10.THE ENTITLED WOMAN
I got to know her while I was in second year of university and our global issues course TA tossed us together into the small discussion group. We spent about three months talking about poverty, funding of education, migration, health care systems, and so on. We never became friends exactly, though. For one thing, she leaned right and I leaned left. Our different class backgrounds played into that division, I suppose; her father lead a medium sized manufacturing firm and mine was an unemployed technician turned small time contractor. She was always cordial and even friendly a lot of the time, for she would always listen well, wait her turn, signal respect for other opinions, and avoid disdain for someone whose opinions she totally disagreed with. We actually had some great discussions, and that’s mainly why I remember that particular class.
The other reason is because of what eventually happened to Cynthia. That’s her name, this person I met in a class way back then.
Like I said, Cynthia did not seem all that bad socially. She even came across as a shy person in the beginning of our acquaintance. She would give others a chance before sizing them up. She actually read about the subjects for which she had strong opinions, too. She had a decent though not stellar GPA, as far as I recall.She was pretty sure about her views when she had them. She was not verbose but she was quite articulate. She expressed firm self-confidence in herself and her outlook. If she had an opinion, she stood by it all the way. She took that ticket called entitlement to an opinion, and made the most of it. She knew what she knew once she knew it and had it figured out, and was not open to further persuasion once her opinions had formed.
Cynthia always seemed to assume she was beautiful. She shrugged off compliments with a nod and looked away like she was bored. She confided in me and other female classmates that she was well enough endowed to set her sights high, and dismiss many admirers. Well, she was a pretty and well-groomed woman who took care of her skin and figure. Perhaps she thought that she was entitled to compliments and admiring suitors. She was punctual as well as polite. Like I said, she came from a fairly well-off and respected family. Her old man had even enjoyed a stint on the City Council. She had been taught good manners and hygiene, and probably had been taught debating skills at home, and she had the money to groom and dress nicely, and the privilege to travel and get familiar with fine art.
I seem to remember that her father paid for her education. Yes, she told some of us one day when there was some griping about student loans and grants. She never bragged. She just informed us matter-of-factly and crisply about her situation and the causes and conditions of the world. She even told us she was entitled to a good standard of living, the way some young women feel they are ladies who should not have to sweat or get dirty, for whom those willing to sweat and get dirty should run around to assist them and do the sweaty and dirty things for them. I wondered if she had dreamt it or actually believed the myth that she was truly a goddess born on Mount Cynthus who was due high respect and a royal treatment. Cynthia expected to be given a good standard of living, and rise above the unpleasantness and petty problems that most people seem to have to deal with. Either her father could easily afford it, or he strained to keep up appearances, for she enjoyed a comfortable well furnished apartment in a nice part of town, including a gym and spa membership, and a major department store credit card. I know because she used to like to host study sessions there, and pay for the take-out food, which we traded for her privilege of showing off and overpowering us socially.
Cynthia would not tolerate a boyfriend who came from any less fortune than hers, and would not buy into her expectations for herself. She found one who was convinced, and so performed his duties reliably and happily for this would-be princess. He was a smart, clean shaven nice guy excelling in geology who was supposed to enter into the mining industry. After all, his uncle had made a promise and a company had sponsored him, even to the point of supporting his try-outs for the squash team. Juggling classrooms, difficult parents and girlfriend, and keeping up with his commitments to the team as well as his good impression on Cynthia’s parents, he would deprive himself of sleep, cash and meals in order to fulfill his role for Cynthia, picking her up here and there, helping her with her essays, taking her out to suitably good restaurants and shows, et cetera according to her schedule and demands such as the demand to be fashionable vegan and alcohol free.
Cynthia seemed to keep an orderly and clean soul, too. She had the kind of personality that liked to organize things and ideas and emotions into nice neat compartments. That is how she made decisions about the world. Labels suited her. Convenience and expediency guided her. The simple theology of her Church provided guidelines and easy explanations and solutions. The conservative line on crime and punishment suited her schemata, as did the conservative line on refugees, the homeless, public housing, single parenthood, and many other social concerns, not to mention environmentalism and medicine. I do not know how or why people like that are drawn to the social sciences. Maybe it is because the ones who do not excel at math must go into the soft subjects. Not that Cynthia lacked empathy or understanding about suffering; rather, it was just easier for her than most others to make declarations and condemnations, and generally stick to the status quo. She did study and was knowledgable about the things she studied. We cannot say that it was of ignorance that she tended not to support the displaced, exploited and oppressed, and failed to appreciate the contradictions and complex conditions of the judical, education, political and other systems of modern industrial monopoly-capitalist societies. Cynthia seemed to prefer blanket statements and showed little mercy.
Perhaps that is why and how she made it into management. Come to think of it, it may have been her intention. While other students were worrying about the unemployment rate and whether there were enough good jobs to be had after graduation, Cynthia knew she could step smoothly into her father’s company, and that’s what she eventually did, after a year of travel and a couple of flings, of course. I think she wound up with a Communications major and started out in the marketing department. She learned the ropes with ample coaching and privilege, and worked hard, working her way into a corporate executive position and the typical lifestyle that went hand-in-hand with such a position.
I know about her career because I ran into year a few years after graduation. In fact, I ended up doing some work for the company, which put me in contact with her.
I was a social and environmental standards consultant working for a non-profit organization often contracted by the government. Actually, I had no specific training for environmental assessment, as I specialized in social issues and policy, but they trained me and wanted the agency to work in that capacity. I just had to study the state environmental definitions of terms and policy. Anyway, companies were interested in the incentives offered by the state, which were tax breaks, grants and awards. Companies had financial and publicity interests in complying. One day I was assigned to meet the management in Cynthia’s company.
