(if you're here because Doc sent you, you want this post. Thanks)
Grrrrrrrr
This has GOT to make you seethe. Heather B. Hamilton - no, I've no idea who she is - just got canned by the company she worked for - as one of her "colleagues" took exception to what she was writing in her Blog.
Full story here, presented in Righteous Angrycolour.
Heather asks:
1. Should I lose my job over what I have written on my personal website, especially if I have made sure not to mention specific places, persons, or events by name?
Don't get me started. The obvious, obvious answer is obviously too obviously obvious to even state.
Heather lives in LA, California, USA - which means that she's not only theoretically free to say, think, write whatever the hell she wants to, but she's actually protected by the most fundamental principles of the laws of her country in doing so - right?
I've no idea what she posted, but the content is completely irrelevant anyway. She may have written something her boss and perhaps other work "mates" don’t like (or, at least, don’t agree with or understand) - but she has an unconditional constitutional right to write whatever she thinks
There's a core democratic principle at stake here. Voltaire: “I may disagree with what you have to say, but I shall defend, to the death, your right to say it.” In firing Heather, her boss has just violated one of the central tenets of Western democracy and, surely, broken the law.
She asks:
3. What recourse do I have?
Er...sue the snot out of them?
Seriously. For all I know, Heather may not be able to do this without legal aid. She may, for any number of reasons, not want to do it. But one thing's fer sure: she's out of work right now, I'm not. I've just signed up for a PayPal account. Just as soon it's set up, assuming I can figure out how to work it, I'm launching a Heather B. Hamilton Defence Fund.
Whatever donations I'm able to drum up from within the blogging community or elsewhere - I'll make sure they get to Heather, to use as she sees fit.
Again - I have no idea who this woman is, but if she's got the appetite for it, she deserves to nail them. And if not, well maybe we can at least buy her a case of Diet Coke, or something...
BTW, if you already have a PayPal account, and want to help - email me: michaelocc@SPAMTRAPsympatico.ca
(Edit out the SPAMTRAP thing, doofus...)
Or if you want the "bill me later" option - send me your pledges now, to the above address, and I'll come chase you down once I've jumped through the PayPal account verification loop.
There's steam whistling out of my ears over this one.
Grrrrrrrr
This has GOT to make you seethe. Heather B. Hamilton - no, I've no idea who she is - just got canned by the company she worked for - as one of her "colleagues" took exception to what she was writing in her Blog.
Full story here, presented in Righteous Angrycolour.
Heather asks:
1. Should I lose my job over what I have written on my personal website, especially if I have made sure not to mention specific places, persons, or events by name?
Don't get me started. The obvious, obvious answer is obviously too obviously obvious to even state.
Heather lives in LA, California, USA - which means that she's not only theoretically free to say, think, write whatever the hell she wants to, but she's actually protected by the most fundamental principles of the laws of her country in doing so - right?
I've no idea what she posted, but the content is completely irrelevant anyway. She may have written something her boss and perhaps other work "mates" don’t like (or, at least, don’t agree with or understand) - but she has an unconditional constitutional right to write whatever she thinks
There's a core democratic principle at stake here. Voltaire: “I may disagree with what you have to say, but I shall defend, to the death, your right to say it.” In firing Heather, her boss has just violated one of the central tenets of Western democracy and, surely, broken the law.
She asks:
3. What recourse do I have?
Er...sue the snot out of them?
Seriously. For all I know, Heather may not be able to do this without legal aid. She may, for any number of reasons, not want to do it. But one thing's fer sure: she's out of work right now, I'm not. I've just signed up for a PayPal account. Just as soon it's set up, assuming I can figure out how to work it, I'm launching a Heather B. Hamilton Defence Fund.
Whatever donations I'm able to drum up from within the blogging community or elsewhere - I'll make sure they get to Heather, to use as she sees fit.
Again - I have no idea who this woman is, but if she's got the appetite for it, she deserves to nail them. And if not, well maybe we can at least buy her a case of Diet Coke, or something...
BTW, if you already have a PayPal account, and want to help - email me: michaelocc@SPAMTRAPsympatico.ca
(Edit out the SPAMTRAP thing, doofus...)
Or if you want the "bill me later" option - send me your pledges now, to the above address, and I'll come chase you down once I've jumped through the PayPal account verification loop.
There's steam whistling out of my ears over this one.
