“In what some consider one of the most far-reaching social policy moves in the corporate world, the National Association of Realtors, called the nation’s largest trade organization, has revised its professional ethics code to ban “hate speech and harassing speech” by its 1.4 million members.
The sweeping prohibition applies to association members 24/7, covering all communication, private and professional, written and spoken, online and off. Punishment could top out at a maximum fine of $15,000 and expulsion from the organization.
Mary Wagner, a Buffalo real estate agent who is white and lesbian, says the move, announced in November, fits her vision for creating a fairer society. She predicts thousands of complaints this year, given the realtor association’s enormous size and the overheated climate of social media.
“I was thrilled to hear it,” Wagner said in a phone interview. “I think it’s long overdue.”
NAR’s decision, allowing any member of the public to file a complaint, has alarmed other real estate agents, and also some legal and ethics experts, who say the hate speech ban’s vagueness is an invitation to censor controversial political opinions, especially on race and gender. While that’s not the association’s stated intention, the skeptics say their fears are justified by the hyperactive “cancel culture” online that has jettisoned hapless workers for posting “all lives matter” and objecting to gay marriage.
“The dam has broken and other organizations will look at this,” predicted Robert Föehl, a professor of business ethics and business law at Ohio University.”
Good morning. Roosters are crowing. Husband is snoring. The baby on his lap is too.
Physical therapy went well yesterday for little guy. We have been incorporating in many of the things she suggested (it was online) and he is quite cooperative. Most of it we were already doing to some extent, just normal how to play with your baby stuff, but we got some new ideas so that is good, and encouragement to push him a bit harder in some areas
Morning all! The sky is beginning to lighten and I need one more cup of coffee to open fully these eyes! Pretty frosty photo up there…..
Good news about little guy Mumsee…I love how you love him ♥️
AJ. I am already very familiar with it. Remember I had an agent get targeted by the FB Mafia back in May. He resigned, shut down all social media, and moved to another state on the advice of an attorney.
Only recently I have been “disciplined “ for making the comment t somewhere that we need to eliminate the word “N I double double grrrr feom our language starting with rap and other music. Apparently because I am not a minority I don’t get to have an opinion.
It’s a scary world.
That frost was from a day that frost was everywhere, and each thing I saw was more beautiful than the one before. That was thick grass growing near the pond, and the frost on it was roughly half an inch thick. I only saw it because I dropped something and bent to pick it up.
So nice to hear that the little guy is doing well. When I awoke in the night I sang simple hymns, the ones that I do with the littles, and prayed for many of you. It is amazing how peaceful it is to quietly sing, “God is so good….” during the night while praying.
speaking of the littles, I’d better get up and at em for whatever adventures this day may hold. Hearing a chain saw next door, wonder what is coming down.
That’s who’s birthday it is! What a relief to know! 🙂
Here’s another heartwarming story. This is one is off Facebook and came with a photo of a very pretty young girl kneeling in the aisle and communicating with an older, world-weary-looking man.
I saw this gentleman, Tim, in Boston’s Logan airport with the sister he’d been visiting. It appeared he was both deaf and blind, as I observed her signing into his hand for him to feel her words.
When he came aboard the plane he had been assigned the middle seat of my row. The kind gentleman who had the aisle seat graciously gave it up for him.
At this point, Tim was traveling alone. The flight attendants sincerely wanted to assist him but had no way to communicate. I watched as they didn’t flinch when he reached out to touch their faces and arms. They took his hand and tried so hard to communicate with him, to no avail. He had some verbal ability but clearly could not understand them.
The man who had given up his seat did his best to assist him with things like opening coffee creamer and putting it in his coffee. When Tim made the attempt to stand up and feel his way to the restroom, his seatmate immediately was up to help him.
The flight attendants were talking among themselves and someone suggested paging to see if anyone on board knew sign language. That’s when this lovely young woman came into the picture. 15 years old, she learned ASL because she had dyslexia and it was the easiest foreign language for her to learn.
For the rest of the flight, she attended to Tim and made sure his needs were met.
It was fascinating to watch as she signed one letter at a time into his hand. He was able to ‘read’ her signing and they carried on an animated conversation. When he asked her if she was pretty, she blushed and laughed as the seatmate, who had learned a few signs, communicated an enthusiastic yes to Tim.
