Yeah, it is probably true what you said.
Affirmative Action was (hell, still is????) a decent idea in theory, but in practice it pretty much sucked.
I worked with a guy in a gypsum wallboard factory in Quanah, TX back in the late '80's who more than once just skipped work. No call in, nothing.
He did this for FOURTEEN consecutive days on one occasion; I, and the other guy working that station, covered his shifts the whole time. We wondered aloud between ourselves how long it would be before they put his job up for bid. No-call, no-show two or three times and you were pretty much terminated as an employee. Not this guy.
Fourteen days after ANYONE had heard from him he comes bee-bopping into the plant, lunchbox in hand, grinning from ear to ear.
I asked him if he was alright, "Yep, just fine."
Shift foreman calls down to the floor when he sees him standing at the work station and says he wants to see him in his office.
Now the guy isn't smiling. He throws his lunchbox under a table and heads off to the foremen's office. I figure I'm gonna get more overtime today, since this guy obviously is done here.
"Yup, he gets his pink slip today," I tell myself.
He comes downstairs to the floor in about 10 minutes, laughing the whole way.
I ask him what happened.
"He tried to tell me I was fired since I didn't call in."
"And?"I asked, wondering what the hell the smiles and laughter is about.
"I told him right quick that if he tried to fire me I would have the NAACP here and and they would fight for my job, AND sue his WHITE ASS. He backed down quick. Man, you should have seen his face when I said NAACP!" The guy goes on getting ready for his shift, but now I am getting pissed.
Up to this point, I had considered the guy as a friend, or almost one. We had been pretty tight, ran around and drank beer together, all that stuff I did back then.
"You remember when he told me a few weeks ago that if I was late to work one more time I was gone?" Subtle nonthreatening probe from me.
"Yeah, I remember that. You were screwed. I kinda felt sorry for you."
"Why is that?"
"Simple: You're white. They can fire you and the union won't care, they'll just hire somene else. I'm black. They even try to fire me and the union will be all over them, PLUS, I got the NAACP if they ever mention firing me again. I got them right where I want them."
"So, the NAACP would do what?"
"They would call and raise hell, and more than likely I would keep my job AND get rid of the guy who wanted to fire me."
"Even if you were dead wrong? Like right now?"
Now the guy knows what I am thinking. The smiles are gone, there is a pissed look in his eyes.
"Tell ya what, if the NAACP did come in here, they would have to do an investigation to see if it was racism, and THAT is where you're wrong. There are 20 other guys right here on the floor who know what you just did and what you are trying to pull off. And we ain't all white. Just look around. I think you're gonna have a long day, man," I commented as I grabbed my stuff.
Sure enough, the union president shows up later that afternoon to help this "mistreated" employee file a grievance against the foreman. And against myself.
Why?
#1: Not sure now, but back then people who were considered minorities got away with murder. It was more important to keep them on the payroll than it was to look at their job performance.
#2: The NAACP was feared by a lot of employers. Even if they were 100% right (the employers), the fact that the NAACP was involved automatically meant that the media would look upon them as evil, racist, and oppressive. The NAACP didn't have to prove anything. Classic example of "guilty until proven innocent", and then the media wouldn't care. My employer did not want the publicity, so this guy got off without even a slap on the wrist.
FWIW, I agree with ya, Grun. Even if it ain't politically correct to point out the truth, I stand beside ya on this one.
