As a person who travels, I find racism is highly overrated.
People don't like other people because they are other people.
Color is a cherry on the top of the cake.
If you want to believe people don't like you
because of your complexion,
well it's kinder than admitting
you have a lousy personality or your breath stinks.
In Jamaica we may play the "Race Card"
when there's nothing else to play.
But usually, it's class.
In America and other countries Black skinned people
fight, lie, die, and kill to go,
there probably is a lot of racism
but could also be that the people who live there
are just as xenophobic as Jamaicans, who,
by the way, consider a person who migrated
here forty years ago "a foreigner".
I mention this distasteful little fillip,
in re another of my company's
interminable meetings.
It's a good thing I don't mind being unproductive.
Every Monday we have what I facetiously call our "cabinet" meeting.
This is a time waster in which we sit around chatting about our employees.
On this occasion it was to introduce the new Systems Director.
I should have been the Systems Director, but was humped over to Personnel
where I do nothing much since I've got to go to every meeting,
even if it's what color to paint the lobby.
The "Sys Di" was one of those Black Americans who happened to have
been born in Jamaica.
Speaking as if he'd been a Georgia Sharecropper, tossing in a few
ungrammatical terms to touch his "Roots", he explained, he had
been fired an American company because he was Black. (I guess they
didn't notice that when they hired him.)
I didn't say anything as I was busy cramming pastries in my mouth,
but figured we were buying serious bull.
After the meeting, I got on the Internet to research our new "Sys Di",
and from where I was sitting it looked like our boy was fairly
incompetent and not particularly honest.
After his first week on the job, I learned Geeky Kid
was doing most of his work.
Every company has a Geeky Kid, (GK) who doesn't have the
ON PAPER qualifications but knows more about computers
than the guy who builds and programs them.
GKs work cheaply and are so enamored of computers
they'll do the dog's body work as if it's a gift.
The C.E.O., (Mr. Minddead as I affectionately call him silently)
wanted to introduce a NEW SYSTEM.
Anytime a Clueless Executive Overlord, who knows nothing
about anything decides to introduce anything, it's chaos.
Especially when it concerns technology.
Clueless Executive Overlords have their secretaries make hard
copies of their emails, and place them on the desk with handwritten
advisories as to what they are about; to which he dictates responses.
As I don't mind being unproductive, it doesn't much matter to
me that what is about to happen is going to plunge the company
into hysteria last seen when Chicken Little thought the sky was
falling.
In fact, I decided to add to it.
I rang GK on his cell, disguising my voice, claiming
I was from our Mo bay branch and needed him to check
on our computers.
GK jumped into his car and was out
of the premises in three minutes flat.
I phoned our Mo bay Office, told them I was sending
the Geeky Kid to check for Piracy on all our computers.
We have lots of computers.
I told my contact to remind GK that when he finished
Mo bay, he was to go to Ocho Rios.
I called Ochy to keep the deal honest.
While Mr. Minddead stomped around in anxiety,
our new Systems Director was busting serious sweat.
As the week approached its' end, I sent the Geeky Kid
on vacation,(which he hadn't been able to take in the past
three years).
Oh did I enjoy the suffering of our new Systems Director
as the days passed and the work didn't happen and the
Deputy Sys Di was heard to admit that his new boss
didn't know his ass from his elbow (techie talk).
I wondered what excuse the Systems Director would give
when he was fired.
Racism?
