What's an editor that doesn't read?

It's been 10 years since I started this job. I write and read more than I ever did in college. I'm sucked into the literary world and become addicted to the Indonesian formal language in writing. I follow the linguist influencer, I read the dictionary, I make friends with a thesaurus. I'm so much in love with this thing.

That's why being an editor is pretty much a joyride. On the one hand, I get to read and check various sentences. But, I also get to face how many people ignore the beauty of the language. People write the way they talk and do not even bother to read it. As a result, their sentences are full bullshit and hard to be understood.

It's unfortunate.

But the saddest one is that the higher-level education, the lack ability to use proper written language. We're so used to insert complicated words to show off our knowledge but failed to deliver the message effectively.

An editor is a guard to maintain the author's quality. What happens when the editor has a prejudice that the author won't make it. Or worse, what makes an editor who doesn't even bother to read the author's work?

The Chinese drama I'm following these days, Moonlight, depicts this situation. The male editor doesn't even bother to put his feet on his authors' shoes. He pushes his ideals and forces authors to follow his idea. It's coming from someone who doesn't even read. The other male character also intimidates his female subordinate by brushing off their words, pulling annoying looks, disrespecting them, and even stealing the credit.

I'm on episode 15, and somehow it comes to sexism in the literary business. Men don't have enough competence to do the core job, editing. Yet, they rise because they know how to ride the wind. They have time to suck up the upper management because they don't have to go home and make dinner, right?

They have free time, a privilege hardly occurs for a woman, especially when she's a mother.

A woman needs to work at home too, cuddling the kids, serving the husband, making sure the in-laws are happy. A man doesn't need to do that.

So, if the Female Lead gets bitchy for the male colleague who doesn't work as good as she is, yet getting more credit than he deserves, I can't blame her. I'm with her.

I'm very clear that men are not more intelligent than women at work. But they have the privilege of time and positive expectations from the social norm. On the other hand, women are expected to be shy, never outperformed the male, and never command them because those are not cute.

Oh, for god sake.

I lost respect for the person who keeps saying "I understand" or "I see," but he doesn't get anything at all. How insulting is that lying in front of a woman and think she'll get back at him. How annoying it is to butter all the words and covering his bad attitudes. Why do women bear up with this trash?

The integrity. It's what makes up a reliable human. 

Apparently, the men in the drama really come from reality. This drama makes me cry a lot.