Where did the term....

[YoungPUP]

"Going postal."  Come from???  For the record the cat died 2 years ago and curiousity had nothing to do with it....

[musclehead]

many soldiers from 'Nam entered the P.O. when they got out of the service. a few, very, very few took up arms in the 70's and shot some supervisers and co-workers.

hence the joke in poor taste 'you know what it menas when the flag is at half mast in front of the P.O.?  they are hiring."

[BradValk48237]

The Interweb thingy says.....

Going postal, in American English slang, means becoming extremely and uncontrollably angry, often to the point of violence, and usually in a workplace environment.
The expression derives from a series of incidents from 1983 onward in which United States Postal Service (USPS) workers shot and killed managers, fellow workers, and members of the police or general public in acts of mass murder. Between 1986 and 1997, more than forty people were gunned down by spree killers in at least twenty incidents of workplace rage.

You aren't THAT young........

Brad

[Jess from VA]

Yes, many, many postal workers are vets.... but going postal is more related to USPS management policies and leadership than anything else. 

[X Ring]

The Interweb thingy says.....

Going postal, in American English slang, means becoming extremely and uncontrollably angry, often to the point of violence, and usually in a workplace environment.
The expression derives from a series of incidents from 1983 onward in which United States Postal Service (USPS) workers shot and killed managers, fellow workers, and members of the police or general public in acts of mass murder. Between 1986 and 1997, more than forty people were gunned down by spree killers in at least twenty incidents of workplace rage.

You aren't THAT young........

Brad

This.  As Brad posted "going postal" refers to someone who snaps and commits acts of violence on supervisors and coworkers.  Doesn't matter what the reason is.

Marty

[The Anvil]

No one ever "goes McDonalds". Ever notice that?

[BudMan]

That's because the food kills them first.

[junior]

No one ever "goes McDonalds". Ever notice that?

but i have seen tham go coco for coco puffs

[YoungPUP]

I'm young enough that in '83 I would've been 1yr old... Wasn't really too concerned with the postal service yet. Was still working on my eat, sleep, poop, phase at that point.

[CISE]

Gee - and here I thought "Going Postal" meant getting a job with incredible benefits - no work load - and guaranteed  life time employment .

Guess I learned sumptin new today 

[biguglyman]

Being a postal worker, I guess I gotta weigh in here.  The one shooting that took place at my facility back in the 80's had nothing to do with supervision.  Guy found out his wife was porking another fellow postal worker and came in one night and took care of them both. 

 

incredible benefits - no work load - and guaranteed  life time employment

The pay/benefit package is very good but incredible?  It's not nearly as good as congress people or upper management get.  No work load?  Seriously?  A lot of you wouldn't be able to handle the mental or physical parts of my jobs over the years which included memorizing thousands of addresses and carrier numbers, zip codes, and keying information into various machines at rates of 50-60 items a minute.  I've also run the newer machines that sort in excess of 4,000 pieces an hour.  Somebody (me) has to load and remove all that mail.  Lifetime employment?  While being in a union represented workforce does make it harder to get fired, it happens all the time.  The stresses involved cause people to quit too.

All that being said, I can say I DO have a sense of humor about the whole "going postal" thing as I've seen some of the causes and the people who've come close to doing it.  Hell, I even got "walked out" one night for asking my boss if she was "out of her f*$#ing mind".  I currently work the retail window and I have to say that the customers I have to deal with every day have come closer to pushing me over the edge than any boss I ever had.  Can't wait to get back on the night shift...

[alph]

Yes, many, many postal workers are vets.... but going postal is more related to USPS management policies and leadership than anything else. 

jess has it right!!!  my brother works for the postal service, has been for about 15 years now.  he enjoys his job, just has a hard time dealing with the stupidity of the management. 

as "biguglyguy" says, they do have some nice bennies.  my brother had a brain tumor, was off for 9 weeks, and had enough sick time to cover it all!!!  when i call in sick, i use up my vacation first, then if i'm lucky my wife will pay the bills till i'm back on my feet......  (i work for a company that needs to be unionized, many a co-worker has been fired for voicing their opinion or less)

[musclehead]

Yes, many, many postal workers are vets.... but going postal is more related to USPS management policies and leadership than anything else. 

actually most of the folks I worked with were vets. 90 to 95% or so.

