"Government Waste" - Part 2

For Part 1, see 2 posts below or here, for the history and why I even commented at all yesterday.

Again, here is that comment (which I moved in direct reply to the commenter this morning, after accidentally posting under the main thread), editing typos, adding more to the first paragraph after new EOs since, and adding a PS at the bottom.

"I moved this comment to reply directly. I guess it depends on your definition of "waste." 

I don't consider healthcare and social security for our most vulnerable Americans - including seniors who paid it in already - "waste." 

I don't consider consumer protection programs "waste." 

I don't consider the Department of Education "waste." 

I don't consider the anti-bribery and corruption laws he just tried to executive order away as "waste." 

 

You would have a point about cutting government waste - IF Trump wasn't also trying to buy Greenland, the Panama Canal, and take over the Gaza Strip with "our tax dollars" - not to mention risk our young people's lives in unnecessary conflict.

We can't even afford groceries, but he wants to buy/takeover places like Gaza who don't even have resources we can use, just to obtain real estate for himself? 

But heck yeah, let's all vacay at the Trump hotel in the Gaza strip and get pipe-bombed!

Let's all disrespectfully party and dance on the graves of the Jewish people were abducted, raped, and killed here and where Palestinian children were killed in hospital bombings - woo hoo! (Sarcasm)

What's next, we turn concentration camps and former slave plantations into Trump amusement parks?

 

Regardless, I for dang sure didn't vote for Elon Musk to be in charge of "cutting waste" and to have access to the U.S. Treasury (and no one else did either).

This isn't small government and cutting waste - this is monster government, simultaneously expansionist and isolationist - with our tax dollars.

But please, wax poetic some more about Patriotism, about the Republican Party cutting government waste and being the party of small government, while Trump does anything but and rips up our constitution in the process - it amuses us.

 

PS - I really wouldn't be talking about any President's sons being cocaine junkies if I were you. Junior has quite the cocaine reputation himself. People who live in glass white houses, you know."

Here was his immediate response after I moved it to directly reply, today, then my reply to his second question, and so on.

My responses have the blacked-out name (though I didn't choose the moniker anyway, Reddit did.)

By the way, not only did I NOT choose my anonymous moniker, I didn't upvote myself  - Reddit does both automatically 😂

I guess I could change the moniker that was given, if I really wanted, but this is literally the second time I've ever posted on Reddit in my life, because I rarely comment anywhere overall, unless it's local information.  If I comment anywhere, it's usually positive - unless it's really, really bad and it will help others avoid my mistakes.

But as I said, I will give salty little treats to any good little Trump attack dogs in the room who attempt semi-civil discussion/debate, instead of attempting to engage others in bully-gang-ups on a literal new girl who just moved to town, who simply and politely posted asking about the when/where of protests here? 😂

As long as he keeps it somewhat civil, I'll answer his questions, sincere or not, and even read whatever source links he provides - but of course, he doesn't.

If he doesn't and devolves into direct insults/name-calling in lieu of ability to civilly debate points or cite sources, I'll ignore him like the other Trump "welcoming committee" to Lexington attack dogs, in the room 😉

It's been an hour -  still waiting on that quid-pro-quo source request, rather than telling me to "look it up."

I did look it up - even citing a conservative news source as proof!

Because Lord knows, they refuse to read anything else, to find out what their political news sources aren't telling them, though what they don't know could eventually hurt them.  

In fact, I read both right and left press for that exact reason - what are they NOT telling me?

(It's just I generally find right-wing press to be opinion, speculation, and even fear-mongering propaganda, more than presenting proven fact, as well it's written on a third-grade level.)

Regardless, here he was, yammering on in his original comment about cognitive dissonance, while himself still looking for the facts to support his beliefs 😂

Still waiting  ... 

The Lassie Channel on Roku

 

And nevertheless, with my husband's encouragement, she persisted 😊

So, during the day, we've taken to putting the Lassie Channel on Roku while I work, because the dogs love it (Brookie looking like Lassie) and it typically calms them.  Both the original "Jeff's Collie" and "Lassie" with Timmy are on all day, every day.

They watch every minute and sometimes appear to know what's going on!  Ziggy, in particular, knows when someone's a bad guy and growls, standing up on his hind legs to growl at them. 😂

Mark has always owned collies or shelties since childhood, and he never missed an episode, even as a teenager, which of course his hockey friends teased him about, to which he would respond in typical Detroit fashion, "Shut up, eff off, I'm watching my show.  I'll  be sure to hip check you into the boards next practice."  😂

I actually had never seen the show in my life, and being that I have some unexpected free time, I just started watching what these shows were actually about.

I expected to see a bunch of absurd, fantasy-family 1950s stuff, with no one's family ever really being like that.  Or women being spanked on national TV by their husbands.  No people of color anywhere, and their worst problem would be like someone had a new pimple or how Billy or Beaver, the teenage boy, was going to earn enough money to buy a swell hot rod to take his best girl to the soda shop on Friday and ask her to go steady. 

