A couple of weekends ago I listened to an interview on Fresh Air on NPR. They interviewed an ATF agent who had infiltrated a motorcycle gang in order to gain information on them to later prosecute them.

He said that things became very confusing after while, and he could not tell the difference between these two sides of his personality. He said that for weeks on end, he was essentially a gang member. They were his buddies and friends, he drank with them and ate with them. They hugged him and told them they loved him when his Mom died.

Working at the call center I can really relate. No, my life is never in danger, but sometimes I feel like an informant. I've disguised my job enough, and the people and their names, that its very unlikely that anyone will ever find out. But, still, I feel kind of guilty telling stories about my coworkers when I have grown fairly fond of them. They all make me very angry and annoyed sometimes, but they also help me and are my friends. I watch their backs and they watch mine. I guess thats all fairly normal.

Now as far as management is concerned, I have no such guilt. There's never been any love lost there. Besides that, my coworkers may be selfish and petty from time to time, but they do give a damn about their fellow employees. I haven't seen that same human caring communicated from the people that sign our checks and yell when the phones back up though...

Thanks for reading,

AC