“THEY” Cripple Society Volume 1: Who are “THEY” and how do they do it? An Expose in True to Life Narrative Exploring Stories of Discrimination. Cleon E. Spencer
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spray to be sure. After drying and spraying the ignition parts, the car, with some sputtering started up. Soon it dried completely and was running smoothly. But I was now to arrive at work fifteen minutes late, whereas I was usually fifteen minutes early.”
“As I walked in through the department with my raincoat still on, I met, part way, one of the more friendly girls from the collections section. She was surprised to see me late. ‘What happened to you?’ she asked in a loud whisper of disbelief. I was explaining to her the difficulty I had on the flooded street, when the supervisor, who usually kept his distance from me and communicated to me through the assistant supervisor, now came charging towards me. He roared like a lion, “Don’t you know we start work here at 8:00!”
“But sir,” I replied quietly, trying to calm the situation, “I had trouble with my car on a flooded street.”
“You’re not on a flooded street now,” he snapped, “you’re just standing there talking.”
“What could I say,” said Donna as she threw up her hand to the support group. “I took off my coat and went to work, with no time even to properly wipe the rain off my face. There was a deep silence around the department as everyone worked away. Eventually the girl to whom I had paused to speak on my way in, had work to do near where I was working. She couldn’t get over what had happened. “He turned on you for being late,” she said, “you, you of all people. I don’t understand. Do you?”
“Well, yes I do, sort of, as much as something like that can be understood,” I replied. “But we’d better not talk now till this thing cools down.”
“Okay,” she said, and moved away.
Donna’s face was flushed as she related this story to the group. Obviously it had been a traumatic experience for her. She was now reliving the event, and it hurt badly. In one way it would have been easier on Donna’s feelings if the session for that evening had ended there. However, although it had been an intense session it had not been a long one. “It is so painful to recall all this,” said Donna. “I’d just like to end the session right now, but I know it will be just as painful next week.”
“Perhaps, Donna,” Collin said, “if we pursue this discussion to completion this evening you will not have to relive it again next week, nor would it be heavy on your mind during the week. Would this be too hard on you this evening?”
Then without waiting for an answer, Collin turned to Dr. Eldren, “what do you think, doctor?”
Dr. Eldren responded, “my observation is that this was a very profound and disturbing experience in Donna’s life. Further discussion may relieve some of the obvious trauma. So I think it would be beneficial, not only to the group but to Donna as well if we proceed with it further while the matter is open. Then she can put it behind her again to some degree and hopefully with some resulting relief of pain.
“Yes,” replied Collin, “I agree. Its been my experience that when such profound experiences are left dangling in mid air so to speak for a period of time, it leaves the person in a mental turmoil for that period, in this case it would be a whole week.”
“Would you like a five minute break, Donna, as we did for Gilda?” asked Dr. Eldren.
She agreed, and after the brief period of relaxation said she was able to recollect her thoughts and continue.
“It doesn’t hurt beyond my endurance,” she said, “and I would prefer to discuss it more fully now rather than have it dangling all week, as Collin said, and have my mind in a turmoil until next group session.”
“Good,” said Dr. Eldren.
“May I question you more, Donna?” asked Collin, eagerly.
“Sure, go right ahead,” replied Donna.
Collin asked, “Donna, did that supervisor who chastised you for being late ever chastise other employees in the same manner. Was this a regular way with him?”
“Not to my knowledge,” said Donna. “In all the time I was in his department, I never saw nor heard of it happening to anyone else.”
“Were there other people late at times,” asked Collin further.
“Oh yes, lots of them,” said Donna, now becoming more calm and settled, as she began to realize she had in Collin a friend who understood.
“Were there some who were late often, perhaps habitually late,” Collin pressed on.
“Sure there were, Collin,” Donna replied. “One of the girls in the collections section, one of the draggers, I call her, she came in late nearly every morning. Not only that, after she did come in and make an appearance at her desk, she would leave again for the washroom where she would spend ten or fifteen minutes putting on her make up and fixing her hair, things she should have done at home.”
“And to your knowledge nothing was ever said to her?”
“That is so.”
“What kind of girl was she, her character I mean.”
“To put it bluntly, she was coarse and tough, sometimes getting impatient with her work and using bad language to describe it. She often complained about other employees behind their backs, running them down, supervisors and all. At times when a supervisor or other employee would complain about her work, she would lash back at them with tough defensive talk about the faulty system, thereby putting an end to their complaints. Does that give you some idea, Collin?”
“Indeed it does,” replied Collin. “Were there others of her type in the department?”
“Several,” said Donna, “but she was the worst, I would say.”
Collin’s questions became more crucial to the point he wished to bring out.
“Was the supervisor afraid of that tough girl and the others like her?”
“Yes, yes indeed, replied Donna, breaking into a smile of relief. “That’s it Collin, he was afraid of them. Come to think of it, I heard her tell him off one day when he questioned her about something pertaining to her work, and he walked away like a beaten man.”
“Coward!” remarked Leo boisterously and contemptuously.
“Yes, Leo, a coward all right, but more, a bully also. Bullies are always cowards,” added Collin as he turned to Donna again. “The supervisor was afraid of those other girls, but he lashed into you for being late. It may seem this was because he was not afraid of you. But there was more than that churning up in this man.
“Yes,” replied Donna, “I think you are right, much more.”
“Do you care to put it into words?” asked Collin.
“I’m not so good at that especially on the spur of the moment,” she replied. “Would you help by expressing your views on the matter?”
“Okay,” said Collin. “The way I see it is: this man hated you because you were too good for him. He didn’t know how to look up to and respect someone he perceived to be a cut above himself. He worked you hard as if that was expected of you in his office; and as if you wouldn’t know the difference that you were being overworked. It is another mind-game such people play on people like us. If you had cracked up or quit because of this overwork, he would be able to say you weren’t up to the job. He would make himself believe that, and hopefully other people too. Your enemies there, the draggers and so on, would be only too glad to believe it.
“This man hated you because he was envious of you. The more you beat him to his game, the more his hatred was stirred. Sooner or later, such people, when they can’t stand any more of your fine character and exceptional abilities, explode at you in some way. Or, they may take some other rash retaliation in return for what they perceive you are doing to them just by being what you are, a fine, gifted person.
“This man’s envy could have been stirred for various other reasons. Maybe he could see in you what he would like to see in his