First, we went out to celebrate the reunion. We met for drinks and dinner. We were sitting in the lounge of the steak and seafood joint catching up.
“You seem the same,” she told me.
“I don’t know,” I answered, “but things are going well.”
“Do you enjoy your work?”
“Yes, generally, but it comes and goes.”
“I see. Do you want to start your own organization?”
“I think about it. Maybe….Actually, you seem a little changed—more worldly, I guess.”
“Well, I hope so. Are you really saying I’ve got the creases on my face to prove it? You’re looking good. Taking care of yourself, I suppose.”
I noticed a few lines of wear, but I denied it, of course. We were being as polite as usual. Neither did I express curiosity about the large diamond on her finger.
“I know, you don’t have to point it out. I work hard. There are issues, naturally, from time to time. Actually, I worry about my father. Sometimes his decisions are not as sound as they used to be, I’m afraid.
At work the next day, we got down to business. I presented an outline of the policies and guidelines, and made some recommendations at a management meeting.
Cynthia was there. From her perspective, company image was the central issue. “We want to be known as a green business,” she asserted. Then she said that the executive team were sincere She showed me some memos about energy conservation and some figures to show the company’s estimated energy savings since energy saving practices had been initiated. Also, there were plans to install solar panels, she announced. Furthermore, the company was investigating digitalized timers as well as plumbing devices to conserve water and power consumption, and the e-newsletter had an article about a contest among employees to come up with energy saving and waste prevention ideas. Another executive chimed in with a plea for the government to take notice of this achievement and award the company accordingly, especially so that there would be funds for the solar panels and faucets. Cynthia bolstered the claim in saying that the advertising agency had prepared an environmental protection message to be woven into the company’s advertisements in the future. A new pamphlet was displayed on the meeting table. When I talked about suppliers, they produced a list of new greener suppliers they said they were contacting.
I left the meeting and filed a report. Some months later, the office notified them that a grant was forthcoming, and that the company name earned the right to be named on the list of energy efficient businesses in the region.
The following year, I went back for a follow-up meeting. We still had not received the required report about how the government funds had been used to make the business more environmentally responsible. The was an accountability check system, and I had a small role to play as the principal contact.
“Could you show me what changes have been made?” For instance, did you buy the solar panels or digitally controlled water faucets? The replies were defensive. There had been problems with the contractor and arguments with the finance officer concerning the costs of installation and maintenance. “Well, then, how did you use the funds in the end?”
“Oh, purchasing plans have been stalled, but we have been successful in implementing the internal policies on energy, paper and water usage in the offices and plant.” Data was flashed at me, showing the reduced hours of indoor lighting as well as water meter readings and estimates of paper recycling quantities.
“That is very good,” I said. “Congratulations on reducing electricity, water and paper. On behalf of the government—you know I am acting on behalf of the state in my role as consultant here—we would like to be enlightened on the use of the state funding for environmental efficiency. When can we have the report?”
They hummed and hawed. I called my supervisor in the government bureau who suggested a new final deadline. I relayed the warning and gave the new deadline. I got, “fines” and “no problems” and the like.
I did not see Cynthia on that occasion. She was on some business trip, so her secretary reported. She emailed me to invite me to join her at a café a week later. I agreed to the meeting, but I stayed away from any business converation.
“How’s it going?” she inquired. She looked thin and had dark circles under her eyes. I told her that I was taking a creative writing course. “Oh, you’ve got a new hobby? That’s great.”
“So do you have a hobby?”
“Me. No, no time. I just go to yoga classes and I like jazz.”
We continued the small talk and suddenly she mentioned that her condo was on the market. “Are you going for something bigger and better?”
“No, not yet. Actually, I’m going to live with my dad for awhile. I’m the only child, and, you know, he’s single these days. I think he needs a hand and would like the company, though he says he’s fine.”
“I see.”
Time passed and we did not get a report. Someone called their bank, and we learned informally that the company was in debt. An official contacted the company to ask for clarification and offer to make some special arrangement, but the replies were rather vague.
Knowing I had a personal contact, I was pushed to call and try to find out more. Cynthia called me back after two messages. “Frankly,” she confided, “the market has changed and we’re not selling as well as before. My dad is too stuck in his ways to change. I’m sorry.”
Apparently, the government environmental funds had been put towards regular operational expenses. I guess the real motive for saving energy and water was to find funds to pay off some bills. Anyway, the company lost the government’s energy efficiency seal, which they tried to contest but failed. An order for repayment of the grant was sent, but the company was soon declared bankrupt.
I never saw Cynthia in person again. I had only one more correspondence after that episode. Her father got cancer on top of the court notices. I was invited to the funeral. It was a smaller ceremony than the family had probably wanted, I imagine, but I realized that he had been unable to keep up with the life insurance payments. I overheard some relative telling guests that his house had just been sold, but a lot of the proceeds were garnished to creditors and medical payments-to both Cynthia and her dad. Cynthia was absent from the funeral because she was confined in a substance abuse rehabilitation program. No trace of her fiance was to be heard or seen.
There was a news article that stood out in my mind. It appeared a few months following her father’s funeral. Cynthia had been arrested for theft. The article said she had fallen off the wagon and was so badly off that she was stealing to support her habit.
I suppose that this entitled woman is entitled to a few more things in life now. She’s likely entitled to a lawyer and a fair trial, a medical and psychological assessment, medical care, consideration for state security, and such.
END