Don't want to talk about

Politics. Yes, this post is about politics. At least to some degree.
I don't want to be a political blog, but I'm inclined to be interested in them, so I won't promise that this is the last one. But US politics will rarely be the focus.
It's in religion, sex and everything we do and say
Yes, Mr. Davis. That's what I'm saying.
I'll look the other way, won't you
No, sorry, not going to happen. You seem to have things locked down on the Korn front. You go ahead and do that, I'll blog about politics.
Anyway, we're talking about griping today, particularly the griping of assistant managers. Griping is the intrinsic right of every working person. Some do it more artfully, or enthusiastically, than others. There's also a fine line between griping and complaining. But that's a different post.
No, the issue at hand is the trap that those who have some authority, but also have direct supervisors, are placed in. Go ahead and watch this clip from Saving Private Ryan; the most important part begins around 2:00.
The effect of what Captain Miller expresses is that there's little room for griping, the more responsibility you have. Let's say Bill works at The Store. He's been there a while, so Bob, the manager, gives him Department A. If Bill has a minor problem (annoyance) with Joe, an employee in Dept. A, if he gripes or gossips to Bob, it seems like he's trying to get Joe fired, when perhaps Bill just wants to let off steam, because Joe's usually a good worker. If Bill has a problem with Ellen, who has Dept. B, griping or gossiping to Bob looks like infighting. But Bill can't talk to his employees, either, because it would be inappropriate to either degrade or attack a fellow employee, or even worse, undercut the authority that Ellen or, more importantly, Bob has over his employees. See? Bill's stuck.
In my experience, Bill ends up talking to his employees, at least ones that he trusts. To some degree, this creates tighter bonds there, and might improve that work relationship. But it can also place strain on the trusted employee's relationship with those griped about. Worse, it can blur lines of authority, which is never good.
The importance of this issue is not so significant at The Store. It's of much greater significance in the military, where respect of authority is of the utmost necessity. That's why McChrystal got tossed. I have mixed feelings about that, but, again, another post. Although, Petraeus is in Afghanistan now, and I think that's a good thing. He seems like a good guy. I'd recommend perusing his Wikipedia there...did you know he was shot in the chest with an M-16 in '91?

So basically, it sucks to be an irritated assistant manager. I understand that. But I also kind of wish that mine would stop griping to me.