"My life is not an experiment."

One of the saddest things about this whole mess I've been writing about these past few days is the degree to which Delusional Lunatic's actions have impacted Think Tank employees who had NOTHING whatsoever to do with DL's abominably stupid action, people who do not share the views that prompted it, whose work itself has nothing to do with the subject of Abominably Stupid Action, and yet who are nonetheless suffering the consequences not only in terms of their jobs being in jeopardy but in terms of their reputation. After all who would want to hire you after you worked for Delusional Lunatic? You must be a little crazy yourself. Why should we trust you?

While I think my team, ultimately, after a few tough transitional weeks/months, will land on its feet (and probably be better off in the long-run for making the break), nearly everybody in Think Tank's main office is boiling mad -- and rightfully so. DL acted (as I may or may not have mentioned before) without consulting either senior management, including my boss, or the Board of Directors. Rumor has it that ze did not do this because ze KNEW every single one of these people would have told hir NOT to do Abominably Stupid Thing. In other words, ze knew ze was playing with fire and that hir actions could have potentially far-reaching consequences, and yet ze chose not to consult the very people who would stopped hir from doing it. Those people would have recognized the risk to themselves and the rest of Think Tank's staff. Yet, it also seems fairly clear that DL recognized this risk, too, on some level. After the fallout started, DL went around saying Abominably Stupid Action was merely "an experiment" in getting the public to pay more attention to Crackpot Idea DL is committed to.

"My life is not an experiment."

That is what one of the senior managers said at a meeting DL organized earlier this week for the entire staff except my team which, of course, works in a different city (a few were participating via conference phone but not me). Apparently, afraid to criticize DL, nobody would speak up. It was uncomfortable, apparently, because everybody had been talking behind DL's back. Everybody was offended and incensed by what DL did, both because of its abominable stupidity and because it was done with so little thought for the consequences it would have for other people.

"My life is not an experiment."

Once Senior Manager said that, apparently, people opened up and let loose, When you're in a position of leadership within an organization, you don't fuck around with people's lives like that just to promote your Great Cause, whatever-the-fuck that happens to be. You don't pull stunts like this just so that you can be "controversial" or "provocative" or "outspoken." You don't put other people's reputations and livelihoods on the line for the sake of your own delusional self-aggrandizement. DLdid not apologize.

No amount of apologizing would do any good at this point, but nonetheless, in my opinion, DL personally owes an apology to the public and to the entire staff and soon-to-be former staff of Think Tank. You fucked up, dude, and delusional lunacy is NOT an excuse.

My. Life. Is. Not. An. Experiment.

In better news, we've worked out the severance agreement. Think Tank will pay us through May 31, plus whatever vacation is owed. In my case, that's 2 full weeks, so, in essence, another paycheck. We're also planning the launch of New Think Tank for June 1, and we should have all the payroll stuff worked out by early June, too, so that, ideally, no one will miss a paycheck (and mine will be significantly larger). By the terms of the agreement, we're under something of a gag rule until then, but the stories will get told in time ...