I don’t know when I’ve ever seen so many people rally to take care of another human being. All of us in the immediate rows were laughing and smiling and enjoying his obvious delight in having someone to talk to.
Huge kudos to the flight attendants of Alaska Airlines who went above and beyond to meet Tim’s needs.
I can’t say enough about this beautiful young woman named Clara who didn’t think twice about helping her fellow passenger.
It was a beautiful reminder, in this time of too much awfulness, that there are still good, good people who are willing to look out for each other.
*****
Adding my own two bits, I’ve experienced mostly kind and thoughtful people while flying. (Seems like a dream, doesn’t it?). The brutes and boorish have been the exception in my many years of traveling.
I love how when the chips are down, so many people step right up and help. That’s what I’m celebrating today.
It’s foggy here today. I dreamed that I looked out the window and for the first time noticed that my Jeep Cherokee was (A) white and (B) a convertible! Made me not feel so bad that I no longer have a sunroof. lol
Guess the car was floating around in my dreams as I need to take it back to the dealer today to have the pre-paid paint coating applied, something that will take 4 hours. They said they have a space there w/WiFi where I can set up to work if I want to just wait for the car, which I may plan to do at this point. If it’s not that workable, or I feel it’s not particularly covid-safe, I will have to call for a ride home and figure out a ride back to pick it up, which is a lot more of a hassle.
I also need a quick and easy story to do. I spent part of this week trying just to get re-acclimated to what was going on in my beat, the other half getting congressional rep and other quotes to feed into react stories from the bigger news going on.
Michelle’s story of Tim, the blind and deaf man, reminds me how I used to love flying Alaska Airlines up and down the west coast. Their attendants were always friendly and helpful. They don’t fly non-stop from here to LA, though.
Yes, Alaska Airlines seems like a very good one. My SIL flies it often for work in AK.
The frost is sensational here right now. We had some slippery roads and fog at the beginning of our drive, but thankfully that turned into dry highway. I did take some pictures with my phone, but it never does justice to the beauty.
DJ, I usually find the dealership waiting rooms to be quite pleasant. Especially, the new Honda upscale building here inside the perimeter is beautiful. But since they have the new facility I have noticed they find more things to repair than they use to. Funny how that works.
I DVR Jeopardy since it comes on at noon here. But today the DVR didn’t record it. There’s a glitch in the software that occasionally deletes the scheduled shows. And today it did its thing. I wonder if it’s on youtube.
Peter, I doubt it will be on Youtube before it has played in other markets. It’s on at 7:00 or 7:30 in most places, I think, which means it will be an hour before it plays here and several hours before it plays in California. Apparently it includes a 30-second “farewell” from Alex.
The dealership room (although this was their Cilajet subsidiary, where they do the paint coating work) worked out fine, I was all alone, easy to sign into guest WiFi, got a story done — even had good phone connection.
It took about 3 hours and the car looks gorgeous, this is a process where they seal the clear coat, it’s supposed to last for 10 years. They also do the interior, seats, etc.
Seems like this vaccine rollout in very specific categories isn’t working so well? Maybe we’ll all get vaccinated by 2022. Maybe.
Thanks for the heads up Cheryl. Paul and I try to watch Jeopardy in the evenings at 6. We were happy to have seen the last episode and the farewell…with a tear in the eye…he was a class act ♥️
Wandering Views 
Good morning AJ, et.al.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Morning Chas.
Here’s one Kim might have an interest in, not that she would use such language. 🙂
https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2021/01/08/realtor_groups_big_move_to_ban_sales-agent_hate_speech_in_private_247_126671.html
“In what some consider one of the most far-reaching social policy moves in the corporate world, the National Association of Realtors, called the nation’s largest trade organization, has revised its professional ethics code to ban “hate speech and harassing speech” by its 1.4 million members.
The sweeping prohibition applies to association members 24/7, covering all communication, private and professional, written and spoken, online and off. Punishment could top out at a maximum fine of $15,000 and expulsion from the organization.
Mary Wagner, a Buffalo real estate agent who is white and lesbian, says the move, announced in November, fits her vision for creating a fairer society. She predicts thousands of complaints this year, given the realtor association’s enormous size and the overheated climate of social media.
