Obedience Training

I was befuddled when former Sherwin-Williams executive Monty Griffin showed up hot in my LinkedIn threads more than a month ago asserting that, “everything about me was offensive” in a reply to one post. 

Had he only said most things, I might have plead guilty. 

Despite that introduction and our vastly different perspectives, I invited Monty to keep replying to my posts, asking only that he keep those replies on topic rather than ad hominem. The first of many words I had to define for Monty when his response to that word showed he didn't understand it.

Despite their irrelevance and location at the bottom of a thread, Griffin's vitriol caught the attention of trolls on the Sherwin-Williams subreddit. sycophants of that company happy to see anyone offering a narrative counter to mine.

Even if it was from an asshole like Griffin. And even if Sherwin sucks as bad as I've been saying.    

Griffin agreed to control his base urges, a promise he was able to keep until last week when he showed up hostile again, unprovoked on a LinkedIn thread.  Telling my story as if he could know it, making up the details so that his tale comported to his narrative rather than reality.  (Monty, comported means to make the same. Everyone else, keep reading). 

Having already warned him that he would be blocked for more lying, I’m sure Griffin was prepared for his fate when it came.  Perhaps even finding validation in his muting, because nothing feels better to the ignorantly than a good “fuck that guy,” when nobody is listening. 

It was Griffin’s abysmal writing which gave the first clues to his limited capacity, with replies which pointed to a lack of proficiency more than a boomer’s lack of caution.  Perhaps explaining why Griffin would end up running through the red flags I was waving in my effort to stand him down.

Likely, his lack of language skills conspired with immaturity to make Griffin the bully so many know him to be and I recently learned that he was.  Unable to make a cogent point by stringing sentences, he has no choice but to resort to brute force if he ever wants to heard. 

Add a complete lack of boundaries and what you get is petulance (which means childlike Monty, and don’t move your lips when you read that word).  An arrogant liar unable to comprehend my words, though I bet he's working hard to understand them now.

Preferring evidence to opinion to make my point, I prompted Google’s Gemini with expertise in assessing writing samples for the purpose of assigning Monty a grade level, adding the context necessary to allow Gemini to also assess Monty’s maturity level.  Which based on my experience with Monty I expected to be around 8^th grade.

Though I should have bet the under. 

You can find the prompt and reply here if you crave hard evidence that Griffin is a dolt (Monty, that means you’re actually stupid), but I don’t need more data to support this premise. I experienced the Monty Griffin’s his coworkers knew: an ignorant boor completely lacking interpersonal skills. (Monty, that means everybody thinks you're an asshole).  

On LinkedIn this week I’ve been teasing my intentions here, receiving in reply countless DMs with “I’ll tell you about Monty” in the subject line.  I’ve been politely declining, not having the time to investigate every hypocritical lying bully who ever worked in Sherwin’s suite.  So that I can keep my focus on the only real target: Sherwin-Williams CEO Heidi Petz, who is spending this week in Orlando at that company’s national sales meeting where things were expected to go as well for Petz as they’re going for Griffin here. 

Employees attending NSM were warned not to boo the CEO as she took the stage, though it would be more accurate to say that they were threatened not warned.  Vowing zero tolerance, Petz promised expulsion for anyone with the temerity to dissent, likely getting her the quiet entrance that she wanted.       

Though if she thinks that’s respect, she’s about as smart as Griffin. 

It seems the only people who ever liked you Monty were the voices who told you it was a good idea to lie about me and post those lies on the internet, a lesson I suspect you’ve learned by now. Though Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is not until high school, so it may be some time before you understand it.  

And take notes when you read it Monty, because comprehension might also be a problem. Maybe just shut the fuck up like I told you the first time? (Monty, that means stop talking). Your former coworkers don’t want to hear your shit and you know what I think of liars. And of bullies too stupid to know when not to start a fight.

I’ll be live tonight, January 29^th at 7pm Eastern.  For the first 15 minutes I’ll be recording a podcast summarizing the findings of my investigation into wage theft at Sherwin-Williams, before opening the floor for a no rules Q & A. 

And unlike you Monty, I’ve got nothing to hide.