Hehe. You probably think I mean PC as in 'personal computer' problems when, in fact, I am really talking about PC as in 'politically correct' problems.
I followed the story about Debbie McLucas in Mansfield, TX, who came to work one morning to find her 3x5 American flag on the floor and was told that 'someone' was offended by it. Therefore, it had to go. Well, let me tell you that as soon as this story reached a nation wide audience, the big corporate gurus of the hospital decided that it was OK to put the flag back up.
I'm not going to repeat the story here, it's easily found by Googlling 'debbie mclucas mansfield tx' and you'll found dozens of articles on it. What I'm really concerned about is the PC component of the story. It seems that only ONE person complained (and in an office of four it probably wasn't too hard to figure out which one it was) about it. Originally, Debbie was told that the flag was 'offensive' but during the fallout and about-face, she was told it was just the size (too big) that bothered this person.
Now, that just rubs me wrong in so many ways. First, the PC management of this hospital must have been concerned about a civil rights lawsuit and possibly a hostile working environment lawsuit. The 'offended' person would get some high-priced, well-placed lawyer (maybe even our new Attorney General) to sue the hospital. Second, it is possible that the PC management felt that 'diversity' was the real order of business. If so, shouldn't they have asked to have the US flag replaced with the Pan-Africa flag? Or, since it was in Texas after all, put up the Mexican flag?
No matter what the PC decision, having political correctness gone amok is really anti-American. The only way to handle this situation is to go back and instill a little common sense. That, and stop the frivolous BS lawsuits. So, this complaining person who clearly doesn't like the offensive American flag in the office gets her way thereby eliminating Debbie's right to celebrate Memorial Day. Doesn't that make sense?
I was working at the Texas Workforce Commission as an analyst for one of their websites. I would get emails from all sorts of folks who worked at TWC who signed their emails with 'PhD, Psychology, OU' or 'Have a nice day!' or some other identifier that was clearly NOT related to their current position. I wasn't offended at all. I then decided that I would add my own and put 'Master Chief Petty Officer, USN, Retired' below my name on every email. WOW! Within 3 days, I was called by my supervisor who directed me to remove the comments because 'Some people are offended by it and it isn't professional.' What? I earned the right to that but because some un-named person was offended by it, I had to remove it from my signature line. My supervisor never told me who was offended although I believe it was her boss (with whom I never really saw eye-to-eye with and who always seemed to believe only she could be right. And, btw, was the real reason I left TWC.) When I asked about the other email signatures, I was told to mind my own business and that this entire event was being placed in my personnel file and would reflect on my evaluation. So what?
So, one PC person in an organization can have extensive influences on the Constitutional Free Speech rights of many. I really don't think that it right.
I followed the story about Debbie McLucas in Mansfield, TX, who came to work one morning to find her 3x5 American flag on the floor and was told that 'someone' was offended by it. Therefore, it had to go. Well, let me tell you that as soon as this story reached a nation wide audience, the big corporate gurus of the hospital decided that it was OK to put the flag back up.
I'm not going to repeat the story here, it's easily found by Googlling 'debbie mclucas mansfield tx' and you'll found dozens of articles on it. What I'm really concerned about is the PC component of the story. It seems that only ONE person complained (and in an office of four it probably wasn't too hard to figure out which one it was) about it. Originally, Debbie was told that the flag was 'offensive' but during the fallout and about-face, she was told it was just the size (too big) that bothered this person.
Now, that just rubs me wrong in so many ways. First, the PC management of this hospital must have been concerned about a civil rights lawsuit and possibly a hostile working environment lawsuit. The 'offended' person would get some high-priced, well-placed lawyer (maybe even our new Attorney General) to sue the hospital. Second, it is possible that the PC management felt that 'diversity' was the real order of business. If so, shouldn't they have asked to have the US flag replaced with the Pan-Africa flag? Or, since it was in Texas after all, put up the Mexican flag?
No matter what the PC decision, having political correctness gone amok is really anti-American. The only way to handle this situation is to go back and instill a little common sense. That, and stop the frivolous BS lawsuits. So, this complaining person who clearly doesn't like the offensive American flag in the office gets her way thereby eliminating Debbie's right to celebrate Memorial Day. Doesn't that make sense?
I was working at the Texas Workforce Commission as an analyst for one of their websites. I would get emails from all sorts of folks who worked at TWC who signed their emails with 'PhD, Psychology, OU' or 'Have a nice day!' or some other identifier that was clearly NOT related to their current position. I wasn't offended at all. I then decided that I would add my own and put 'Master Chief Petty Officer, USN, Retired' below my name on every email. WOW! Within 3 days, I was called by my supervisor who directed me to remove the comments because 'Some people are offended by it and it isn't professional.' What? I earned the right to that but because some un-named person was offended by it, I had to remove it from my signature line. My supervisor never told me who was offended although I believe it was her boss (with whom I never really saw eye-to-eye with and who always seemed to believe only she could be right. And, btw, was the real reason I left TWC.) When I asked about the other email signatures, I was told to mind my own business and that this entire event was being placed in my personnel file and would reflect on my evaluation. So what?
So, one PC person in an organization can have extensive influences on the Constitutional Free Speech rights of many. I really don't think that it right.
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