Yep, there's a bit of that  - and many times, I'm laughing at the show more than with it - BUT - a few things actually surprised me, particularly their light approach to tackling deeper societal issues, way before the social revolution that was the 1960s.

But first, a brief history of the evolution of the show ... 

So the original show in 1954 was called "Jeff's Collie," about a widowed mother, Ellen Miller, caring for a farm and raising her son along with the boy's grandfather, after her husband/Jeff's father is killed in WW2.

When George Cleveland playing "Gramps" died, Tommy Rettig, decided he would not renew his contract and try his luck at movies.

Thus, the show slowly transitioned into "Lassie," beginning with Ellen putting the farm up for sale after Gramps died, taking in an orphan in the meantime named Timmy (played by Jon Provost), who is later adopted by Ruth and Paul Martin, the couple who buy the farm.

For some reason I will never understand, Jeff leaves Lassie with Timmy and the Martins, when he and his mother, Ellen, move away.  They make a few guest appearances later, but that's it.

At first, in 1957, the Martins were played by George Shippod and Cloris Leachman - yes, that Cloris Leachman, comedic actress -  but they began losing viewers.  (Hilariously, George Shippod previously played a local milkman. I guess they expected no one to notice. 😂)

Then they tried bringing back in a cranky, old-man character to try to lift ratings, so they added Paul's Uncle Petrie - the Hayseed Hank looking guy, on the guitar above -  but the ratings didn't improve.

Soon, the Martins were soon replaced by Hugh Reilly and June Lockhart (the most famous Lassie parents), again, hoping we wouldn't notice 😂

Well, the show is about the dog, anyway, and Jon Provost played Timmy all the way through until 1964. 

I prefer Lassie rather than Jeff's Collie, because as Jeff got older, he became a snarky little brat. 😂

(Although I did still like his best friend, Porky, providing some of the best comedic lines.)

Regardless, I laughed at how much has changed since then.

"Gee whiz, that bike costs 1 whole dollar!"

I also have to laugh because there's no way that dog is that smart and those people are that dumb. 

I mean, why does someone fall in a well or start a fire due to their own negligence, like  every other day?

Man, if Timmy and Lassie came across that many fires, I'd start to wonder if little Timmy wasn't actually a serial arsonist. 

And what's with the zoo-animal escapees?

I've now seen a tiger, a seal, a monkey, and an elephant now, all escaped from the zoo, all ending up on the Miller/Martin farm. 

Oh, wait, I know the answer to that - Rudd Weatherwax, Lassie's trainer, provided all of the trained animals for Hollywood, back in the day, so it was a way to both earn an extra buck and provide a (ridiculous) story line.

Also, show creators? 

A word, please.

Because I can't tell you how many times they recycled the "dumb little girl lost" story line, getting lost in the woods or trapped in a cave or even absurdly down an aqueduct drain, so Lassie and little boys have to rescue her.

Of course, it's always a little girl, inexplicably wearing a short-little dress with white socks and shiny patent-leather shoes or sandals, wandering in the wilderness.

One time, a 14-year-old girl got her foot stuck in a "hole," which was actually just a loosened up bale of hay next to a small rock in a field, I'm not even kidding.

And she was looking up the sky, daydreaming, like "La la laaa..."

Who would do that?

No one. 

Well, maybe a 2-year-old of any gender, but not a 14-year-old girl.

So of course, she sat down and cried, yelling for help until Lassie and some little boys rescued her.

I'm like "Girrrrl, if you can't even get your own foot unstuck from between a small rock and a loose bale of hay at 14 years old, and have to wait for a dog and a bunch of  little boys to save you, then might I recommend you be placed placed in some sort of institution for your own safety, rather than walking around at all, anywhere." 😂

And the lines about women sometimes, sheesh.

When they're said, I just turn and look at my husband, cocking my head to the side, like "Look at my face, right now."

He's already looking at me, knowing it's bad himself, and then starts laughing hysterically over the look on my face. 😂

These things were particularly uttered by Gramps or Uncle Petrie, who would say things like "Oh, women don't understand these things."

Ellen and Ruth would usually just look at them with daggers in their eyes, while chopping vegetables with a giant butcher knife, now chopping harder, like "Sleep well, old man."  😂

Or if a cartoon bubble came up out of their heads, the look on their faces was like "Timmy, go to the barn and get me that strychnine your genius Gramps leaves down for children to reach and accidentally poisoned Lassie with earlier.  Just don't eat the pot roast later."  😂

JUST KIDDING, but the looks on their faces said a lot. 

Sometimes they would clap back at them, though.

Once, after Ellen wanted to get a refrigerator to replace the old icebox and has to ask Gramps for it, Gramps started going on about progress and "new-fangled ideas," women putting dreamy ideas into children's heads, and then he went into the whole "In my day" speech. 

Then Ellen, Jeff's mother, said "You know you're right?  Let's throw away these forks and eat with our hands.  Then, after dinner, we can all sleep out in the open, this winter night, with nothing but sticks to build a fire with or protect us from the mountain lions and coyotes. Won't that be fun!?!"