[designer]

I remember the incident in 83 and later an incident in Louisville, KY paper mill.  The term going postal became main stream after the killings as it related to angry employees going too far.  It might have additional meaning within the USPS but for most americans it means what they see in the paper, killing spree associated with workplace or work environment.

for the army guys, or those like... every check your headspace and timing?   

[musclehead]

Being a postal worker, I guess I gotta weigh in here.  The one shooting that took place at my facility back in the 80's had nothing to do with supervision.  Guy found out his wife was porking another fellow postal worker and came in one night and took care of them both. 

 

incredible benefits - no work load - and guaranteed  life time employment

The pay/benefit package is very good but incredible?  It's not nearly as good as congress people or upper management get.  No work load?  Seriously?  A lot of you wouldn't be able to handle the mental or physical parts of my jobs over the years which included memorizing thousands of addresses and carrier numbers, zip codes, and keying information into various machines at rates of 50-60 items a minute.  I've also run the newer machines that sort in excess of 4,000 pieces an hour.  Somebody (me) has to load and remove all that mail.  Lifetime employment?  While being in a union represented workforce does make it harder to get fired, it happens all the time.  The stresses involved cause people to quit too.

All that being said, I can say I DO have a sense of humor about the whole "going postal" thing as I've seen some of the causes and the people who've come close to doing it.  Hell, I even got "walked out" one night for asking my boss if she was "out of her f*$#ing mind".  I currently work the retail window and I have to say that the customers I have to deal with every day have come closer to pushing me over the edge than any boss I ever had.  Can't wait to get back on the night shift...

you would be in the clerk craft 
the door swings both ways, I knew some folks in the P.O. that would never be able to hold a job in the pivate sector. and there were some folks that came off the street and couldn't handle the job as a mailhandler.

it's very true the benefits have erroded over the years but the package is still pretty good (or was back in '06 when I quit)

[Psychotic Bovine]

Not getting fired after "asking my boss if she was "out of her f*$#ing mind"." is a pretty good benefit, to me, in my opinion.
I nearly got written up at work for sending a reply of only "90593?" to an email sent by supervisor (not mine) to me that said only "52153?"
I was told I could be written up for insubordination.

[biguglyman]

I didn't go into detail, but there are bosses, and there are BOSSES.  The reason behind the question had to do with processing and a lack of communication between "bosses".  I take my job responsibilities seriously and that includes getting the mail out on time...a factor this boss didn't understand.  Anyway it's a much longer story than I want to get into here.  I paid for my lapse in judgement.  As far as getting written up for e-mailing numbers...sounds like your boss would be a successful postal supervisor.

[musclehead]

I didn't go into detail, but there are bosses, and there are BOSSES.  The reason behind the question had to do with processing and a lack of communication between "bosses".  I take my job responsibilities seriously and that includes getting the mail out on time...a factor this boss didn't understand.  Anyway it's a much longer story than I want to get into here.  I paid for my lapse in judgement.  As far as getting written up for e-mailing numbers...sounds like your boss would be a successful postal supervisor.

ahh the postal way, smack'em down and make sure they know who's boss.

then spend the next 5 years trying to convince the rank and file that you are thier friend 

[biguglyman]

They've actually asked me to be a boss.  I tell them: "Why should I take a pay cut to put up with jerks like me?"   

[FryeVRCCDS0067]

My wife was looking into employment with the post office at one time. I told her we'd have to buy a few additional firearms to make sure she qualified. 

Sorry, no offense intended for those who are PO employees but it seemed pretty funny at the time.

[biguglyman]

No offense taken...that was pretty funny.  Funnier is the fact that I have two licensed .45 caliber handguns myself.

[Cliff]

Yes, many, many postal workers are vets.... but going postal is more related to USPS management policies and leadership than anything else. 

Very true indeed!