I just did something that scares the crap out of me.
I received an email lauding Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County and recommending that we South Africans emulate his example. Everything I've ever read about Joe Arpaio makes me believe that the man is a monster. The thought of emulating him literally makes me feel sick.
I am very wary of bringing politics into the workplace, especially as I work in local government - in itself a hotbed of politicking. Usually when I receive emails like this I swallow my distaste and hit the Delete key without responding. Sometimes I'll respond to the people I know but I've never done a Reply to All. Especially not at work.
Today that's just what I did. This is what I wrote:
Unfortunately Joe Arpaio is not the man this article claims him to be. I’ve read quite extensively about him and he is, in my opinion, a monster. He’s responsible for numerous human rights violations and several people have died because of him – he denies medical treatment (even to pregnant women going through labour – one woman’s baby died), the food served to inmates and awaiting trial prisoners is not fit for animals to eat, never mind human beings. He has cost Maricopa County (and by extension, the state of Arizona) millions of dollars in lawsuits. He’s known to use intimidation and threats against people who run against him for the post of sheriff of Maricopa County. Not to mention the fact that he is a racist who focuses his brutal tactics on people of colour – Blacks, Native Americans and Latinos. I don’t mean to be a pain about this but I’d feel like a coward if I didn’t say something. I believe that people like Joe Arpaio are not the examples we want to emulate. We are much better than that. Treating other people worse than animals does not make us better human beings – it only robs us of our humanity.Was I right to do this? Should I have ignored the original email? Was I being all nit-picky and self-righteous? And how do I stop feeling scared about exposing my thoughts and opinions to a group of people I work with, some of whom I don't know particularly well?
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Bill Maher
reluctant muse
KC Morley
iamsurly
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Dr. Spudman44
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Comments
Thank you for your post. I'm glad I read it.
Kim