Hehehehe.

Geez, it's not like she was asking for a new string of pearls to wear with that housedress, she wanted a fridge to replace the icebox to keep the family food from spoiling longer,  which actually saves money in the long run.

Also, they portrayed the women roaming around with perfect hair in dresses and heels, on a farm - singing while they carried laundry baskets, sewed, and cooked.

Okay, I don't know how many farms the creators of this show were actually ever on, but farm women did those things - minus the perfect hair, pretty dresses, and heels -  AND - they milked cows, lopped off chicken's heads, slaughtered pigs, and shot foxes in henhouses with rifles themselves, sometimes in pants, especially in the winter.

Not because they wanted to, not because of some gender equality statement -  but because they had to, to survive.

Poorer farms didn't have the money or manpower, especially during the depression, to worry about any of that crap.

But on the plus side of this show, I will say, the one good portrayal of women were, in fact, the mothers.

In Jeff's Collie, it was Jan Clayton playing Ellen Miller, replaced originally by Cloris Leachman, then finally June Lockhart.

They were smart, level-headed, funny, and always dispensed wisdom - never hysterical or helpless.  (Well, Cloris Leachman was a bit too meek for my taste. Hard to believe with what she went on to do, but yes.)

Later in the show, I understand at June's urging, women did more for themselves.

In fact, later, June Lockhart herself is run off the road in a hit and run by an illegal bear hunter, then steps out of the car to fix her own flat (Go Ruth!).

As she goes to put it on, it rolls into the trees nearby, so she walks in the woods to get it, and her leg gets snapped in a bear trap the poacher left.

She talks Lassie through finding the exact tools in the car  - yes, knowing the correct name for all of the tools - to help get herself out  😊

There were also some super surprising social justice messages in the shows, especially surprising for the 1950s.

Messages about kindness to Roma (gypsies), Mexican migrant workers, Japanese (just after WW2) and even Russians!

Like when a little Russian girl was brought to America through UNICEF, seeking asylum in America, starts stealing/hiding food, terrified that she's going to be sent back to Russia, and when she does, will take the food with her as they were starving

When caught, the teachers and community explain to her that no one is going to send her back, she can have all the food she wants, just ask, and that they will do their best to bring her family here.

Or Mexican boy, whose migrant-worker father actually served in WW2 for the U.S., and yet people treated them badly anyway.

Or a Japanese foreign exchange student is beat up and rocks are thrown through the Miller's windows for housing him, calling them traitors.

Way ahead of it's time on these issues, but it also goes to show we just trade in one group for another to scapegoat for all our problems

And yet still, I think I only saw one black person on one show, one time.

Despite just a couple of those - erm - problematic moments - unlike other 50s shows that pretend life is equally wonderful for everybody, this show does surprisingly lightly tackle a few social-justice issues  way ahead of its time, including to a certain degree, racism -  by simply reiterating Jesus's commandments,  "Love they neighbor as thyself" and "Do unto others as you would have them do unto to."

In fact, if you can overlook some of the more absurd storylines and occasional jabs at women (that are mostly just hilarious, nowadays), it worth a watch today, with current social issues not having changed much - just trading out the scapegoated groups for new ones (or bringing  old ones back).

 

"Government Waste"

I was surprised when my husband said to me yesterday morning "Do NOT end your blog - don't you give up now, when it's more important than ever. That's your voice, which you haven't had much in life - and no one can take this away from you."

I was surprised because of the previous trouble my opinions have caused, so he previously wasn't a fan.


But with recent events - such as Trump's executive order yesterday giving asylum just to "white South Africans" - he realizes how important having a voice really is, now more than ever.

(I encourage you to read the addition to that post below.)

He also asked me to put a post back up about his mother's story - or more accurately, how his mother's story intersected with our story.

I did so, but as new memories/stories were continually being added to it, some mixed feelings about her came up, I took it down until it's complete and I could make it more cohesive.

Anyway, this morning, a local Reddit thread popped up in my inbox about protest organization.

I rarely comment anywhere, and it's usually positive (unless it's really, really bad), but since I asked a question on Reddit about a year ago about an upcoming local event,  the Lexington feed now pops up in my email.

Today, it was a new woman in town, politely asking about any upcoming protests.  I went to that thread because I wanted to know myself.

Now, unfortunately, despite being a mostly blue city, Lexington is not the best organizer of these sorts of things.  

They prefer to pretend nothing is wrong, not rock the boat, like posts on IG or FB, but otherwise stick their heads in the sand -  even when Trump has threatened to get rid of the Department or Education -  which is not only the largest employer in the city, but the entire State of Kentucky.

(You would actually be surprised how many Trumpers actually work at Fayette County Public Schools, these days, actually - wonder how Trumper they'll feel when they don't have jobs anymore.)

So a few people answered her, which I jotted down myself.

Then, of course, the "Trump welcoming committee" came in (sarcasm), with their typical Trump method of trying to bully people into joining them - intelligence-bashing, name-calling, etc. - which she just ignored.

