For Fear We May Forget...

Bad jobs -- bad supervisors happen every day to everyone. You pick up the pieces and move on. What is most frightening however, is when a situation arises like that described in A Bullish Government blog where the final decision on whether a situation is escalated or de-escalated;  whether a complainant is humanized or to be de-humanized is only, and can only be made at the highest level.  It is this abuse of authority of one (or select few) who then in turn instruct other potentially good people to do its bidding.

Highly respected and powerful people holding office of: CSC Commission, Manitoba Labour Board Chair, Manitoba Human Rights Commission Executive Director and Manitoba Ombudsman will (upon order) ignore policy, procedure, law and humanity for fear of falling into disfavour of its government leader. This is in total contradiction with Manitoba's new Canadian Museum of Human Rights, which is to stand proudly as a symbol of "Canada's unwavering commitment to recognizing, promoting and celebrating human rights" and “to stand as a reminder to take action against human rights violations." [Note: Mental illness and the strides in advancing civil rights in response to mental disability, are not recognized by the CMHR, primarily funded and sponsored by our Governments. ]


Government then undertakes to do whatever it takes to silence the complaint (away from public attention) to sweep a "person of inconvenience" under the rug.  One would hope to think that somewhere in this there would be one or two unwilling cohorts losing some sleep over it. But nonetheless, the fear of losing a paycheque, promotion or approval from any one of the Great Kahunas is much more compelling. 
 
Then, on the flip side, there's the really scary 'psycho'  leaders who really get off on being abusive. These are the ones that go way above and beyond the call of duty to inflict even greater pain and suffering.  Experiments conducted in the '60s and '70s  such as 'The Milgram and Stanford Prison' (one of many well documented cases) shows just how easy you can get people to do the unthinkable.
 
It has been said that it is better to protect your character than your reputation. Your reputation, after all, is only what other people think of you; but your character is who you really are.

This  Remembrance Day as we honour all those who gave their lives for others; and for those that came home to live out their lives to be strong leaders in our free world; free to marry their sweetheart, free to raise a family strong in principles, free to grow old and teach their  grandchildren the true meaning of honour, I leave you with my Remembrance Day bidding to you, "For Fear We May Forget ... 

We must never forget that we may also find meaning to life even when confronted with a hopeless situation, when facing a fate that cannot be changed. For what matters then is to bear witness to the uniquely human potential at its best, which is to transform a personal tragedy into triumph, to turn one’s predicament into human achievement. When we are no longer able to change a situation—we are challenged to change ourselves.

Man’s Search for Meaning
Viktor Frankl, survivor of Auschwitz