Although not convicted of any crime, our office was sentenced en masse to a Compulsory Corporate Thought-Reform Program where we spent the day chanting, “Four legs good, two legs bad.” “The trouble with you people,” said our trainer disgustedly, “Is that you think there’s free speech in the workplace. Well, there isn’t.” Hey, at least we have diversity:
Appellate Squawk 
I fear you’ve gone from skeptical satirist to bitter cynic, I am sad to say. Even in the good ol’ fight-the-man Brooklyn CDP trial office, the reviews for the anti-bias training have been almost universally positive. Notwithstanding (or perhaps despite) the motives of management, the workshops have been helpful to many. They have spurred discussions, albeit with tongue in cheek at times. They have led to brainstorming regarding office safety and respect for others, among other topics. We may be diverse at LAS, but we are far from culturally competent in our interactions and understandings of our colleagues. For example, the political emails became so divisive and bitter over recent years, that the gross majority of the Lefties among us seem fine about the self-censorship that has been co-sponsored by LAS and ALAA, even though it cripples union communication and stifles some discussions. That’s how fed up people have gotten! We lost our civility and our perspective about workplace needs. Work does have to come first. And our work is important. Without civility and kindness at the place where we spend so many hours, each day can be miserable. Fighting every day and being insensitive to others, intentionally or not, is not fun. Best, Roy
Sent from my iPhone
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Just put #racetogether on your mugs and everything will be fine.
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But our mugs are gagged. . .
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I’m not as cynical as Appellate Squawk, and I must admit that the anti-bias training wasn’t anywhere near as bad as I’d expected. But I must take issue with Roy’s suggestion that management had us take this training so we’d become “culturally competent in our interactions and understandings of our colleagues,” develop civility and kindness, sit around the fire singing Kumbaya, or whatever.
Management made employees take anti-bias training for one reason only: as a firewall against litigation. Henceforth, if an employee or group of employees ever does something so disgraceful or discriminatory that it provokes a scandal or lawsuit, management will be able to say that they’re shocked — shocked — at such actions because those employees were given extensive anti-bias training by a well known anti-bias workshop training group. Thus, the Society will be insulated from responsible for the subsequent actions/words of those employees.
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What if you participated in culturally sensitive music video? … oh.
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A reference to the Bronx Defenders’ participation in the controversial “Hands Up” rap video.
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Yes, unfair as it was, please try to stay out of rap videos…although…an Appellate Squawk rap…hmm…
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