Dear Karma Cleanser:
So there’s this new guy in my office, Chad, who has a pretty big job being the supervisor to three people and the head of his own department. Because both of us work long hours, we’re often there in the office after the other employees have left the building. I walked into his office the other night and was shocked to find him smoking at his desk. I don’t want to be the bitch who turned someone in for breaking the rules, but I also don’t want our office to smell like smoke because of this guy. What would the Karma Cleanser do?
–Still Grossed Out
You’d be silly to turn Chad in for smoking. Anyone who cares enough to realize there’s a new and noticeable whiff of nicotine permeating the hallways can easily figure out who the culprit is. If his habit bothers you that much, and you can’t get away from it, just ask him to step outside.
Dear Karma Cleanser:
A house in my neighborhood burned almost to the ground a few weeks ago. We, my husband and I, were not particularly friendly with the family who lived in the house. They were a rude middle-aged couple who never did their yard work and were known as complainers to the rest of the neighborhood.
My husband has greeted the news of their tragedy with something close to glee. He and our 12-year-old son have started a running joke about how “hot” the real estate is in our part of the county. I am mortified by anyone taking pleasure in such a calamity. I confronted my husband and he just shrugged off my concerns. Their house burned down because they were such lousy neighbors, he says. I don’t agree. Please tell me I’m right.
—Fire with Ire
You’re both right. In this era when it’s verboten to crack jokes in an airport lest you be hauled off to Guantanamo, your husband’s simply participating in a centuries-old tradition of off-color humor. All comedy comes from the misfortune of others (think about it). What’s questionable is his enlisting your son as laugh track. At 12, the boy’s probably not old enough to realize how devastating something like a house fire can be. You should force the callous men in your life to personally visit the family in need, and then see how long their jocundity lasts.
Been bad? karmacleanser@gmail.com.
This article appears in Oct 5-11, 2005.
