U Not Gonna Like This

This from The Other Side of Kim on corporate America and Free Speech:

First, we have “reeducation”—it’s not enough to stop the behavior, we have to stop the thought behind the action— then comes an official “Watch it, buddy”—followed by execution, in the corporate sense. The difference between this and totalitarian government is that the latter doesn’t bother with all three steps, but uses either one of the first two followed by (inevitably) the third.

Now I’m familiar with the argument that corporations have a right to determine behavior on their premises or within their purview, and by and large I tend to agree with it. But, as with all things, the truth lies somewhere in the degree of the thing. Somewhere between extreme boorishness and extreme sensitivity lies the proper response, but corporations, ever wary of being accused of not responding to un-P.C. behavior and the litigation which follows, will always err on the side of 100% inoffensiveness, the craven lickspittles.

I agree that a company should be able to determine that Wendell Wolf can’t go around shouting that Sandra Slutty in Accounting has wonderful tatas. I also know that under current corporate rules, Wendell is not even allowed to look at said tatas—even if Sandra is wearing a tube top and no bra—because this constitutes “harassment”. And the punishment is the same three steps as outlined above. Even worse is the fact that Wendell can face the same consequences if reported not by Sandra, but by any other employee. So if Percy Prig catches Wendell leering at Sandra, he can report the “offense” and maintain complete anonymity.

Thus is the culture of the “confidential informant” created—yet another institution beloved of totalitarian government.

Am I the only one who thinks that this is all crap?

Here’s what I see arising from all this. Already, thanks to [spit] pay packet withholding, corporations (which exist solely at the behest of government) are doing most of the government’s work in terms of income tax collection. But in recent times, corporations have also been doing the government’s work for them when it comes to political correctness, speech- and thought control.

And let’s be under no illusions about the consequences of all this. By law, if prospective employer XYZ MegaCorp. calls Wendell’s previous employer ABC GlobalCorp. for references, and enquires after the grounds for termination, ABC will inform XYZ that Wendell was fired for sexual harassment. Anyone want to place odds on Wendell getting hired by XYZ?