Warning Signs of WPV/SV that YOU Ignore Part 4
Written by Robert D. Sollars
Domestic Violence
As I’ve stated more than a few times in the past, the trapped rat will lash out and fight back at anything that is either trying to kill or befriend it. This, therefore, goes for those who have been the victim of domestic violence (DV).
DV can be endured by both males & females, not to mention child abuse and such for those that are younger. It is absolutely imperative that the supervisors and managers recognize and know the signs of DV. Even if those signs are false for DV, then they need to be investigated.
Bruises, wearing dark glasses, long sleeve shirts in the summer (unless required by their religion), and other such signs are the warning signs of DV. Sometimes those injuries are accompanied by broken bones, with a circular fracture, or dislocated joints – from the shoulder all the way down to the ankles…any joint can be dislocated.
The way to help to combat these things is to have DV counselors in to discuss these issues with the employees/students at least twice a year. These counselors will be able to give service, if someone needs it, or just provide the resources that are available for that who are abused in any way. And again, this can go for men, women, & children, up to and including college students.
Drug and Alcohol Abuse
Never a definitive sign of a potentially violent individual. However, this abuse can be a sign of someone who can be set off like a firecracker, & will fly off the handle at the slightest provocation into violence. The individual who abuses these substances may not even comprehend or know what they are actually doing, because of the drug and alcoholic-induced brain blinding.
In my younger days, I was drunk a lot. I acted in one of 3 ways;
- I got real ‘handsy’ with any female close by.
- I got into a fighting mode and wanted to fight anyone and everyone who came close.
- I also could get morose, which defeated the purpose of getting drunk. In the first place
Unfortunately, left alone like that, there is no one to stop the wild stupid thoughts or actions that run through a person’s brain and cause them to do something completely and totally stupid.
Illegal drugs are another matter altogether. Driving their car naked, taking off their clothes and walking thru a discount store, being naked and jumping on cars and running barefoot on 120-degree asphalt, possibly just smashing windows in a strip mall parking lot…because they didn’t like looking at themselves.
New fascination with Weapons
This fascination may not be anything but then again… Many people develop a fascination with bladed weapons or firearms later on in life. Some turn to hunt as a way to relax and get into nature. Others view firearms as a way to blow off steam at a firing range.
But if this fascination becomes a bit overpowering to the people closest to them and they begin to get scared… But being scared must be tempered with common sense as well. Just because someone is scared of firearms or bladed weapons, doesn’t mean that the other individual is going to kill them…can we say overreacting?
Free Expression
There are many forms of free expression in today’s modern digital world. If you have someone dancing around a 20-ton press, an anodizing pool, or climbing on the railing with skateboards….
Writing poems, short stories, novels, drawing pictures of violent content, or some things like this can be troubling to people. Keep in mind that some people do these things to relax and even blow off the steam of stress, frustration, and anxiety. What would have happened to Stephen King, Boris Vallejo, Dean Koontz, and others who did their stuff now? More than likely, they’d be arrested for making threats or sent to see a psychiatrist.
Excessive social media use & being immersed in it
This is what many old-fashioned and conservative people would call the proverbial sign that something is wrong and “that kid is gonna kill someone someday!”. Partially this is true, but not entirely. Again, as I said in the first post for this series, if there are only 2 or 3 warning signs involved, then there is usually no issue. But when they start to stack up to 5, 6, 8, 10, or more then…
We’ve seen this very recently with the shooting in Buffalo, NY. With the mass shooting inside of a Topp’s grocery store. The perpetrator had immersed himself in social media, and anti-immigrant\black rhetoric and therefore reasoned that he should take action to prevent more immigrants and blacks from being born and “ruining\taking over the country”.
This type of disease is evident in most kids and teenagers. But as long as they aren’t immersed in it and ‘believe’ everything they read, that’s where the parents come in…with an open mind, where the problem comes from. Video games and normal discussions in regular groups are okay, as long as they aren’t entirely violent and spreading racist manure.
Impact on supervisory/instructor time
Impacting on supervisory time will be more pronounced in adults than it is in teenagers. And it will accumulate over a period of time, possibly months. Rarely does someone take so much time it’s noticeable over a few days or weeks?
However, when you have someone that begins to take more time than others to assist, it may be worrisome to both productivity or other items. This is when someone begins to have issues and the superior needs to spend an ever-increasing amount of time counseling, coaching, reprimanding, or just talking to them. And as I said the amount of time will be accumulative.
One week they may spend 10 minutes a day with that person. The next week it’ll be 15, then 20. After a while you may be looking at the fact that one individual is so monopolizing a supervisor’s/instructor’s time, that they don’t have the appropriate amount of time to give to others.
The discussions could be on a range of problems. Attendance issues, not properly shutting down a 50-ton press, reckless driving with a forklift, running willy nilly through the halls and running into others, or just plain discourteous behavior.
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It happens to Anyone…Any Time…Anywhere… For any Reason
I May Be Blind, but My Vision Is Crystal Clear
Copyright 2022 Robert D. Sollars
