah.
Rules are for the little people.
—referred to companies as something to be "harvested" as though the workers
were crops in the field that merely needed to be picked and sold.
—While CEO of Bain, he routinely bought profitable companies, saddled them with
debt, and then moved them to China or closed them to "harvest" the profits.
(Causing untold damage to thousands of families)
—Protested for the Vietnam War and the draft, then dodged the draft.
—Actually believes that his Mormon "mission", and that of his five sons,
is equal to serving their country similar to members of the military.
(As a vet, I find this particularly offensive and repulsive.)
I think the true sociopath came out in the last debate where he felt the rules didn't apply to him, where he bulldozed the moderator, and even scolded President Obama as he rose from his chair, “You’ll get your chance in a moment, I’m still speaking.”
We need to fear Mitt Romney not only because of his stone-age, regressive policies. His very nature is that of an entitled sociopath who will do and say anything to obtain the most powerful position in the world.
And don't forget, he likes firing people... Who the hell likes doing that?