Of course, this did not sit well with me, after recent events. 😂

Now, you would think they'd look at their own words staring back at them in the thread and go "Wow, I acted like an ass to the literal new girl in town, that was uncalled for." 

Nope. 

Except one of them did ask a civil question about how we could argue with cutting government waste?

(Of course, he later devolved into some tamer intelligence insults, name-calling/bashing - just not as nasty.)

Like I said, I rarely comment anywhere anymore,  especially not politically, as I'm not going to change anyone's minds. 

However, I thought I'd reward this semi-attempt at civil discussion, rather than just bashing.

You know, like "Good Trump attack dog, semi-nice doggie. At least you're not going for the jugular. Here's a salty little treat answer for you!" 😂

So here it is - the first political comment I've left anywhere other than my own blog since Trump's first time in office.

( I originally had it under the main thread, so I moved it to reply directly and edited it.)

I moved this comment to reply directly. I guess it depends on your definition of "waste." I don't consider healthcare and social security for our most vulnerable Americans - including seniors who paid it in already - "waste."  

I don't consider consumer protection programs "waste."  

I don't consider the Department of Education "waste."  

I don't consider the anti-bribery and corruption laws he just tried to executive order away as "waste."

You would have a point about cutting government waste - IF Trump wasn't also trying to buy Greenland, the Panama Canal, and take over the Gaza Strip with "our tax dollars" - not to mention risk our young people's lives in unnecessary conflict.

We can't even afford groceries, but he wants to buy/takeover places like Gaza who don't even have resources we can use, just to obtain real estate for himself?

But heck yeah, let's all vacay at the Trump hotel in the Gaza strip and get pipe-bombed!

Let's all disrespectfully party and dance on the graves of the Jewish people were abducted, raped, and killed here and where Palestinian children were killed in hospital bombings - woo hoo! (Sarcasm)

What's next, we turn concentration camps and former slave plantations into Trump amusement parks?

Regardless, I for dang sure didn't vote for Elon Musk to be in charge of "cutting waste" and to have access to the U.S. Treasury (and no one else did either).

This isn't small government and cutting waste - this is monster government, simultaneously expansionist and isolationist - with our tax dollars.

But please, wax poetic some more about Patriotism, about the Republican Party cutting government waste and being the party of small government, while Trump does anything but and rips up our constitution in the process - it amuses us.

 

PS - I really wouldn't be talking about any President's sons being cocaine junkies if I were you. Junior has quite the cocaine reputation himself. People who live in glass white houses, you know.

Well, I did say it was salty 😂

Sorry, not a fan of bullies and gang-up attempts, successful or not.

I've actually stood up for a Trump-Republican before, when I saw a gang-up forming, because the person was polite, but people just piled on her.

Mostly, I kill 'em with kindness -  not because I'm trying to, but because I just believe in being kind, believing that's what the world needs most, right now.

At most, I try to change the subject or find common ground, promote unity.

But occasionally, when I see a bully gang-up attempt, it irks me that grown adults can't behave themselves and act like grown-ups, on whatever political side (but more often than not, a Trumper).

(But as I've said, it's usually for someone else, rather than myself - NOT great at defending myself.)

My mom said I've been like that since I was little, but I guess it's heightened right now due to recent events.

And just like then, or now, it almost never ends well 🤣

Though it occasionally stops it - the better method, of course, being approaching the target to comfort, change the subject/ask them something about themselves, or just stand beside them by liking their comment, rather than take on the bully(ies) - but rarely does any of this work. 

Because even in the best case scenario, the target thanks you privately, but it's still not effective overall, because the target is blaming themselves/feeling self-doubt because so many are coming at them, and they start to believe it must be true.  

So you try to tell them the problem isn't them, it's the ones coming at them out of their own issues; however, because it's usually just you and the target against many, it has little effect.

Then, of course, it's the target goes off to therapy, rather than the raging group of sociopaths that cyberbullied them, apparently having way too much free time on their hands.

At most, maybe even some observers will come and tell you privately that they're glad someone said something, but they didn't themselves, because they're too afraid to the new target themselves, like I did 😂

But the very worst case scenario, of course, is this:  It doesn't stop, you've become the new target - AND - the target that you just stood up for has now joined on the bully bandwagon, so happy the heat is of them now and they "belong!"  😂

That's only happened a couple of times, many years ago, but it did leave me wondering "Why the BLEEP did I just stand up for you again?" 😂

.

This quality of not being able to stand when grown adults attempt or engage in bully gang-ups is both my best and worst quality, for better or worse outcome -  I juuuuusst can't help myself, can I? 😊

If they reply with an attempt at civil discussion, I might answer - if not, I won't be returning, thank you!

___________________________

PS - I put this comment on the main thread instead of replying directly somehow, so I moved it, added some to the first paragraph, and added a PS.

