Bullying in the Workplace Sucks

Personally I think Capitalism sucks, and one of the many ways in which it sucks is the fact that in order to eat, clothe themselves, protect themsleves from the elements and generally exist, people have to go and work in jobs which they mostly hate, for people who rarely appreciate that fact and quite often become Horrible Little Hitlers, and the fact that they too hate their jobs and would rather be doing something else (and that's probably why they're so horrible to their underlings) doesn't in any way make it better for the underlings.

So, you know. It's rubbish. And it's called bullying in the workplace.

And poor Milly is experiencing it right now.

You can read more about it here. It's one woman fighting a big corporation, so if there's anything you can do to help, please do.


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Congo March, Thursday 12 April 2007

When I received the email whose title was the same as this post, I got rather excited.

"Ooh!" I thought. "What a great idea!"

I had a little picture in my head of thousands of demonstrators dancing their way in a long line up Oxford Rd, singing, "Ooh-ooh oooh, come on and do the Conga..."

But I wasn't paying attention. Sorry. But there is a demo against deportations to the Congo (DRC) on Thursday 12th April 12.00 noon At All Saints Building on Oxford Rd (Manchester), and you must all come along, and then I'll stop feeling bad about my rather bad taste joke.

But I really did think that. Honest.


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Inspiring

A 58-yr-old Chinese man was violently bundled into a police car in Paris on his way to pick up his grandchildren from school, because a spot check revealed he didn't have residence papers.

But...

"Within minutes an indignant crowd had gathered, surrounding the police car to prevent it from leaving. Some protesters lay down across the zebra crossing. Other tapped on the roof. All chanted “lâchez-le!” Police reinforcements were duly brought in, threats were made to unleash police dogs on the crowd, and finally tear gas was used to disperse the protesters and allow the police vehicles to leave."

There are videos of the whole thing here.

It sickens me that immigrants are treated with so little respect across Europe, and that people can be so quick to condemn, without giving any thought to the wrench involved in uprooting yourself and your family and traveling such a long way, often in appalling conditions, often fleeing equally appalling conditions and arriving with nothing, only to find yourself treated like a criminal. And yet many British people seem to regard it as their God-given right to travel and settle wherever they like in the world, and seem oblivious to the rampant contradictions in these twin attitudes.

That people can put themselves out like this to defend someone against ill treatment, spontaneously and with little thought to their own safety, is inspiring.

Thanks to Petite for posting the story (it's her words I'm quoting above).