[December 11, 2016] It was the early 1980s and I was on field maneuvers with my new Infantry Platoon. It was a difficult time that summer as we were simulating classic force-on-force combat, existing on little sleep, and working long, hard, frustrating days. One thing I was surprised to learn during those maneuvers was that it was our support personnel that gave me the most trouble, not the line soldiers that were constantly under immense pressure. Only the support personnel would rock the boat1 that summer.
“Only the guy who isn’t rowing has time to rock the boat.” – Jean-Paul Sartre
I found the lesson meaningful and applied that lesson in human psychology throughout my career. It was something that was always in the forefront of my planning whenever my military unit received a mission or tasking. Those who were less busy were those most likely to get into trouble or cause trouble for someone else. This was especially true for soldiers who were part of any headquarters unit; they seemed particularly prone to mischief, grandstanding, petty grievances, and displays of privileged attitudes.
It has been a long journey from the time I was an army lieutenant, but those lessons carried forward through my retirement and to my time now as I go about giving talks to college students, civic organizations, and employees of commercial enterprises. On one of my trips to a New Jersey university campus (unnamed because they hired me to give a talk on leadership), I happened to pass a few dozen students protesting outside the Admission’s office against the results of the recent presidential election.
They didn’t know me and I was dressed in jeans, an old corduroy jacket, and dirty tennis shoes. I’m sure I appeared like an old professor so they were free to share their views. But what I wanted to know was what their complaint. What I discovered was that none of the protestors were majoring in a hard science degree, working a part-time job, a military veteran, or were personally paying for their degree. I did learn they didn’t like Donald Trump but none had any solutions.
An attitude of privilege seemed, at least to me, to permeate the small crowd of students. There was a young female professor who was there to add verbal flavor to the discussions among the students. She was a sociology professor who had earned all her degrees at the same small college in Massachusetts and was complaining about “injustice, unfairness, and racism.” But what I saw was that this group was inexperienced and acted privileged in their ways of protesting.
Did they rock the boat for the university? Yes they did by providing some embarrassing moments. Were they effective in getting their message out to the university? I think, yes, they probably did. But I ask where were all the others who had part-time jobs, studying to pass courses that were actually difficult, or the military veterans? These students were not to be found because they were not privileged.
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- Rock the boat, meaning to cause trouble where none is welcome; to disturb a situation that is otherwise stable and satisfactory. (Often negative.)