Long overdue update and politics

I want to thank all of you for your patience and must apologize in advance that this will be brief.

I have been so busy lately that my email responses (to the few people that actually send me emails) have been, at best, hastily scrawled notes about what I would like to do, or what I intend to do.

In terms of what I will be doing with this blog, at this time, could best be described as "maintaining". I think that it has earned itself a place here and should not be discontinued. I also know that it is not something that I can devote very much time to currently. However, and very fortunately, all of you - the readers and authors - have proven to be much more effective at continuing the discussion than I ever could.

To that end, here is what I have resolved to do for the time being.

Concerning the DMCA takedown notices, I will do nothing. If any of you feel strongly enough about the dozen or so posts that were removed, please contact me with a game-plan that involves more you than me :D and I will see if I can help. Otherwise, lets show them we can't be bullied by "doubling our efforts" in other areas.

Concerning criticizing Pink Truth, I will resume posting a "today on Pink Truth" with the notable difference being a link to that day's Pink Truth post. I encourage you to go visit the post in question, gather your thoughts, bring them over here and tell the world. We now KNOW that "they" read over here. We also know that through honest, unfiltered back-and-forth discussion, understanding can take place. Let's hope that this is the beginning of some really good discussion, by 'both sides'.

Concerning Mary Kay, please feel free to express, openly and honestly, any concerns you have and allow others to either echo or speak to those concerns.

Concerning politics, well, they are a part of our life right about now, aren't they? You will notice that the current poll runs all the way through until the day after election day. Please feel free to change your vote (on this site) as often as you like, right up until after you cast your real vote. If you are leaning one way, and suddenly start leaning the other way, feel free to change your vote to reflect that leaning. The three of you, for instance, that are currently undecided... I hope that we see your votes move to one of the other columns before the poll closes. Keep in mind that I can not see who voted at all... so I won't be judging you... even if your decision is to not vote!

That is all for now. As always, please feel free to leave your thoughts about all of this. It is, after all, your thoughts that make this site what it is. Even more importantly, please be sure to stop by, from time to time - if not daily - to leave your thoughts about Pink Truth or Mary Kay.

My most profound thanks for every one of you in your loyalty and support of this blog.

Pink Truth and Balanced Mary Kay Joining forces to expose Mary Kay?

That's right, you heard it hear first.

This post is, as Wikipedia is fond of saying, a "stub". A thought popped into my little head, and as things have been (relatively) quiet around here, I figured I would share.

You see, Pink Truth is not all that different from this site. Really.

Now if you think I am off my rocker, keep reading... this gets better.

The "ah ha" moment, the "one thing" that sparked this thought for me... came from.... none other than, wait for it...

...

"Raisinberry" (for those of you that do not follow Pink Truth, "raisinberry" is one of the more prolific commentators on that site)

That's right, "raisinberry" said something that made me realize that, almost unilaterally, the folks that post over there and the folks that post over here, fundamentally speaking, see eye to eye.

Think about it.

Most (if not all) here hate manipulation. Religious or otherwise, we can't stand it.

So do they.

Most (if not all) here hate false income claims. From cars to paychecks to commissions to "quit your job" lines, we hate to hear about it.

So do they.

Most (if not all) here hate pyramid schemes. Whether it is perpetuated in Mary Kay, or in "life outside of Mary Kay", we disapprove.

So do they.

I could go on.

Fundamentally speaking, the stuff they hate about Mary Kay, we hate.

The only "little detail" we disagree on is how widespread these problems are in Mary Kay. (They more, us less.)

So, in "healthy" negotiating style, I propose a 'set-aside'. We both agree to "set aside" the part we disagree about, and explore just how much we do agree about.

Having said all that, let me ask you to consider the following quote from "raisinberry". Yes, the one that lit the little light bulb in my little head. Those of you that have "issues" with "raisinberry", set them aside for a moment. Allow yourself to picture someone that came to the realization that she had been lied to, and was manipulated into lying to other women. Imagine how you would feel (or recall how you have felt in a similar situation), remove the "Mary Kay" factor from this completely, and just picture this purely in terms of someone that got scammed.... bad.

