Dan Bliss Pictures with the Real World: CSCL proudly present: Collin Brehmer

Today, I interviewed Collin Brehmer, a fellow member of the Real World CSCL, and learned more about who he is and what he believes in. (Besides Santa Claus). Collin is Eighteen years old, and is a freshman at the University of Minnesota. He "isn't really into politics" but when asked he says he is more liberal viewed, but definitely is not a democrat. Collin grew up in Rogers, MN, a nice suburban area about twenty minutes north of the U. Collin is a Christian, though "less traditional" he says. He strongly dislikes people who jump down your throat at first incounter, those who "tell their whole life stories and belief codes to strangers". He calls himself quietly emotional, someone who doesn't let their emotions linger on the surface or make distractions. However, he admits to having an "irish temper" at times. Collin says he can debate, but dislikes when people throw unnecessary/irrelevant insults into arguments. This could come from the debates and arguments he's had with his family, as he described they occasionally bumped heads and lost tempers. He also dislikes arguing about topics in which he does not know, such as politics. To him, they are then exploiting his ignorance to win the argument. He dislikes when people get emotional in arguments, and prefers to settle them with logic and reason. This is reflected by his opinion about strikes, that they do more harm than help. They are too emotional, and push him away from their cause.
Collin worked since sophomore year at a Movie theater in his home town. He says it was a good job, it kept a steady check coming in. However, he was paid minimum wage, with no raises in two years. "The management was lazy, they were supposed to fill out reviews which can lead to raises, and they rarely, almost never filled them out" says Brehmer. In fact, Brehmer was fired for lack of hours, though they were limited as is. "I worked 7-14 hours, which was about one to two shifts per week. At a movie theater, you really can only work weekends and in the summer, when it's actually busy". However, the job was boring, and left Brehmer with a bitter taste of humanity, as people would constantly complain to him about the theater when he really couldn't do anything to help. "The service industry's lower class pretty much sets you up to get shit on constantly" says Brehmer recalling his customer's pointless whining.
His father got his degree in Architecture from the U, but is now an HR director. He worked at a medical company, until it was absorbed by another. He is actually against unions, probably because as an HR Director, they cause him alot of headaches. "My dad hates his job, because he just deals with other people's shit all day" said Brehmer. His father aparently doesn't like to complain about his personal problems, but rather complains about bigger issues. He also isn't part of a union. "He never has had horrible pay of working conditions at his job, so I don't think a Union is necessary." Collin's mom is a special ed teacher for Anoka, and is part of a teacher's union. She is pro-union, but more for her love of teaching rather than improvement in career. According to Collin, she loves her job, working with kids with autism and other disabilities is what she loves.
Collin seems like a person who dislikes conflict. His father's job and complaints about "dealing with other peoples shit" as well as his own belief about logic vs. emotion in debates has structured Collin to avoid/end conflicts in order to go through as little as possible. This structure of feeling thus has affected how he views workers unions. Strikes signify problems, conflicts, and confrontations, all of which Collin would rather avoid or prefers to solve logically, reasonably, and efficiently, vs the Shock and Awe tactics of some protests. Collin's talk about the "service industry" shows he believes that career definitely affects class and status. As far as Unions go, Collin falls in favor of his father. Again, growing up with his father in HR who views unions as a pain in his side at work, and a mother who does not value them highly has helped structure Collin's views of work unions. Also the fact that he has never been in one, makes them seem foreign. Collin says that he dislikes arguing/addressing topics that he is unfamiliar with, and Unions are definitely on that list.
Either way, Collin is a cool guy, and Collin, if you're reading this, I hope I did you justice! I apologize for any offenses I've caused, and note these conclusions are from my opinion. I'm no psychologist, I'm taking the Rousseauean approach and sort of "Making this shit up".