I know I can be a horse’s ass sometimes, but that guy up there in the picture would tell you he takes umbrage with you comparing me to his hindquarters, upon which he places a high esteem. Therefore, says Mr. Horse here on the dusty back stretches of my semi ruralish route, keep your insults on a human level, and don’t go getting other species involved.

We human beings are pretty good at slinging insults at one another, and most of the time this petty effrontery pretty much equates to the waste products that come out of my horse friend’s back end. Sometimes these barbs are good-natured fun, but on occasion they cross over the line into nastiness. Despite all the warnings about mutual respect that comprise the text of many a Station Manager or Postmaster’s sermon after some postal employee’s slip of the tongue has crossed the line, we continue to push the limits and test what we can get away with while wearing the postal blue.

This inter-carrier squabbling almost always works against the unity and solidarity that is required to stand up to management’s often unrealistic expectations, and even contributes to the “divide and conquer” strategy that supervisors use to turn us against one another.

Read more:   The Postal Tsunami by Mel Carriere: Are you a Robber or a Runner – Thoughts on Inter-Carrier Conflicts.