"That means, all those women whose faces we looked into and believed were either masterfully duped themselves or fully aware predators. That is the scariest thing of all...listening to, modeling your behavior, repeating the words that work from, and otherwise obeying a voice in complete denial...or one that is frankly a sociopath. Who can watch the financial life blood drain out of her directors year after years after year and not give a rats rear? Who can say, "no, next!" being a party to phony words that manipulate women into coughing up another round of wholesale?"

Do we not all agree that, assuming there is a real person that embodies the evil she speaks of here, a person who would do this to another person is someone who (at best) should be avoided?

Really, our mission is the same. We do not want people to be victims. We want to stop the culprits.

Do you think this is possible? Is there hope that we could "meet in the middle" and actually do some good? What are your thoughts about this?

The trouble with Mary Kay - Is Pink Truth on to something?

There is a common consensus, it seems, that Mary Kay is not perfect.

Recently, "objective1" pointed out:

"I never believed Mary Kay should "implode" but I did believe that the injustices, such as those that Judi and Blessed's wife encountered, should be addressed.

and

"I know there is still work to do but this blog and each of your involvments in it is a beacon of hope to finally resolve the issues"

Well that got me thinking.

I guess one way of looking at this blog is that it is the product of me being a guy, and as a guy, I feel the need to fix things.

Maybe that is the case, maybe not. Maybe this is meant to be a place where people can get together and air their differences, maybe it is meant to be more than that.

Maybe, over the course of getting things out in the open and having some genuine back and forth discussion, we have come to a place that we can identify what the problem (or problems) is (are) and fix it (them). Maybe not.

My response to "objective1" was (and still is):

"However, we are still quite a way off.

First, we need to determine exactly what the problem is.

Then, we need to determine a course (or courses) of action that could fix the problem.

Then, we need to get mass support. A few hundred people on a blog is a good start, but 70,000 beauty consultants all saying, "we want _______" is a much stronger voice!"

So, I put it to all of you.

This blog is not even a year old yet. Is it time for us to start "figuring out" some problems? Or do we still need to have open conversations? Do we need more structure? Or is our current style working out well?

What does this website mean to you?

What do you like? What would you like to see? Would you miss it if it was gone?

Digging deeper, what would it need to look like for you to tell your unit about it? If I said, "I want every consultant in Mary Kay to know about this site", what would it need to look like?

If Pink Truth can (effectively) accuse Mary Kay of harboring great secrets because of an unwritten policy of always thinking positive, there must be some truth to it. It would not register if it didn't have an edge. What would it take to create a niche that everyone knew about, where ideas, concerns, and even criticisms could be shared without fear of ostracism?

Think carefully, because, obviously, a free-for-all forum where anyone can say anything is no more the answer than a closely guarded forum that reflects only the opinions of the guardians.

Please, please, please, do not think that you have to wait until you have the perfect solution to comment on this. Please realize that your idea may be shot down here. I am not proposing that this will be easy. Say what you feel. Allow other people to say what they feel. The internet is a powerful tool and I believe we can utilize it to effect some real positive change.

The question is, "How?"

Is Mary Kay Broken? How can it be fixed?

On the most recent post, "Pink Truth: How much inventory does Mary Kay require? an interesting point was raised.

"Speaking the Real Truth" suggests:

"I am convinced that we need to "take back the company" from some of the craziness that we have seen the past few years. If that means that we lose some consultants and directors along the way, then so be it. We need to "weed" the garden for lack of a better term. We only need to debut directors who are READY for directorship, who are established in their own personal businesses and ready to lead others with commitment and integrity.

If that means a little less recruiting, debuting, etc. for a while, then again, so be it. I see it as trimming off the unhealthy parts so that the healthy part can thrive."

Now some people probably think that there is nothing wrong with Mary Kay the way it is! Some of you may think that Mary Kay is so broken that nothing can be done to fix it. Still others probably agree with "STRT" on this and think that "something" needs to be done.

Sort it out here.

Can Mary Kay be saved? Does it even need to be saved? What, oh what, can be done... if anything?

This is your chance to tell the world what you would do if you were in charge!

The lines are wide open... Take a crack.

And be sure to thank STRT for inspiring this one! (Perhaps it is not too late to convince her to be an author for this site?)