By Ken Snyder
It never ceases to amaze me how some people can be so damn oblivious to what happens around them. Perhaps they just don't care, or perhaps they're so insulated that they have a distorted view of reality.
Remember that "friend" that wouldn't/couldn't "talk" to me (refresh your memory here) back in October of 2010? Since we went to the same school there are more than a few mutual acquaintances on Facebook. One of them posted a humorous cartoon that said "I can't believe I work this hard to be this poor" and Ms. BPU Management had the audacity to post "I know what you mean." Give me a freaking break: you somehow got your BPU "connection" and have been gainfully employed with those cowards for somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 years, you're now a supervisor (with the wages to match), and you know about "working this hard to be this poor?" Cue the red mist, this was way past provoking a response.
My first response was "Some people don't know the meaning of "work" or "poor"....... Must be nice."
I added to this "Some people _think_ they know what you mean......." because surely Ms. BPU Management hasn't got a clue about being "poor" compared to the typical KCK resident east of I-635. With her Western Wyandotte County home (like the bulk of BPU management) and her kids getting to attend only the finest private schools (thanks to mommy's BPU wages) "poor" rings really hollow.
Ms. BPU Management told the person originally posting the comment that it was "probably directed to me" (her) and to not pay attention to "disgruntled people."
Well, after nearly four years of silence she decides she can "talk." But is it about how she wouldn't/couldn't "talk" in 2010? No, now she wants to know if I have something to "get off my chest" in a Facebook message. Well, excuse me, Your Highness, but while you and your family's been able to live high off the hog on those BPU wages my family has had to live with a loss of wages (and more importantly, benefits) by now totaling well over a quarter of a million dollars -- and you have the gall to make a snide comment about how you know what it's like? All I responded to her was that I had already "got it off my chest" with the page linked above. I ended with reminding her that she was the one who "couldn't" talk nearly four years ago.
I guess I touched a nerve. Not that I really care; after all, she showed how much she "cared" before, I just decided to return the favor. But this finally got a response (see the whole message log from 2010 and 2014 here):
"I have nothing to do with you, your employment but I will have to say you have sine issues you need to resolve."
OK, first of all you need to proofread your posts. Of course, you have nothing to do with my employment -- you proved that in 2010.
Let me make this crystal clear: I never, ever said in the past she had any direct connection to the discrimination I encountered at BPU, I'm not saying that now, nor will I in the future. That being said, I do hold her accountable for the FACT that she didn't even ask what it was I needed to find out about at BPU (notably, where items were stored that were an example of work I had accomplished while at BPU and were still waiting to be installed that I could tell the DOL investigator), she didn't want to get involved: in a word, COWARDICE.
You bet I have some "issues" -- like how BPU willingly discriminated against me based on nothing more than the FACT that I was serving in the Air National Guard and would have to take time off to serve my country. How would you have me "resolve" that "issue?"
She goes to to say "Don't ever address me again and I hope to never hear or see you again."
"Address" you? If you're stupid enough to make a comment like you did you can bet your ass I'll "address" you. You're a coward, plain and simple. After hearing how some of your fellow employees talked about you (and boy, did they talk!) it's obvious that you are oblivious to a lot that goes on around you. "Never hear" or "see" me again? That won't be hard for you to do -- most BPU management are like cockroaches: you know you have them, but rarely see them. Hasn't happened in almost four years, so I can't expect anything will change.
You take for granted that if it weren't for people like me, people who willingly sign a contract that says we will do whatever it takes, WHATEVER IT TAKES to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that your kid could have been the one to enjoy tours in the Persian Gulf within missile range of Iran, thanks to a civilian draft. An all-volunteer force keeps that draft from becoming a reality, and since more and more is being asked of the Reserve and National Guard some people are going to have to leave their civilian employment to support military operations all over the world. After serving once (and spending over 16 years enjoying the civilian life) I went back to join the less than three-quarters of one percent of the population currently serving in the military. But BPU didn't want to "resolve" that "issue" with me, they just decided (like Johnson said) "I see a trend, and I don't like what I see" and "sent me home."
You had one chance to show some backbone, and failed. Live with it.
Me "disgruntled?" Far from it -- but not in the direction you'd like to think. And I don't see that changing anytime soon.
Next: Light At The End Of The Tunnel
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