Macho Financial Traders
D Lewis
Playguy centerfold) who plans to file a $1.35 billion lawsuit against
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter:
"Christian L. Curry, 25, was axed by the investment behemoth a year ago--
shortly after his picture appeared on the cover of the gay porn magazine
Playguy."
Curry, described by the Post as a "strapping, 6-foot-4 stud," says he's
straight and the pictures were taken because a photographer had agreed to
discount his $1,000 shooting fee if Curry posed nude. (Curry worked as
a model during college.)
What I find most disturbing is this account from the Post's report:
"The Playguy cover was plastered on walls in the Morgan Stanley men's
room, with the word 'faggot' scrawled across it."
Shades of that documentary that ran on HBO a few months ago, in which
a broker (not with Morgan Stanley Dean Witter) in San Francisco found
his face superimposed on a picture of a three-way from a gay porn mag!
Geez, people, what is it about men in finance that they have to prove
their masculinity whenever someone hints at "a queer" in their midst?
To top it off, I'm in a moral crisis now because my account is with
Morgan Stanley's discount unit, Discover Brokerage. Of course, Discover
Brokerage is separate from the full-service division, so it feels like
there's a distancing from the bozos who put the pictures up in the men's
room and wrote "faggot" across them. And at least no one at Morgan
Stanley tried to piss on this guy in the bathroom (like was related
in the HBO documentary on another financial firm) or scrawl epithets
on his expensive convertible (ditto).
--Dennis
David W. Fenton
: Shades of that documentary that ran on HBO a few months ago, in which
: a broker (not with Morgan Stanley Dean Witter) in San Francisco found
: his face superimposed on a picture of a three-way from a gay porn mag!
: Geez, people, what is it about men in finance that they have to prove
: their masculinity whenever someone hints at "a queer" in their midst?
I've done quite a lot of work in Wall Street firms of many kinds and I
think the answer is:
Long Island.
They are all from Long Island.
Seriously, there's something in it. The brokerage trade is a massive
pyramid scheme, with managers at the top, brokers in the middle, and
cold callers at the bottom. They really, truly, pay their cold callers
$250/week. The cold callers think they're learning the business, and study
for their exams, thinking they'll get hired when they pass.
The vast majority of them do not.
And many, many of them are just flat out fat, ugly, dumb straight guys
with no education to speak of.
When I first started working in that environment, I could almost *feel*
the heterosexuality in the air. Many of these firms are organized in the
manner as seen in the 1950s musical "How to Succeed in Business Without
Really Trying," where the women answer the phones and type, and the men
do the real work. I was quite shocked.
It's also a very white industry.
I *do* have one client (as small brokerage firm with about 40 brokers)
that has made an affirmative effort to hire women and minorities. One third
of their brokers are non-white or female. Nonetheless, the back office staff
is still female.
: To top it off, I'm in a moral crisis now because my account is with
: Morgan Stanley's discount unit, Discover Brokerage. Of course, Discover
: Brokerage is separate from the full-service division, so it feels like
: there's a distancing from the bozos who put the pictures up in the men's
: room and wrote "faggot" across them. And at least no one at Morgan
: Stanley tried to piss on this guy in the bathroom (like was related
: in the HBO documentary on another financial firm) or scrawl epithets
: on his expensive convertible (ditto).
I have no advice. It's a really dirty and disgusting industry. It looks
glamorous from the outside, but in reality it's just a dreadful business.
And don't get me started on the mob involvement. . . .
--
David W. Fenton http://www.bway.net/~dfenton
dfenton at bway dot net http://www.bway.net/~dfassoc
Christian Molick
David W. Fenton wrote in message ...
>And don't get me started on the mob involvement. . . .
Perhaps you could just focus on the trashy sex dirt?
ChristianM