We The People, They The Fools

On Welcome To The Occupation, fools are not welcome. Tons of foolish things are said and done by prominent people all over the world all day long. I pay them little mind in my life and on this blog. Because the more attention they get, the more apt they are to repeat their foolishness.

Digression Alert:
Example of a Fool: In the movie Sixteen Candles when Anthony Michael Hall tries to climb on Molly Ringwald. She yells at him to, "get off of me!" He say, "I'm sorry." She says, "That's OK." He takes the "OK" as permission to climb on her again. Hence, she has to yell at him again, "I didn't mean it was OK to do it again."

The point is fools don't get it. They think if you pay more attention then they're behavior is OK. So I ignore. Except this time I just can't.

What A Fool Believes

In response to the recent shootings in Oslo, Glenn Beck stated on his radio show, "As the thing started to unfold and there was a shooting at a political camp, which sounds a little like the Hitler Youth. Who does a camp for kids that’s all about politics? Disturbing.”

The above sentences have appeared all over the news wires and internet. But that is not all folks.

Because I wanted to hear it for myself, I listened to a clip of his radio show and heard the "Hitler youth" comment. Further into the broadcast, Beck alluded to a previous monologue in which he warned Europe about the rise of the right-wing a.k.a. "fascists." The rise was because "[Muslims] are squeezing the neck of Europe" and "Multiculturalism is killing Europe."

In short, Beck implies the rise of cultural tolerance allows Muslims into positions of power which in turn insights the type of violence in Oslo. A further implication is Beck holds Muslims responsible for the incident.

I could be misreading Beck's message.  (Feel free to listen to the broadcast yourself.) However, what was clear to me, was his words were designed to insight some type of hatred.  For this particular "show" Muslims were the target for the hatred.

Ship Of Fools

Sadly though, this appears to be occurring a great deal more than I'm aware. Because historically fools usually are exposed for the fools they are, I figure that nature will take its course and flush them away. However ignoring may not be so appropriate anymore.

Granted as an HR person, I keep my ears and eyes open in the workplace for fools all the time. For that I think I am keeping my employees safe. But what are they hearing on the radio on their way to work? Are they hearing these messages of hate from fools? Are they hearing people repeating the fool's words in the subway, in coffee shops, or on the sidewalk outside of the office.

Are they walking into your workplace with their beat-up self-esteems believing everyone hates them? If so, how can they switch that off and easily believe their colleagues don't hate them too?

Beck's comments about Muslims is apparently only a small portion of what is said in the media. It is reportedly widespread and growing especially as we approach the 10th anniversary of the World Trade Center bombing.  As an HR person (or even just a person) it's important to understand even as the world becomes more gradually tolerant to cultural differences, Muslim-Americans are experiencing less tolerance.

Much of this came to light for me during a presentation on the dynamics of religious diversity in the workplace at last June's SHRM Annual Conference. The panel discussion featured Lobna Ismail, President, Connecting Cultures a Muslim-American who expressed that the level of discomfort with her religion had become noticeably different since Sept. 11, 2001. Where once her religion was a under-understood curiosity amongst neighbors, acquaintances and co-workers, it is now more of a suspicious curiosity.

Won't Get Fooled Again

Despite my belief that I do everything I can to foster diversity and inclusion for my organization, I felt amiss with this issue. How do I combat hate outside my organization that could potentially affect engagement within my organization? How would I know it's occurring? Should I ignore employees' battered self-esteems? Should I be proactive or reactive?

Are there better answers to these questions than this?
Knowing I cannot protect my employees outside the workplace.
Knowing I can protect them inside and I can be aware that they face hostility outside.
I can lend an ear.
I can talk about this issue with other employees.
I can write about it.
I can discuss this with family and friends.
I can share my knowledge of other cultures and norms.

I know another solution many consider is diversity/tolerance training. However that feels too artificial for me. I want a more natural process. I want conversation and exchanges of ideas. I want to change attitudes on a day-to-day basis, spreading concepts of inclusion through my everyday dealings with employees, and bringing attention to the details we may miss along the way.

Because eventually, I want to point to the fools with the people by my side and for them to say, "You're not getting our attention anymore. We've suffered you long enough."