Star Jones

At one point on this season of "Celebrity Apprentice," Star Jones got all upset because Meatloaf used a term like "sweetie" or "baby" while they were arguing. She said it was patronizing and unprofessional.

At the time, I thought she was bent out of shape unnecessarily. Now, I feel her.


What changed?

Well, I have a supervisor who likes to send snippy emails and sign them with smiley faces. WHO DOES THIS? You know what I mean, messages like:

"I hope to see you in the office tomorrow:)" and "I need a story for tomorrow ASAP :)"

I'm sure you've seen it before too - sometimes they swap out the smiley face for "Thanks," like putting thanks after a command negates the asshole-ishness of the preceding statement:

"Do me a favor and make sure your hours never again become an issue at 12 p.m. on a Monday. Thanks."

I finally sent him a note that said, "May i ask what's up with all the smiley faces."

Cuz let's be honest; he wouldn't send an email to a male employee with a smiley face signature. This, to me, communicates that you are being unprofessional and condescending, along with insulting my intelligence. I'm a woman, not a baby. Let's go further: I'm a colleague, gender removed.

Clearly, you know you're saying something out the way and need to include some type of gesture to make yourself feel better about it. If you receive absolution from an emoticon, that's fine. I didn't grant it to you, however.