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Bullying and Broken Babies

I am really impressed with Andrew Hanon's editorial in the Sun today. I hope we never have to hear about another Virginia Tech or Montreal's École Polytechnique, and thankfully I have not experienced a workplace poisoned to the point of violence.

"Too often, managers and co-workers accommodate bad behaviour, excusing explosive tempers, rudeness or other disruptive behaviour with a dismissive "that's just his way" instead of seeing them as a sign of much worse things to come."


"...in an economy like ours, where employees can leave for greener pastures at the drop of a hat, it's critical for companies to maintain safe, harassment-free environments.

Putting bullies, gossips and other jackasses in their place is good for the bottom line; everyone will be more productive and the star employees are far less likely to look for another job. It might even save some lives."

Managers and co-workers accommodating bad behaviour; that is something I've experienced. It is much easier to brush things under the carpet than performance manage. I think it's because people don't like confrontation; they don't want to spend the time having to work things out; there is always other work waiting to be done; they say he/she will be retiring soon (love that one!).

Words of wisdom for other supervisors/managers? Read Kevin Burns and attend one of his sessions. Here's a quote: So what is "Leadership?" It is not management. Leadership is a personal trait. Management is something you might do with it. Kevin speaks on leadership: in business, sales, safety, HR, relationships, stress, work-life balance and whatever your meeting theme may be. Kevin's weaves his message on leadership into your meeting theme and hits the mark and gets results every time!

Listen to your employees: "...there is one more responsibility that needs to be mentioned. If there are people on your staff guilty of not keeping either of the first two responsibilities, then it becomes the responsibility of the rest of the staff to address the issue with the offender right away. The offender needs to know that they will not be allowed to abuse the company or impact the workload of the rest of the staff. Trust me on this, if the other staff members confronted the offender en masse, I'll bet it never happens again. If it does, plan to visit the boss and have him surgically remove the cancer from the job.
If someone has already had this discussion with you and you still want to take issue with any or all of these responsibilities, well then you've got a big problem. Good luck with that.


Okay, enough about that for now. Have you been following the story of the little 4-year-old girl and the atrocious abuse she suffered? Four-year-old girl terrified by basements is the article in the Sun today:

An allegedly tortured four-year-old girl was "hysterical" about basements due to being handcuffed by her feet, having soap put in her mouth and forced to have sex.

That is what the trial of the child's mother and stepfather heard yesterday during testimony by a foster mother.

"She was very scared," said LaRose. "She would tell me she would have sex in the basement and that was when she would scream and soap was put in her mouth."

The former foster mom testified the Edmonton girl told her she used to be handcuffed to a box she called her "cage".

LaRose said the girl once saw a cat in a carrier and exclaimed the kitty has a cage like hers, "but mine is bigger."

LaRose told court the child disclosed that her stepfather had sex with her and her mother would say it was OK.

"She said if she didn't want to have sex, she would get the soap in the mouth, or if she screamed, her mommy would give her the belt or smack her," said LaRose.

The foster mother testified the girl would always say: "No more foot locks, no more soap in my mouth, no more sex."

On Wednesday, LaRose told court the child used to suggest she join her in the bathtub and have sex.

"She told me I was going to be the dad and we were going to have sex in the bathtub," said LaRose, adding the girl also described specific sexual acts they were going to do.

Court has heard the girl has been diagnosed as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The Court of Queen's Bench trial has earlier heard eyewitness accounts describing the child being handcuffed to a box and made to stand on it, being punched and slapped by her parents and being deprived of water.

One witness testified the girl was always thirsty because she was rationed drinks due to wetting the bed, and said she saw her sprayed with a water bottle and taunted with not getting her milk if she didn't eat her food.

The woman said the girl was so desperate for something to drink that she once drank a mixture of Miracle-Gro liquid fertilizer and water used for the Christmas tree.

There has also been evidence of the girl drinking her own urine, being forced to sit with her stepdad on the couch while he watched porn, and dancing "like a stripper."

The 22-year-old mother and 25-year-old stepfather each face multiple charges, including ones for sexual offences, assault causing bodily harm, pot growing, unlawful confinement and causing a child to need protective services.

They cannot be named to protect the identity of the child.

...to protect the child? WHAT THE F***!?!? That little girl has been so damaged, why not protect her by giving her a new name and a new family and then RELEASE THE NAMES OF THE MOTHER AND STEP-FATHER!! I am positive sure the "people's wishes" would be heard and justice would be meted out quite quickly.

Come on already!! How many more babies have to be abused before we take a stand against the abusers, pedophiles and the like? Oh, but maybe they can be rehabilitated. Again I say WTF? This man allegedly (can't forget that term, can we) had sex with this little girl and mom allegedly said it was OK? What type of rehab do we have that will get these people to not be turned on by that deranged crap? Absolutely none. Period.

Toodles for tonight - it's time for bed.

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