“I was thrilled to hear it,” Wagner said in a phone interview. “I think it’s long overdue.”
NAR’s decision, allowing any member of the public to file a complaint, has alarmed other real estate agents, and also some legal and ethics experts, who say the hate speech ban’s vagueness is an invitation to censor controversial political opinions, especially on race and gender. While that’s not the association’s stated intention, the skeptics say their fears are justified by the hyperactive “cancel culture” online that has jettisoned hapless workers for posting “all lives matter” and objecting to gay marriage.
“The dam has broken and other organizations will look at this,” predicted Robert Föehl, a professor of business ethics and business law at Ohio University.”
LikeLiked by 3 people
Good morning. Roosters are crowing. Husband is snoring. The baby on his lap is too.
Physical therapy went well yesterday for little guy. We have been incorporating in many of the things she suggested (it was online) and he is quite cooperative. Most of it we were already doing to some extent, just normal how to play with your baby stuff, but we got some new ideas so that is good, and encouragement to push him a bit harder in some areas
LikeLiked by 10 people
Morning all! The sky is beginning to lighten and I need one more cup of coffee to open fully these eyes! Pretty frosty photo up there…..
Good news about little guy Mumsee…I love how you love him ♥️
LikeLiked by 4 people
Here are the funnies for the week. If you saw the link the other day you’ll see the old ones as well.
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Am I the only person who looks at the date and thinks, “ This date looks familiar. Who’s birthday is it?”
And never remembers?
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It’s my 6th grandchild’s birthday today. She is 1 year old.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Good morning! I have been listening to the sweet sound of birds singing and reminding that spring is around the corner.
On that real estate agent regulation, I think people need to start investing in muzzles. Oh, wait! Isn’t that what face masks are preparing us for?
LikeLiked by 1 person
AJ. I am already very familiar with it. Remember I had an agent get targeted by the FB Mafia back in May. He resigned, shut down all social media, and moved to another state on the advice of an attorney.
Only recently I have been “disciplined “ for making the comment t somewhere that we need to eliminate the word “N I double double grrrr feom our language starting with rap and other music. Apparently because I am not a minority I don’t get to have an opinion.
It’s a scary world.
LikeLiked by 4 people
That frost was from a day that frost was everywhere, and each thing I saw was more beautiful than the one before. That was thick grass growing near the pond, and the frost on it was roughly half an inch thick. I only saw it because I dropped something and bent to pick it up.
LikeLiked by 4 people
So nice to hear that the little guy is doing well. When I awoke in the night I sang simple hymns, the ones that I do with the littles, and prayed for many of you. It is amazing how peaceful it is to quietly sing, “God is so good….” during the night while praying.
LikeLiked by 5 people
speaking of the littles, I’d better get up and at em for whatever adventures this day may hold. Hearing a chain saw next door, wonder what is coming down.
LikeLiked by 2 people
That’s who’s birthday it is! What a relief to know! 🙂
Here’s another heartwarming story. This is one is off Facebook and came with a photo of a very pretty young girl kneeling in the aisle and communicating with an older, world-weary-looking man.
I saw this gentleman, Tim, in Boston’s Logan airport with the sister he’d been visiting. It appeared he was both deaf and blind, as I observed her signing into his hand for him to feel her words.
When he came aboard the plane he had been assigned the middle seat of my row. The kind gentleman who had the aisle seat graciously gave it up for him.
At this point, Tim was traveling alone. The flight attendants sincerely wanted to assist him but had no way to communicate. I watched as they didn’t flinch when he reached out to touch their faces and arms. They took his hand and tried so hard to communicate with him, to no avail. He had some verbal ability but clearly could not understand them.
The man who had given up his seat did his best to assist him with things like opening coffee creamer and putting it in his coffee. When Tim made the attempt to stand up and feel his way to the restroom, his seatmate immediately was up to help him.
The flight attendants were talking among themselves and someone suggested paging to see if anyone on board knew sign language. That’s when this lovely young woman came into the picture. 15 years old, she learned ASL because she had dyslexia and it was the easiest foreign language for her to learn.
For the rest of the flight, she attended to Tim and made sure his needs were met.
