So, I’m watching some gangster flick the other night. Basically any gangster flick. Pick one.

At some point in the movie, someone will go and do something dumb. And then the heavy will decide to spare the idiot’s life but revoke all of his “privileges” for a certain town.

Take Marsellus Wallace and Butch Coolidge from Pulp Fiction. Butch “done lost all of his LA privileges.”

Does this include Anaheim? What about the Valley? Is it more of a metropolitan-area thing?

I mean, seriously. Is this a real threat any more?

Well, it is to some people. Some people who think being somewhere has an intrinsic value to conducting business. To people who assume accountability is directly ascribed to where you park your tookus. To those who equate out-of-office autonomy with lack of focus.

You can’t come to my town.

You done lost all of your Portland privileges. Beaverton, okay. Portland, no.

Do you know what these mafioso types do when they get out of the life? These “take away all of your town privileges” types?

They move into middle management. (This is, in fact, what Tony Soprano was about to say when the screen faded to black, “I’ve decided to go into middle management.”)

And then, if you’re a contractor or employee, they insist that you work in their office day in and day out.

I’m serious. It’s exactly the same mindset.

What does location have to do with anything?

I mean, I can understand visiting the office for in-person meetings. Or planning to work in the office one day a week. Or if you’re in a high-touch business.

But let’s be frank. Most of us aren’t high-touch. Most of us are “behind the scenes.”

So having to be in the office, day-in and day-out? Who is that helping?

It’s ludicrous.

As ludicrous, these days, as losing your town privileges.