Path: ...!eternal-september.org!feeder3.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: Rhino Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv Subject: Re: ACLU Accuses Asian Attorney of Using 'Coded' Racism; Fires Her; ACLU Sued by Government Date: Mon, 25 Mar 2024 20:15:19 -0400 Organization: A noiseless patient Spider Lines: 231 Message-ID: <20240325201519.00001292@example.com> References: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Injection-Date: Tue, 26 Mar 2024 01:15:22 +0100 (CET) Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="6c7cec04f4e053156d822e3d1b8165a8"; logging-data="1473362"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org"; posting-account="U2FsdGVkX19OVOfWJh4/0UACZcUhAQHPN3JhsDLPnuA=" Cancel-Lock: sha1:HPvu+A+qdQ8bHBN68nQ3KLZ2KMg= X-Antivirus: Avast (VPS 240325-8, 3/25/2024), Outbound message X-Antivirus-Status: Clean X-Newsreader: Claws Mail 4.2.0 (GTK 3.24.41; x86_64-w64-mingw32) Bytes: 12998 On Mon, 25 Mar 2024 19:32:50 +0000 BTR1701 wrote: > So now expressing fear of one's boss or describing his behavior as > "chastising" is racist if the boss is black. >=20 > And this is the ACLU we're talking about. Anyone who still thinks the > ACLU is the constitutional rights advocate that it used to be needs > their head examined. It's nothing but a shill for the most extreme > and radical woke policies. >=20 > --------------------- >=20 > https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/22/us/politics/aclu-employee-fired-race-b= ias.html >=20 > The civil liberties group is defending itself in an unusual case that > weighs what kind of language may be evidence of bias against black > people. >=20 > Kate Oh was no one's idea of a get-along-to-go-along employee. During > her five years as a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, > she was an unsparing critic of her superiors, known for sending long, > blistering emails to human resources complaining about what she > described as a hostile workplace. >=20 > She considered herself a whistle blower and advocate for other women > in the office, drawing unflattering attention to an environment she > said was rife with sexism, burdened by unmanageable workloads and > stymied by a fear-based culture. >=20 > Then the tables turned and Ms. Oh was the one slapped with an > accusation of serious misconduct. The ACLU said her complaints about > several superiors-- all of whom were black-- used "racist > stereotypes". She was fired in May 2022. >=20 > The ACLU acknowledges that Ms. Oh, who is Korean-American, never used > any kind of racial slur, but the group says that her use of certain > phrases and words demonstrated a pattern of willful anti-black animus. >=20 > In one instance, according to court documents, she told a black > superior that she was "afraid" to talk with him. In another, she told > a manager that their conversation was "chastising". And in a meeting, > she repeated a satirical phrase likening her bosses' behavior to > suffering beatings. >=20 > Did her language add up to racism? Or was she just speaking harshly > about bosses who happened to be black? That question is the subject > of an unusual unfair-labor-practice case brought against the ACLU by > the National Labor Relations Board, which has accused the > organization of retaliating against Ms. Oh. A trial in the case > wrapped up this week in Washington, and a judge is expected to decide > in the next few months whether the ACLU was justified in terminating > her. If the ACLU loses, it could be ordered to reinstate her or pay > restitution. >=20 > The heart of the ACLU's defense-- arguing for an expansive definition > of what constitutes racist or racially coded speech-- has struck some > labor and free-speech lawyers as peculiar, since the organization has > traditionally protected the right to free expression, operating on > the principle that it may not like what someone says, but will fight > for the right to say it. >=20 > The case raises some intriguing questions about the wide swath of > employee behavior and speech that labor law protects-- and how the > nation's pre-eminent civil rights organization finds itself on the > opposite side of that law, arguing that those protections should not > apply to its former employee. >=20 > A lawyer representing the ACLU, Ken Margolis, said during a legal > proceeding last year that it was irrelevant whether Ms. Oh bore no > racist ill will. All that mattered, he said, was that her black > colleagues were offended and injured. >=20 > "We're not here to prove anything other than the impact of her > actions was very real-- that she caused harm," Mr. Margolis said, > according to a transcript of his remarks. "She caused serious harm to > black members of the ACLU community." >=20 > Rick Bialczak, the lawyer who represents Ms. Oh through her union, > responded sarcastically, saying he wanted to congratulate Mr. > Margolis for making an exhaustive presentation of the ACLU's > evidence: three interactions Ms. Oh had with colleagues that were > reported to human resources. >=20 > "I would note, and