My therapist suggested that I channel some of my body image woes into good, old-fashioned anger (I’m not entirely sure how beneficial being angrier could possibly be, unless rage induced brain embolisms are good for you now, but I like her so I’m willing to try it) so here you go, from the Chicago Sun Times:
I’ll sum it up: Joseph Annunzio, nephew of the late Machine politician Rep. Frank Annunzio, had a sweet patronage position at the Chicago Department of Transportation. So sweet he felt like he could call African American coworkers “Mambo Gorilla” and “allegedly [put] a tablecloth on his head and [act] like a Klansman in the co-worker’s office.” He got fired and had a hearing before the Human Resources Board who gave him back his $77,000-a-year job because, despite the testimony of eleven coworkers that he was a racist asshole, none of them testified that Annunzio’s racial slurs were directed at them personally. And so “[t]he board did not think that kind of misconduct should cause someone to forfeit their career.
Big Joe can go to each coworker and spout a rich variety of racist statements, but as long as he’s always talking about somebody else, it’s okay, because we wouldn’t want to actually punish somebody for his racism. That would be unfair. And politically damaging to the members of the HR Board who handed down that decision.
I just wonder who on the HR Board owed whom a favor.
Somebody call Anthony Boswell. Oh no wait, he’s Mayor Daley’s political appointee to head the Office of Compliance, an office created by Mayor Daley charged with “enforcing terms of a federal consent decree banning political considerations in hiring and promotions of most city employees.” (Emphasis mine, and if you don’t see the hilarity in Richard M. creating and staffing an office designed to ensure compliance with an anti-patronage decree, then you must not live in Chicago.)
Once you’re hired, you can do whatever you want. As long as you’ve got clout.
Hm. Somehow I don’t feel any better.
4 comments
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November 22, 2007 at 1:27 pm
dashofpanache
that’s almost as bad as outsourcing the Toy Safety Board or whatever outsourced to china.
November 22, 2007 at 1:29 pm
dashofpanache
or as bad as not proofreading your comment before posting it. I’m looking to get a comfy appointment to the Department of Redundant Redundancy Department. Hopefully, Richard Daley can get me the hook-up on that too.
November 22, 2007 at 1:32 pm
OTM
Haha! If you’ve got clout, you can get anything you want.
November 22, 2007 at 7:26 pm
vesta44
Makes me wonder if it’s a good thing or a bad thing that Chicago hasn’t seceded from Illinois to become its own state (there has been talk around the state for years that that’s what they should do). I used to live in Illinois, and I heard that all the time.
And: Ok, I got tagged for this, and am passing it on to you. I like what you have to say when you post, and check back frequently for new posts.
OK, so here are the rules of the game:
1. Link to the person’s blog who tagged you.
2. Post these rules on your blog.
3. List seven random and/or weird facts about yourself.
4. Tag seven random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by posting a comment on their blog.