CommentsCOMMENTARY - A few months ago, I was accused of micro-aggression because I refused to post my pronouns in a zoom meeting.
A number of people thought I was being petty and that I should just identify as she/her but I pushed back because I do not see myself as a “she” or a “her” but as me. And that I would not be bullied.
Which set off a furor.
Which I ignored as just another tempest in the politically-correct teapot.
At the time it was me and me alone. But in the weeks since, I have started to receive calls from others who are starting to see the slippery slope of being sucked into the world of the treatment of micro-aggressions, even perceived micro-aggressions, as de facto evidence of conduct that should be punished.
Recently a Neighborhood Council board member was removed from lack of attendance which was changed to lack of complete attendance when it was pointed out that he was present at every meeting but the Zoom Grand Pooh-Bah had silenced him for stating his views,
DONE violated its own “mantra about inclusion and diversity which are clearly political constructs” to allow the Neighborhood Council in question to mute and remove him for expressing his opinion. The (ex) board member called it hazing; I call it a symptom of something worse.
Whether there was legitimate reason to remove him is moot. One cannot arbitrarily eject a legitimately elected official without due cause and, Guantanamo aside, the Sixth Amendment to the Bill of Rights guarantees any accused the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury.
People look for a power greater than individuals to believe in – be it a religion or science or mother earth or our government. But, in this instance, does DONE now represent a power greater than the Constitution of the United States?
The new and not-so improved draft of revisions for the Neighborhood Council Code of Conduct was released early this month.
Although it specifically refers to the Mayor calling for efforts to “ensure fairness, diversity, equal opportunity, and transparency,” and that the Workplace Equity Policy – something currently under discussion that does not appear to exist in an approved form – is designed to protect NC board members from “harassment, hazing, bullying, and inequitable conduct”
Furthermore, after paying lip service to the independence of Neighborhood Councils, it goes on to say that all Neighborhood Council Board Members and Committee Members are required to affirm acceptance of this policy.”
Lock, stock and with the barrel of the DONE gun aimed down their throats.
And goes on to state that any board or committee member that does not comply shall be suspended and, if they refuse to comply within 30 days, they shall be permanently removed from their position by DONE which shall be the sole and final decision maker.
Ugly echoes of McCarthyism, witch trials and the loyalty oaths of the 1950s which clearly violated freedom of speech and freedom of association. Is the Los Angeles City Hall condoning their resurfacing in the here and now?
Furthermore, any alleged violation of the Code of Conduct or Workplace Equity Policy allows for immediate suspension by the General Manager for up to 90 days with no recourse. Adding “if credible” “good faith efforts” and as short of time as possible” are too subjective in a department already roiling with political shenanigans.
The application of what constitutes a board member’s interaction that would fall under the foregoing is excessively broad given that the General Manager has proved herself so thin-skinned as to protest to the Budget Advocates about an article written which opens: “I am a Budget Advocate, but today I am writing not as a Budget Advocate but as a resident of the City of Los Angeles.”
Moreover, dumping the removal of a victim of this policy on the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners (currently functioning as the General Manager’s alter ego) is like giving a lamb to a lion to determine punishment.
If this was confined to imminent physical threats, defacement of property or other serious crimes, this might make for reasonable policy but it purportedly includes micro-aggressions including any slight that anyone feels, whether imaginary or not.
Additionally, no board or committee member may communicate anything that could be construed as being in violation through personal e-mail, social media, texts, phone calls, radio, et al.
Whoops! Sounds like a gag rule to end all gag rules. Not to mention what the fuck (excuse the language, ladies), are they doing surveilling every board and committee member personal correspondence as if they were terrorists? Who issued that warrant?
I have no issue with Neighborhood Councils enforcing a safe and equitable environment but it must be one based on common sense, not the paranoid perceptions of whoever came up with the Workplace Equity Policy and Code of Conduct revisions.
And I am sorry DONE feels so threatened it has to kowtow to a few fringe elements. What happened to good judgement? Did it disappear along with common courtesy?
I have been called a socialist ever since I became involved with the Budget Advocates but do I ask for those people to be rejected and ejected? No, I wear it, not as a slur, but as a badge of pride.
As do many of my friends who were early leaders in the movements for women’s and gay rights, for gender equality, and now for social, economic and environmental justice.
One person’s opinion may be offensive to another. Stopping them from expressing it is equally offensive. Anybody heard of First Amendment Rights?
One definition of micro-aggressions contained in the revisions to the Code of Conduct is unintentional verbal of behavioral conduct.
How can a Neighborhood Council get anything done if they can’t talk out of fear they might be participating in inequitable conduct?
Should we stop moving? Should we stop breathing?
Hazing, humiliation and bullying are disrespectful behaviors but calling me out for the micro-aggression of not posting my pronouns is bullying.
Requiring board and committee members to sign such a code of conduct is bullying especially because it is a demand by those who should be leading by example not threatening, and is a direct attack on freedom of association, freedom of speech, and of democracy itself.
I believe that our society treats some people as more equal than others and that needs to be addressed. What I don’t believe is that the aggrieved deserve to be treated more equal in turn.
No-one should be accepted to a university, be hired, or be appointed to the Supreme Court just because they identify as a minority. That is prima facie evidence of discrimination in and of itself.
However, the minority experience should be included as a factor when considering purpose.
The same applies to Neighborhood Councils.
DONE and BONC need to get out of their bully pulpit and start empowering board members, not inciting them to run for the nearest exit.
(Liz Amsden is an activist from Northeast Los Angeles with opinions on much of what goes on in our lives. She has written extensively on the City's budget and services as well as her many other interests and passions. In her real life she works on budgets for film and television where fiction can rarely be as strange as the truth of living in today's world.)