It was fascinating to watch as she signed one letter at a time into his hand. He was able to ‘read’ her signing and they carried on an animated conversation. When he asked her if she was pretty, she blushed and laughed as the seatmate, who had learned a few signs, communicated an enthusiastic yes to Tim.
I don’t know when I’ve ever seen so many people rally to take care of another human being. All of us in the immediate rows were laughing and smiling and enjoying his obvious delight in having someone to talk to.
Huge kudos to the flight attendants of Alaska Airlines who went above and beyond to meet Tim’s needs.
I can’t say enough about this beautiful young woman named Clara who didn’t think twice about helping her fellow passenger.
It was a beautiful reminder, in this time of too much awfulness, that there are still good, good people who are willing to look out for each other.
*****
Adding my own two bits, I’ve experienced mostly kind and thoughtful people while flying. (Seems like a dream, doesn’t it?). The brutes and boorish have been the exception in my many years of traveling.
I love how when the chips are down, so many people step right up and help. That’s what I’m celebrating today.
LikeLiked by 5 people
It’s foggy here today. I dreamed that I looked out the window and for the first time noticed that my Jeep Cherokee was (A) white and (B) a convertible! Made me not feel so bad that I no longer have a sunroof. lol
Guess the car was floating around in my dreams as I need to take it back to the dealer today to have the pre-paid paint coating applied, something that will take 4 hours. They said they have a space there w/WiFi where I can set up to work if I want to just wait for the car, which I may plan to do at this point. If it’s not that workable, or I feel it’s not particularly covid-safe, I will have to call for a ride home and figure out a ride back to pick it up, which is a lot more of a hassle.
I also need a quick and easy story to do. I spent part of this week trying just to get re-acclimated to what was going on in my beat, the other half getting congressional rep and other quotes to feed into react stories from the bigger news going on.
LikeLike
Michelle’s story of Tim, the blind and deaf man, reminds me how I used to love flying Alaska Airlines up and down the west coast. Their attendants were always friendly and helpful. They don’t fly non-stop from here to LA, though.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yes, Alaska Airlines seems like a very good one. My SIL flies it often for work in AK.
The frost is sensational here right now. We had some slippery roads and fog at the beginning of our drive, but thankfully that turned into dry highway. I did take some pictures with my phone, but it never does justice to the beauty.
LikeLiked by 2 people
DJ, I usually find the dealership waiting rooms to be quite pleasant. Especially, the new Honda upscale building here inside the perimeter is beautiful. But since they have the new facility I have noticed they find more things to repair than they use to. Funny how that works.
LikeLiked by 2 people
The first snow of the season is falling in Greensboro.
Not sticking to roads, but will likely be slippery tomorrow.
LikeLiked by 1 person
For those of you who occasionally watch Jeopardy, tonight it Alex’s last show, the one that was originally taped to run Christmas Day.
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I DVR Jeopardy since it comes on at noon here. But today the DVR didn’t record it. There’s a glitch in the software that occasionally deletes the scheduled shows. And today it did its thing. I wonder if it’s on youtube.
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Peter, I doubt it will be on Youtube before it has played in other markets. It’s on at 7:00 or 7:30 in most places, I think, which means it will be an hour before it plays here and several hours before it plays in California. Apparently it includes a 30-second “farewell” from Alex.
LikeLike
The dealership room (although this was their Cilajet subsidiary, where they do the paint coating work) worked out fine, I was all alone, easy to sign into guest WiFi, got a story done — even had good phone connection.
It took about 3 hours and the car looks gorgeous, this is a process where they seal the clear coat, it’s supposed to last for 10 years. They also do the interior, seats, etc.
Seems like this vaccine rollout in very specific categories isn’t working so well? Maybe we’ll all get vaccinated by 2022. Maybe.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Cheryl- It often gets posted by someone on youtube the next day. I don’t know if they get pulled due to copyright laws, but they are there.
As for the farewell, the Jeopardy! website often has those posted.
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Thanks for the heads up Cheryl. Paul and I try to watch Jeopardy in the evenings at 6. We were happy to have seen the last episode and the farewell…with a tear in the eye…he was a class act ♥️
LikeLiked by 2 people