Make Sure You Don't Hurt His Feelings....

September 11, 2001 was one of the worst days that I can recall. I remember my Mother asking me if I had turned on the television yet, and then telling me to hang up and do it. I was expecting to see some horrible accident or even something about someone that we knew. Instead, I saw a ton of billowing smoke, broken glass, and ash so thick it looked like a dusting of snow. I quickly went over to my Mother's house and we both watched in disbelief as the commentators showed the same horrors, over and over. One of the things that I dislike about 24 hour news is their penchant for repeating the same stories every thirty minutes. But this was a nightmare that did not seem to have an end. Later, when they broke the story of those heroes that fought back, it just made it even more heart breaking. An email that I received seems to make it even worse, if that is possible. On the same day when millions of people were risking(and losing) their own lives to save someone else's, Cassie was a CSM at a medium sized super center in the mid west. When she arrived at work that day, she was told that there was a CSM meeting at three o'clock. She rushed through all of the other things that she had to do to start her day, and at three promptly, she went into the back office for the meeting. Everyone was in a daze over the events. Customers were asked to leave all parcels and large bags at the courtesy desk for security reasons. A few did not want to, but for the most part, everyone understood and was cooperative. Then the meeting started. The associate who was in charge of community relations began the meeting with a long face. She explained that she was sure that everyone was aware of the terrible tragedy that had just happened and she wanted to make sure that no one said or did anything that would be offensive to the assistant manager who was a Muslim. That's right, you heard it the first time! Make sure that the Muslim manager didn't hear anything that he could construe as offensive, and direct all of the cashiers to be extra careful about what they said to each other, and to the customers! At first, I thought that Cassie was making a bad joke, but then I remembered who I was dealing with, and I knew that this is exactly something that Walmart would do. Trust the company that cares to turn one of the worst national tragedies into a festival of political correctness! At the time, Cassie just nodded her head along with the rest of them. It wasn't until later that she became angry over the way the whole thing was handled. Who was Walmart to tell her how to feel after something like that, and why would they be more concerned about the feeling of one person over everyone else there? I have said this many times before, but there are times when Walmart does something that surprises even me. Just when I am pretty sure that they can't top themselves, they do. I suppose I could have saved this particular conversation for next September, but it didn't seem like it would wait. Cassie doesn't work for Walmart any more. She had her fill about a year after this incident, but the way that conversation made her angry has stayed with her all these years. When she found this blog and read some of it, she thought I might be interested in some of this story, and she was right. She couldn't tell me if this was one person at the store who was assuming too much or if this was a company sanctioned talk, but either way, I understand why Cassie is still irritated about it seven years later. Watch the managers at your Walmart. Are they politically correct to a fault, or worse? Consider how they handle things like this and see if it's something you can stomach. You'll thank me later.