PALIN INDICTED FOR HATE CRIMES?

1/10/11

If only it were true.  I can’t tell you how much this situation angers me.  And how does that anger manifest itself?  Well……my pulse and blood pressure are elevated; and I am motivated to write and speak to people about it.  But I don’t promote or incite hate.  I don’t promote or incite violence.  And I’m sure Ms. Palin would say she doesn’t either.  Really?  This from the woman who says “don’t retreat – reload”.  Really?  This from the woman who runs an ad campaign with a gun sight super-imposed over some congressional districts.

Now don’t get me wrong.  I am not commenting on her political position.  I am commenting on her tactics – and I view these tactics equally reprehensible, and I wish criminal, whether coming from the left or from the right.

And let’s talk “free speech” for a moment.  I am a big believer in free speech – but just like we have rules for slander and libel, we should have rules for hate.  Speaking or communicating in metaphors that so overtly relate to guns and shooting is so very different from expressing one’s disagreement with another person’s views or values.  And what Sarah Palin and her like fail to understand is that they are not a video game, or a movie with fictional characters – they are public figures, who may even be admired.  They have national and even international exposure, and were or are elected to govern. Their entire existence is devoted to influencing people – so how is it when something like what happened in Tucson occurs, they say that of course they are not responsible for the actions of others.  And perhaps they are not directly responsible – but I submit there is some sort of contributing effect.

So while I wish our Attorney General had the courage to indict Palin for her role in what happened in Tucson – I know it will not happen.  But….she is a villain here, and she should be vilified in the court of public opinion for her tactics.  And our legislators need to set some rules so we as a society can come to grips with this issue.

(see “A Million and One Ways to be One-in-a-Million”; Chapter 10 – A Final Word)

WATCH THE PENDULUM SWING.....TOO FAR

You know it’s going to happen – because it always does.  When something occurs in an organization that is illegal, abusive, or just offensive, the reaction tends to be extreme.  I suspect that is precisely what will happen in the Captain O.P. Honors case.  He was the second in command of the U.S.S. Enterprise (an aircraft carrier with about 6,000 service men and women on board) who, several years ago, made an over-the-top inappropriate video for broadcast to the entire crew.

It’s important to note – I am not talking about his punishment.  I haven’t seen the entire, unedited video, and fortunately, netting out his punishment isn’t my decision to make (having said that – were it my decision to make, I would pay very close attention to all of the mitigating circumstances).  What I am talking about is the over-arching reaction of the armed forces leadership to this type of activity.  I suspect, if this practice is not “banned” altogether, there will be significant restrictions put in place.

Now, I have always posited that humor is important in the workplace.  When present, it makes work much more enjoyable, it facilitates the building of strong and lasting relationships, and makes teams more effective.  When humor is demonstrated by a leader, it makes the leader more human, more approachable, and more part of the team.  Fundamentally, humor can serve to build trust all around.  But there is a caveat:  You can’t step over the line.  And while it may be tricky to figure out where that line is today – the best course of action is to not get close to it.

So how unfortunate it is that humor, this wonderful trust building team building tool, will be the biggest casualty of this unfortunate circumstance.  As I used to say in all of the companies I worked in when somebody stepped over the line – “let’s not re-draw the line for everybody; let’s just deal with the person who stepped over it.”  In my view – this is something worth remembering when we react to all sorts of unexpected things in our work and in our lives.

(see “A Million and One Ways to be One-in-a-Million”; Chapter 6 – Give My Regards to Broadway)