Opening a Can of Blackness

I talk smack about Characters I've "erased" for not posting on a regular basis. And here I am doing that very same thing. Needless to say, I got busy. But now I want to speak on something that happened to my best friend. My friend won an award (see Hot. Real Hot post) and wanted to tell everyone. My company is hosting a fundraising event where hopefully we'll be able to raise enough money for her and her other friend that won the award to travel to New York next month. Did you get all that? Anyhow, we're doing so in the form of a Silent Auction. We'd like to auction off 100 items, but I don't know if it's going to happen. We'll see. Stranger things have happened. She wanted to garner interest for the event, so she wrote a press release and then proceeded to email it to all the people on her list.

Mistake #1: the email list was business contacts for the place where she works.
Mistkake #2: she CC'd when she should've BCC'd.

Someone on her list replied with a nasty little note because they were using a fiscal agent (not anymore) to collect funds. There was the not so subtle accusation that she was misleading people into thinking they were giving to a charity, when it was really for the Travel Fund. Everyone on the list rec'd this note. EVERY. ONE. Do you see where I'm going here? Any other company would've fired her on the spot. But this is a smaller organzation. Her boss, and the people on the board, verbally told her they wouldn't fire her. Her punishment, of course, is that she has to step down from this award thing. They're telling her she can't go to New York. They're saying the award is inappropriate, it's porn. Because it's called The REAL Hot 100 and one of the nominees is the owner of a woman-friendly sex shop in Chicago. Go HERE. And you tell me. Do you see porn? What's inappropriate about this award?

Now, it's become a free for all. This one little mistake has turned her boss--I'll call him Two-Faced Asshole-- and her other co-worker--I'll call her Hawaiian Bitch--into spiteful lunatics. Her boss went to the award site, looked up her profile and laughed at her. Laughed at her. He's telling her, "You and your friend need to stop nominating each other for awards. You need to stop waving your flags and trying to get attention." Him, who doesn't have a disability and doesn't know what it's like to live with one on a daily basis; yet he works for a company that deals with disabled people. He's telling her, "There'll be other awards. Is this award worth your job?" and, oh yeah, "There's other things you've been doing that we didn't like, but we just never told you." Really? That's news. She's been working there for almost 4 years and she's been doing things wrong and they never told her? Nice. Real nice.

It was news to the board too, because he's been keeping stuff from them. They're really scrutinizing him now so he feels the need to turn on her. She has learning disabilities and doesn't pick up on everything as quickly as everyone else. Yeah? So? He knew this when he hired her. Accommodations were supposed to have been set in place, but that never happened. Just do what you say you were gonna do and fuckin' help her out.

He said he was trying to protect her. snort of disgust inserted here.

They've only known my friend for 3 years. I've known her for nearly 20. Protect her? Just because she has a disability they think she's weak? Fragile? Can't handle constructive criticism? They can kiss my black ass for thinking that crazy shit because that tells me they didn't try to get to know her and never wanted to.

And now they're trying to strong arm her into dropping out. As if doing that is going to make everything all lollipops and fluffy clouds. I think they really thought she was going to cave. They thought she was going to cower and say "okay." She told Two-Faced Asshole that she was still going. The event takes place next month. On a Saturday. She can hop on a plane after work on Friday, and come back on Sunday and be in to work on Monday. She'll be tired as hell, but she'll be at work. Know why? Because she didn't go on COMPANY TIME.

When she told me all this, typical me, I angsted over it. I got so mad I was shaking. I vented (read: yelled) to her, but she knew where it was coming from. It galled me that she would tell me what a great organization she works for. What a great boss she has. She tells me how they've been treating her lately and it makes me never want to step foot in her place of employment ever again. I've never met Two-Faced Asshole. I don't want to. I have, unfortunately, met Hawaiian Bitch. I had lunch with her and my friend one day. She bought my books for her daughters.

If I'm ever in a room with these two people, they'd better stay on the other side. In a corner. Behind a really big plant. You do not want to see me get black on someone, because it's so. not. pretty.

One little mistake occurred, the lid was blown off Pandora's box, and my friend found out how quickly co-workers can turn on a dime. Apparently, when your back's against the wall and the Folks Who Think They're Important Because They Sit On A Board are sniffing your ass like a dog sensing evil, you are now given free reign to be disrespectful. Here's a clue, Mr. Two-Faced Asshole: you should've been doing your job in the first place. If you'd done what you'd been hired to do--instead of being all sneaky--you wouldn't have the Eye of Saramun all up in your video.

I commend my friend for being so strong during this whole ordeal, because I would've fallen apart long ago. She's been through worse and come out the other side. I know this. I've seen it. So, this is nothing to her.

They gave her Admin leave for a week---with pay. She got lucky. I know it, she knows it. And I think they realize, finally, who they're not dealing with. My friend, one of my bestest friends, is strong in spirit. You make the mistake of misjudging her and you'll be eating more than crow.