Path: ...!weretis.net!feeder8.news.weretis.net!eternal-september.org!feeder3.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: shawn Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv Subject: Re: ACLU Accuses Asian Attorney of Using 'Coded' Racism; Fires Her; ACLU Sued by Government Date: Tue, 26 Mar 2024 12:59:28 -0400 Organization: A noiseless patient Spider Lines: 300 Message-ID: <4bv50jpbuolcjqf2rvqp6otvok9dc2024q@4ax.com> References: <17c031331a3628f5$2091$3384359$c2d58868@news.newsdemon.com> <17c05d056b6af891$53454$2218499$46d50c60@news.newsdemon.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Injection-Date: Tue, 26 Mar 2024 16:59:32 +0100 (CET) Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="9da95962575bcdedde34bc8eeb68135c"; logging-data="2041338"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org"; posting-account="U2FsdGVkX19JZF2rZCmUQShgKsNFDPlSrEUTVhQvp0w=" User-Agent: ForteAgent/8.00.32.1272 Cancel-Lock: sha1:YBMOhdK+pZDME8brznztzoRDzzE= Bytes: 18132 On Tue, 26 Mar 2024 12:22:15 -0400, moviePig wrote: >On 3/26/2024 11:48 AM, BTR1701 wrote: >> In article <17c031331a3628f5$2091$3384359$c2d58868@news.newsdemon.com>, >> moviePig wrote: >> >>> On 3/25/2024 5:59 PM, shawn wrote: >>>> 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. >>>>> >>>>> 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. >>>>> >>>>> --------------------- >>>>> >>>>> https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/22/us/politics/aclu-employee-fired-race-bia >>>>> s.html >>>>> >>>>> 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. >>>>> >>>>> 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. >>>>> >>>>> 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. >>>>> >>>>> 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. >>>>> >>>>> 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. >>>>> >>>>> 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. >>>>> >>>>> 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. >>>>> >>>>> 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. >>>>> >>>>> 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. >>>>> >>>>> 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. >>>> >>>> And there is the major issue. It does not matter what she thought but >>>> only what others thought or at least said they thought. Been there >>>> done that where I was accused of something similar by someone who >>>> remained nameless but who I'm sure I know because she was known to be >>>> a troublemaker. Luckily in my case it wasn't taken as seriously given >>>> that there was no evidence I did anything, but in Ms Oh's case it >>>> doesn't matter that she did nothing wrong, but that her complaints >>>> ended up bothering her colleagues enough that they finally complained. >>>> >>>> So her complaints did not matter but their complaints did. How does >>>> that happen? >>>> >>>>> "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." >>>> >>>> He doesn't address if her complaints had any basis in reality. If her >>>> complaints did have a basis does it still matter if the others felt >>>> she caused them harm? >>>> >>>>> 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. >>>>> >>>>> "I would note, and commend Ken, for spending 40 minutes explaining why >>>>> three discreet comments over a multi-month period of time constitute >>>>> serious harm to the ACLU members, black employees,” 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?" >>>> >>>> Wait, so the complaint is that she complained to HR about her >>>> supervisors over months, but not to others? How is that even an issue >>>> that should lead to her firing? Isn't HR's role to help mitigate those >>>> sorts of interpersonal issues. >>>> >>>>> Ms. Oh declined to comment for this article, citing the ongoing case. >>>>> >>>>> 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. >>>>> >>>>> "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." >>>>> >>>>> 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. >>>>> >>>>> "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." >>>>> >>>>> 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. >>>>> >>>>> "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". >>>> >>>> Ah, she made the mistake of saying what she was thinking and so made >>>> herself a target for more beatings. >>>> >>>>> 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. >>>> >>>> This should have seen the ACLU laughed out of court for suggesting >>>> such a thing. >>>> >>>>> "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. >>>>> >>>>> 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 ========== REMAINDER OF ARTICLE TRUNCATED ==========