 

PS - Best to You, Readers

I changed the title after an update I added to this post, which became too long, so I took it down and changed my title back.  The gist is, I was comforted by a song I hadn't heard in years - The End. 😂  

However - since the basis of the situation mentioned in the post below includes implicit racial bias and racism (towards the offshore team, India), I do need to add this. 

I know everyone is distracted with Superbowl hoopla, but please don't let Trump's new executive order slip past you. 

Though a judge did block Elon Musk's access to the U.S. Treasury, Trump signed an executive order yesterday to halt aid to Elon's home country of South Africa, which also offered asylum to whites in South Africa in the US on the grounds of "racial discrimination."

Remember the history here.

Racial segregation laws known as apartheid - which began in 1948 and didn't end until 1990 - resulted in the South African government now including people of color to the democratic vote ballot, resulting in a government more reflective of the predominantly black population, under the leadership of Nelson Mandela.

Trump's grounds for doing so were that the new land laws that meant they could "seize land" and that "white farmers were being attacked" offering no proof.

The white South African farmers declined - because of course people who don't really need asylum won't take it.

People who legitimately need asylum will take it and have - - but they're now being deported from in droves - and they aren't white.

Remember that Nazis also falsely claimed they were the ones being persecuted to justify genocide, but none of it was true - it was all based on their unfounded fear of retribution for the way they'd treated Jews already, rather than reality.

This is very clear racism, folks - only offering asylum in the U.S. to white people?

Believe me now/yet - no?

Okay - and yet it moves - so the song below remains the same.

_________________________________________________

I'm honestly not mad about this situation below.  After 3 months, I was a little frustrated/fed up/mad, but not anymore.  I'm just super sad that things worked out this way.

In fact, I think the post below is a good summary of who I really was, at my core, for me to leave on my blog for a long time to come, despite what people with much to hide say.

We're moving to Michigan this summer anyway and leaving it all behind. 😊

I just have one last thing to say and that is this ...

I leave you with the story of Galileo ...

Galileo said the earth revolved around the sun, but everyone else wanted to believe the sun moved around the earth because it "looks that way."   

In fact, it was heresy to say otherwise; thus, he was dragged into court for it. He recanted, not out of fear for himself, but fear of what would happen to others in his charge.   

Thus, the legend goes, when he was done signing the recant, he looked down at the floor, the earth and whispered: "And yet, it moves."

And yet it moves, readers.

Truth will eventually come out, sometimes long after we're gone.


Where there is smoke, there is fire, yes - but be careful to be certain  about who's starting fires, who's fanning the flames, and who's actually trying to put them out?


Never underestimate how many a-holes there actually are, in this world - Trump being as popular as he is should tell you that by now, if nothing else.  

Thus, make sure you're not jumping in with the wrong angry-mob bandwagon?

However, as my grandmother said, a watched pot never boils and we have to move on, grateful for the lessons we learned and any angels a room otherwise filled with a-holes. 

There always are a couple of angels tucked away in the room, though you may have to dig to find them (harder to find in a red state, for sure).

I choose to focus on the angels in the room rather than the a-holes.

Best to you, readers - but I need to move on 😊

Now That It's Final ...

Obviously, something has been going on with me, I've had a bee in my bonnet, and now that it's over, I'm going to put what I actually said - with the hopes that the offshore team (in India) will have the courage to come forward now, too.

(At the very least, they'll know that not all Americans are racist, arrogant, judgmental, hypocritical, and rude.)

Believe me when I say that I spent a large amount of time scouring myself for what I was doing wrong, trying to find things not to set this American coworker off myself, helping her because I believed she was just overwhelmed and it wasn't personal.

In a way, it wasn't.

However, the one thing I'm proud of is that I spoke up before I just left, instead of my usual just leaving - likely because the issue was bigger than me.

(I often have no problem speaking up for other people, but struggle when it's me).

This time, I stood up for both.

In fact, truth be told, I've seen way worse bullying/power abuse of new people in the workplace than this, both of myself and other people -  but this was the first time I'd seen a race component (offshore team, India).

However, once I wrote it all with details, as requested, I guess it is pretty bad, isn't it, especially with regards to the offshore team?

I have to say that I loved the job, I loved the company, I loved their approach to DEI, I loved everybody else there.

So I am not naming or blaming the company - this is NOT their fault.

But I resigned, fearful that launching an investigation would be more stressful than the actual events. 

I tried to enlist HR's help over legit sexual harassment, many years ago, and that's when I learned that HR is there to protect the company, not you - the only thing that you'll accomplish is getting retaliated against without protection and get fired for using too many paper clips or something.

However, upon leaving, I did tell my recruiter what happened before placing someone new in there, as well as fill out a short exit survey.

Then, as I said, I was contacted and asked to file an ethics complaint - giving as many details as possible -  which I have just done and there's a copy of below.

This is no way means I will be rehired - but I am hopeful the issues will be addressed. 

Below the yellow line is what I said - names removed for letters such as X, Y and Z to protect their privacy.

Also keep in mind, this is just my opinion and my perception.