commend Ken, for spending 40 minutes explaining > why three discreet comments over a multi-month period of time > constitutes serious harm to the ACLU members, black employees,=E2=80=9D he > said. "Yes, she had complained about black supervisors, Mr. Bialczak > acknowledged, but her direct boss and that boss's boss were black. > "Those were her supervisors," he said. "If she has complaints about > her supervision, who is she supposed to complain about?" >=20 > Ms. Oh declined to comment for this article, citing the ongoing case. >=20 > The ACLU has a history of representing groups that liberals revile. > This week, it argued in the Supreme Court on behalf of the National > Rifle Association in a 1st Amendment case, but to critics of the > ACLU, Ms. Oh's case is a sign of how far the group has strayed from > its core mission-- defending free speech-- and has instead aligned > itself with a progressive politics that is intensely focused on > identity. >=20 > "Much of our work today," as it explains on its website, "is focused > on equality for people of color, women, gay and transgender people, > prisoners, immigrants, and people with disabilities." >=20 > And since the beginning of the Trump administration, the organization > has taken up partisan causes it might have avoided in the past, like > running an advertisement to support Stacey Abrams' 2018 campaign for > governor of Georgia. >=20 > "They radically expanded and raised so much more money-- hundreds of > millions of dollars-- from leftist donors who were desperate to push > back on the scary excesses of the Trump administration," said Lara > Bazelon, a law professor at the University of San Francisco who has > been critical of the ACLU. "And they hired people with a lot of > extremely strong views about race and workplace rules and in the > process, they themselves veered into a place of excess. I scour the > record for any evidence that this Asian woman is a racist and I don't > find any." >=20 > The beginning of the end for Ms. Oh, who worked in the ACLU's > political advocacy department, started in late February 2022, > according to court papers and interviews with lawyers and others > familiar with the case. The ACLU was hosting a virtual > organization-wide meeting under heavy circumstances. The national > political director, who was black, had suddenly departed following > multiple complaints about his abrasive treatment of subordinates. Ms. > Oh, who was one of the employees who had complained, spoke up during > the meeting to declare herself skeptical that conditions would > actually improve. >=20 > "Why shouldn't we simply expect that 'the beatings will continue > until morale improves'," she said in a Zoom group chat, invoking a > well-known phrase that is printed and sold on t-shirts, usually > accompanied by the skull and crossbones of a pirate flag. She > explained that she was being "definitely metaphorical". >=20 > Soon after, Ms. Oh heard from the ACLU manager overseeing its equity > and inclusion efforts, Amber Hikes, who cautioned Ms. Oh about her > language. Ms. Oh's comment was "dangerous and damaging", Ms. Hikes > warned, because she seemed to suggest the former supervisor > physically assaulted her. >=20 > "Please consider the very real impact of that kind of violent > language in the workplace," Ms. Hikes wrote in an email. Ms. Oh > acknowledged she had been wrong and apologized. Over the next several > weeks, senior managers documented other instances in which they said > Ms. Oh mistreated black employees. >=20 > In early March, Ben Needham, who had succeeded the recently departed > national political director, reported that Ms. Oh called her direct > supervisor, a black woman, a liar. According to his account, he asked > Ms. Oh why she hadn't complained earlier. She responded that she was > "afraid to talk to him". >=20 > "As a black male, language like 'afraid' generally is a code word for > me," Mr. Needham wrote in an email to other ACLU managers. "It is > triggering for me." Mr. Needham, who is gay and grew up in the Deep > South, said in an interview that as a child, "I was taught that I'm a > danger." To hear someone say they're afraid of him, he added, is like > saying, "These are the people we should be scared of." >=20 > Ms. Oh and her lawyers have cited her own past: As a survivor of > domestic abuse, she was particularly sensitive to tense interactions > with male colleagues. She said she was troubled by Mr. Needham once > referring to his predecessor as a friend, since she was one of the > employees who had criticized him. Mr. Needham said he had been > speaking only about their relationship in a professional context. >=20 > According to court records, the ACLU conducted an internal > investigation into whether Ms. Oh had any reason to fear talking to > Mr. Needham and concluded there were "no persuasive grounds" for her > concerns. >=20 > The following month, Ms. Hikes, the head of equity and inclusion, > wrote to Ms. Oh, documenting a third incident-- her own. "Calling my ========== REMAINDER OF ARTICLE TRUNCATED ==========