Second G uessing the Ft Hood Events

The Senate has issued a report about the Ft Hood shooter and has recommended action.
The truth is that all of this is Monday Morning QB material. The governments training
material and fear of being labeled a bigot prevented any action from being taken.

All of us should respect the rights of others to freely practice their faith so long as it does not cross the line into criminal activity. Now many of us disagree on various points, but all should respect our traditions of nonviolent political activity.

Part of me ponders what the reaction of the same people in the case would have been like had this been a misguided Christian who advocated bombing abortion clinics in College. The likely response would be a mental health referral as there is zero fear of being labeled a bigot. No doubt if this was Bill Ayers redux, there would be an army of apologists and accusations of witch hunts. Communists unlike witches are real and have an unparalleled history of crime.

The reality is Farouk in the next cube should be given the same scrutiny that one gives any other coworker. In this day and age with workplace violence and workplace bullying these are real dangers. Everyone workplace is political where cliques and slings and arrows occur. In reality there are just some workers who appear creepy. many of these people require mental health treatments and or meds, but are harmless otherwise.

Warning signs that you should be on alert for.

1) A person giving away his possessions without cause. If Leonard is in the next office is retiring or changing jobs this is no cause for concern. If Hilda starts giving away her office supplies take a second look.

2) Excessive humor about death. An occasional joke about death is not an issue. All of us have made those at times. I pondered if listening to my step daughters dreadful tastes in music is worse than an eternity in a pine box. Given the vile sounds produced by the spawn of Will Smith this is a running theme. Sadly, I can not listen to Surf Music in another room as my step daughter has separation issues.

3) Politics on the extreme edges. Vic is a Marxist and is a bore. If he starts talking about revolution at work let HR deal with it. If anyone starts rationalizing criminality like violence against a group such as Detroit Lion fans call HR. Do not go to a supervisor who is usually not trained to deal with such matters. Do not argue with the person. Merely, excuse yourself and walk away.

4) A supervisor who goes beyond normal managerial tyranny. Zelda you screwed up this report is normal. Going into daily threats of termination, public humiliation and personal rants on a regular basis is also cause for a trip to HR. If this person has personal issues it does not excuse this type of behavior. Long term bullied people can explode in many ways and people witnessing it are bothered by the hostile work atmosphere. There is nothing wrong with a demanding boss, demanding and demeaning are different and should not be confused.

These new work place challenges need skilled professionals in HR. Sadly, many of the best are few and far between.