The person I filed the complaint against may sue if she likes, but I'm the one without a job now, while she's still there, plus I named no one and clearly said this was my opinion/perception - of which she knows every word is true.

If I wanted money or a lawsuit, I would've filed the complaint before leaving, not after, at the request of HR.

So in other words, good luck with that.

Also, since she's made it clear she's such a huge fan of freedom of speech, then this shouldn't bother her! 😎


I also realize prospective employers might read this, but if they're the right kind of people, they'll applaud it. 

And any Trumpers that don't like that need not apply. 😊

The older I get, the less Mean Girl crap I'm willing to put up with, by women old enough to know better.  

Not sure that's a good thing - pretty sure some family and friends don't agree, saying things like "You'll be living in a cardboard box for your retirement, but thank God for your integrity and ethics?" 😂

That may be true - but as I've said many times, I'd rather sleep with a clear conscience in that cardboard box, knowing I've done everything I could to make the world a better place, than live in a mansion obtained through ill-gotten gain. 

As fascism rises in America, those saying this may be be sorry later that they sat on the fence and self-preserved, insulated themselves, rather than taking actual risks to themselves to resist it and help others.

My little stand might mean/do nothing at all - but I will NOT go to my grave without doing everything I could to resist this arrogant, bullying, over-nationalistic mentality from taking hold, in order to make a better world for my grandchildren and great grand-children.

 Regardless, here is a copy of the ethics complaint I filed after being requested to by HR.

________________________________________

I apologize for the length, but this is the full story and remember that this includes not only myself, but the offshore team.

 

I would first like to put this in the context of my manager not being available as she was training for another role within XXX and did not tell us until last week, so all of this escaped her attention. 

 

Thus, the coworker I'm filing about was surprised to have to train me instead of my boss training me herself as originally planned.

 

This put this coworker in a position to both train me and do her regular duties. Of course, this is not an excuse for my trainer's behavior, but I do understand her being overwhelmed, which she did mention several times (but lied about ever saying later). 

 

To keep people straight, my boss's name is X, the person I'm filing the complaint on is Y, my trainer.

 

X trained me for one week, then said I would shadow my coworkers.  After a week of shadowing Y, she pronounced Y my trainer.

 

My trainer immediately told me she was overwhelmed, she couldn't do both her job and train me. I asked if she told X that, but she said it'd be fine. To help her out, I even offered to do little assignments for her, like handle voicemails.

 

Soon, our team calls became complaint sessions about the company itself, how it would really go downhill now that the old CEO had returned, how the volume was slowing and we'd probably be laid off, rather than training.

 

*More importantly, how "stupid, incompetent and lazy" the offshore team was, and other things she misperceived about their culture* 

 

I think after realizing how she sounded she changed that to "they lack confidence" as "part of their culture."

 

I was thinking "an entire team and culture is lazy, stupid, incompetent, and "lacks confidence?"

 

It sounded pretty racist to me.

 

In my mind, if they lack confidence, then help give it to them - provide them with the training and tools they need to be a successful team and company.

 

 

My second week there, she wrote an email to everyone falsely accusing SX of not doing what he was supposed to be doing in front of everyone.  While she was writing it, she was on a Teams call with me, telling me how lazy he was (SX is NOT lazy.)

 

SX came back "Actually, I DID do A, B, and C, but here's what happened."

 

She asked me if she sounded accusatory or something and I just said "Kinda?  But it is email text with no tone, so things sound that way."

 

I was floored by the fact that she was literally calling him lazy in my ear while writing that accusatory email that went to everyone, clearly trying to nail him to the wall in front of everyone, then insincerely asking me if she sounded accusatory or he was just being defensive lol.

 

At another all-department meeting, Y raised her voice that they were all "being disrespectful to Americans" because they sometimes mixed up first and last names in emails. 

 

X sat quietly. I almost chimed in and said "Okay, we mix up their names, too, it's not intentionally being disrespectful," but I didn't - and neither did our boss, she didn't stop her.  She just said let's get the names straight.

 

Two weeks ago, Y complained that none of the offshore team were looking in Epic to myself and PX.

 

PX asked me if that was true, and I said absolutely not.  Q and I spent a good 30 minutes trying to figure out what encounter to attach this to and it's not in the account specs.

 

However, despite this, at the meeting, PX strangely accused the offshore team of "Not looking in Epic."

 

I said "Whoa, wait minute, I can verify that Q and I spent a good 30 minutes trying to decide what to attach it to.  I suggested the H&P statement, but Q said the two prior op notes" and then left it for you to verify, but someone uploaded it.  Regardless, what is correct?"

 

PX said "That's correct, the op notes."

 

I said "Okay, so Q DID do it correctly, then.  Good job, Q!"

 

She said "Yes, but if you all don't tell me these things, I can't put them on the account specs. It looks like you all have been doing this with these, despite not being on the account specs, since December - I want to know who made this decision without telling us?"

 

Of course, no one in the room was going to answer that, and in fact, PX already knew who.  I felt this was trying to nail someone to the wall - and that she was acting on Y's false beliefs that no one looked in Epid, despite I told her that's not true.

