Our Insular Circles

Sometimes I think I have a pretty diverse group of friends. I have engineering friends (of course), I have friends who are lawyers, doctors, phds in bio-chemistry, officers in the military. I even know a couple people in the social 'sciences'. :)

But I recently came across a poignant reminder of just how limited my social circle actually is. I went and looked up a Tucson restaurant, the Firkin and Friar, on yelp.
Some friends of mine actually opened that restaurant, and I ate there recently while I was in Tucson. (If you're in Tucson, let me recommend their Irish nachos... MMMMMMM good).

I found one review, and I clicked on this guy's profile to see what else he had reviewed. Funnily enough, he has a review of the Lisa Frank factory. I happen to know where Lisa Frank is because I lived right by it. However, before I moved down south I had no idea that it was there. Now read this review:

Do not work here... ever. I worked here for two years and it was hands-down the worst, most toxic work environment I have ever been in. Tyranical owners and management, belittlement of staff, shady business dealings and generally unethical treatment of employees... all only the tip of the iceberg.

If you are moving to Tucson and looking for work, avoid this place like the plague. People who live here have almost certainly heard horror stories from friends or friends-of-friends. I saw countless hires relocate to Tucson to work at Lisa Frank only to be fired within months. The staff turnover there is unbelievable.

If I could give zero stars, I would.

original review here

Have I heard stories from friends or friends-of-friends? No. You know why? Because I don't know a single person who works in a factory. In fact, I don't even think anyone I know has any friends who work in a factory. My dad worked in a factory in college, which was about 40 years ago. That's as close as I can get.

Is it just me, or are our social-economic strata really isolated?