Will this happen at a newspaper down the line?

I've worked with some who I was deathly afraid would snap at some point and that was before jobs started getting cut. I hope it never happens. If it does, I won't be surprised.

 

Maybe it's just me, but I don't think my place of employment is worth going into a psychotic rage over and then spending the rest of my life locked up.

 

Everyone says that at the start.

 

Walked a guy out once.. a copy editor who was a quirky bat-shit guy, allergic to everything and just a miserable shit.
Worked there less than six months and we had a problem from the get-go. Worst part for me was coming into work one day and finding out on was on probation for threatening to get the cleaning woman fired. Since we had a good rapport I asked her (and had it tape recorded) when she came in what was up. Turns out, her supervisor had misinterpreted her complaint and had me confused with this guy, who had threatened to have her fired because when she cleaned, she stirred up too much dust for his allergies.
After much interrogation from the EE/publisher's secretary, the sec realized that they had the wrong person. I was exonerated, the supervisor had a letter of apology he had to write and put in his personnel file and about three months later, the publisher/EE was demoted to EE and fired three months after that. (and attacked with scissors in his next job for being a miserable fucker, but that's another story.)
Anyway. When the original copy editor was fired, I volunteered to walk him out the door. He called the cops and said he's been fired and a big guy was making him leave. At the time, I was 5-10, 170 (and was also bouncing in an area bar)... far from a big guy, but this pinhead was 5-6, 135 soaking wet. Still, I couldn't walk him out the door with a bigger smile on my face...

 

Who can turn around a nothing day, and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile...?

 

Why was there much interrogation? If you weren't the person who threatened the cleaning woman, it's a done deal in my opinion.

 

Not all human resources departments are on the ball, Drip.

 

I worked at a place awhile back where a certain copy editor was escorted from the building a couple times a year. The guy was a mess and as bi-polar as anyone I've ever seen. It was a union shop and he had a deputy SE in his corner, so he never got canned. He's actually still there and has survived three rounds of buyouts/layoffs, much to the amazement of everyone.

 

Unfortunately, that is not true, Fredrick.

Many -- perhaps even most -- gun incidents, of any kind, happen in moments of anger/upset or fits of rage that, if they can be prevented or calmed, might not lead to deaths, or happen at all.

But it only takes someone going off for a brief time to do a lot of damage to either themselves, or others.

What's going on with all the layoffs and mistreatment of newspaper employees is just the kind of situation that could lead to such incidents. Remember that, when it's happening to you, it's not just "a layoff."

It can be a surreal, and very personal, situation -- an actual attack on one's sensibilities, even. And it is one that includes not only the loss of a livelihood, much-needed income, and any trust, respect or sense of belonging the employee had, but also, sometimes, involves a forced or public push out the door, and the implied/perceived loss of credibility that goes along with that process.

And then, there's the loss of dignity in being escorted out, and, in many cases among the intelligent, perceptive, empathetic, passionate, caring and hard-working people who seem to populate this business, there is a very real loss of identity, too.

This makes these situations ripe for putting someone over the edge, at least briefly, just because they may be unable to take it all in, process it, or accept it in any way, not right at the time that it's happening, anyway.

So, Mizzou is right on this one.

 

True, Write.

And if I were being led out the door and someone involved put their hands on me, I really don't know what I would do.

That's why they don't want someone other than the folks who made the decision to usher you out the door. You are less likely to punch out Wally, the kindly 80-year-old security guard.

 

i've been looking for a reason to upper deck that sob wally. sure he's got everyone else fooled into thinking he's just some kindly old man but i've been watching him.