 

I said, "Don't look at me lol.  I don't think anyone's gonna answer that, right now, but point being, if we don't tell PX about new things, she can't put them in the account specs."

 

Where was X during this?

 

Good question.  She sat there and let them be falsely accused, at Y's urging (Y does that a lot - gets PX to confront things for her), and X said nothing, didn't even notice (see below).

 

And I'm not sure if this is coincidence or not, but shortly after I made it clear I was NOT going to go along with her offshore-bashing, I tried to find common ground with her by asking what shows she liked to watch.

 

She said she doesn't watch mainstream media, only YouTube videos on freedom of speech, Jordan Pederson, and other far-right political material.

 

Knowing better than to get into a political discussion, I changed the subject to if she thought any comedians were funny. 

 

I think she sensed I wasn't going to hop on that bandwagon. Again, not sure if it's coincidence, but shortly after that, she began disappearing rather than training me, but lying to my coworker and boss about it that she did.  She would act irritated if I asked a question.

 

I asked her if I was bothering her or irritating her or something, but she'd always say "No."

 

Finally, I asked if we could set a time to train via chat, since she was so busy.  We chose 5 p.m. one day, but she was too busy.  The next day, I asked if we could meet at 5 for questions, and she was too busy again, but I said "When would be a good time?"

 

She replied "Fine, we'll do it now!"

 

When I asked questions in the thread we had with our boss because she wouldn't answer me, she wrote all in caps that she was busy and to use the private thread.

 

She would disappear almost completely, never answering my question, or if she did, tell me "Go look at the account specs," which I had already done, but many issues aren't on the account specs (at least not yet) very dismissive.

 

About a month into this, I finally heard from my boss, who called me and asked how training was going.  I asked her if I was bothering my trainer or something and what I could do differently, I seemed to irritate her. 

 

She said she was just "high strung" and felt the same way when Y trained her.

 

I asked if she had mentioned anything to her about feeling overwhelmed, wondering if perhaps this wasn't as personal as it felt.

 

She said no, but she would ask her. 

 

X decided to put the three of us in a meeting as if this was a personality conflict rather than my trainer refusing to train me - and Y lied about everything. 

She lied about saying she felt overwhelmed, she lied about the all caps, saying she didn't know this meant yelling, she lied about setting a time for training and missing it - she lied about everything.

 

I told her that I only mentioned this to X because she'd said she was overwhelmed and wanted to know if there was anything I could do differently.

 

X called me later and said she told her that training me was her top priority and that things should got better now, but if they don't, let her know.

 

I told her I wasn't sure, since she had been so dishonest, but I was willing to wipe the slate clean because regardless, I believe she (Y) was overwhelmed.

 

However, after that was when Y really got into the snide remarks such as "you poor thing" etc. 

She DID train me, but was often snide, and nitpicking me over the slightest things, and I started to suspect that she was "poisoning the well" with my coworkers, and I say that because of some of their questions to me later.

 

I let all of this go without mentioning it to X, just trying to get trained - until last Tuesday, when sharing with me on Teams, I saw two separate chats to two separate people dishonestly badmouthing me to my coworkers.

 

At this point, I told my boss because I could prove it. It was it wasn't horrible, but it was dishonest, and could be construed as attempting to create a hostile work environment/enlisting others to bully.

 

(To their credit, they didn't say anything in response, just rolled over it).

 

At this point, I told X as requested - it had been a month since that meeting between the 3 of us.

 

We had a scheduled meeting 20 minutes later and I sat quietly, not knowing what the others thought about me now after seeing those chats. 

 

At this point, X revealed she had been training for another role this whole time because of low volume.

 

Y asked if she would have certain hours that she would be available, but X said it was still being ironed out.

 

I think the 3 of us were floored and had no idea who was in charge now.

 

Then Y - knowing I had seen the chat - said "Chrystal, do you want me to come over to AAA and help you?"

 

I just said one word, voice shaking "No."

 

Y said "Well, guess she doesn't want training," snidely, trying to make it look like it was ME resisting training, when I just didn't want everything I said and did to be broadcast by her anymore.

 

I then mustered the courage, voice shaking "Is there someone who could answer my questions?"

 

My coworker, PX, said "I can answer your AAA questions, you can ask me anytime." - so I did.

 

My boss wrote me later and incredibly, asked why I didn't say anything to Y about the chat I'd seen to coworkers in the meeting.

 

I was thinking - Seriously?  You want me, as the person being smeared/low-level bullied, and new, to bring this up in front of the group?

 

But I didn't say that.  I just told her the chats I saw and who, that I didn't feel comfortable talking in the groups anymore, and she said she'd look into the chats.

 

That night, Y asked if I was "doing okay over there in AAA," which she literally never did, and I just didn't answer.  I was afraid to say anything, now, for fear of it being twisted and broadcast to my coworkers.

 

I took the next day off, feeling embarrassed, that maybe I was just bad at my job and didn't belong there and blaming Y.

 

I returned and two days went by and my boss didn't follow up.

 

She said she'd address it Friday, but then pushed it off.

Finally, she calls me at 5:30 p.m. on Friday and shocks me.

 

She said "Y told me you didn't answer her Tuesday night."

 

I said "X, I didn't answer her because I'd seen the chat that day, everything I said was being twisted and broadcast to my coworkers."

"What about her chats to my coworkers?!?  Are you calling me because Y tattled on me for not answering one chat, one time - and we knew why, rather than her proven unprofessional, dishonest chats to other people about me?"

 

X said she saw the chat, it "wasn't that bad - inappropriate, but not bad."

 

 I told her that I already said it was mild, but the only thing I could prove because it was in writing.

 

She said "You asked me what you were doing wrong?  You know, you chat with people and we're really not chatty people."

 

I asked if it was overly so and she said “No, it's just none of them were chatty people. “

 

She said I wrote long emails.  

I said that one was true, I heard that before.

 

She said I apologized too much.

 

At this point, I said "Okay - if that's true, wouldn't that be an indication that I'm cowering to someone?"

 

Then she said, "Chrystal, can't you just let this go?"

 

I said "X - I haven't said a word since the meeting between the 3 of us, almost a month ago, but you told me to tell you if something else happened!  There's lots of little things, but this is the only thing I could prove."

 

"And seriously, are being friendly/chatty with my coworkers (did she mean offshore as well as American?), writing long emails, and apologizing too much reasons for Y to behave badly?  So instead of asking her to stop, you're helping me blame myself, the target?"

 

I then brought up the offshore team, how Y called them lazy, stupid, and incompetent.

 

X said she could hear the first two, but "incompetent" didn't sound like Y, she had a hard time believing that, she's known her for years.

 

I said "Aren't the first two bad enough?  But she did say incompetent.  She  also said they "lack confidence" and it's as part of their culture."

 

X said "They DO lack confidence."

 

I said, "Okay, WHY aren't they confident, X?"

"An entire culture does not lack confidence.  If they lack confidence, there's a reason for it.  Why aren't they confident?"

 

Then I stated the examples stated above of Y's behavior towards the offshore team.

 

She said she didn't remember any of it.

 

I said maybe because you weren't the target, X.  And you're the boss - of course you're never going to see this side of Y, especially working at home.  She's "punching down" on people with less power like offshore and new people.

 

She said "Nobody else has complained, we had two other people-"

 

Then she stopped short, realizing those two people left, giving other reasons.

 

So I said "Just because no one spoke up doesn't mean it's not happening - and maybe it is just me on the American side, but she does it with everyone on the offshore team."

 

At this point, I realized she was saying everything a boss would say that has not been trained in DEI, harassment/bullying, etc., though I know she has. We all signed off on those training modules, and everything that was coming out of her mouth were actually examples of things NOT to say lol.

 

I also realized that she just didn't want to deal with it, training for another role, but she also left it ambiguous as to who would be in charge - and Y was taking full advantage of it.

 

*Also, I need to add that I think a large part of the microaggression/aggression has to do with our jobs being previously outsourced to India and concerns about that happening again with low volume - but this is not the everyday Indian worker's fault - they are just trying to survive like the rest of us.*

 

I was floored at all of this because I'd never seen a company so committed to DEI, only to have it be handled in my actual department like it was 1950.

 

Lastly, since I've been so bold already, may I just say that we can watch sensitivity videos all day and sign off on them, vote against this stuff, like memes all day, but if we don't live it ...

 

... if we don't incorporate it into our interview process to weed people out that aren't on board with DEI ...

 

... if we don't speak up when it happens ...

 

.... if we don't even notice it's happening due to inherent racial bias ...

 

... if we don't make sacrifices to ourselves and even our own jobs to help ...

 

Then nothing will ever change.

 

For what it's worth - I never, ever said a bad word about her or anyone - you can ask the entire team, and even Y will tell you that.



I have my flaws, but I know I was professional, learned fast (as I could without training initially), gave the benefit of the doubt to others I'd like for myself, and worked super hard. I loved the job and everyone else, truly.



Not that I'm a pushover, as I think X and Y just learned by my last emails when I left.

I left because I didn't feel my manager was paying attention/didn't believe me as she was distracted training for another role, which left Y to run amuck without consequence.

Rather than create even more stress of an investigation, and fearing retaliation by both Y and my manager, I decided to just go - but I do hope in doing so, things will improve for others.

Though I'm sad to go, if change will come because of this, then it was worth it :)

 

If you don't believe me, then I guess not.

 

Either way, I do appreciate your time

 

Best to you/XXX - sincerely

_____________________________

PS - I just wanted to add here that I do NOT think my boss herself is racist - I think she was negligent.

I think she had been training for another role within the company and didn't tell us and wasn't available.

I DO think, however, as part of that negligence, she did contribute to implicit racial bias unconsciously. 

As for my trainer?

Very racist.

In fact, she spent more time complaining about her coworkers than actually working - even over things she does herself.