Saturday, September 14, 2013

Norwegian Heritage Minute


This month, as we are incessantly reminded by the media, is “Hispanic Heritage Month”.   My own workplace is no exception, sending out jolly little emails from top management, and organizing bubbly festivities.  The only problem is that, owing to special circumstances, this workplace -- although it employs tens of thousands of workers, and has been in existence for many decades -- numbers few Hispanics among its ranks.  (Far fewer than Blacks, for example.)  There are some among outside contractors that come in now and then to work on the gardens, during summer months, but those do not come inside the building.  
Nothing daunted, our management meets the difficulty (which is obvious to everyone) by proclaiming that the Hispanic contribution has been “crucial but hidden”.   This is a strategy, one notices,  recently adopted by feminoids (as I shall dub the P.C. media fellow-travelers who make a living “celebrating” this and that, while preserving intelligent feminists from any associated stain) when trumpeting the supposed role of women in whatever -- rocket science, lumberjacking, computer science, pro football, you name it:  they state that the role is “hidden”, implying that it is robust but suppressed.

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It now strikes me that, just from among those I have personally known quite well, there are more fellow-workers -- and these, indeed, among the most outstanding -- of Norwegian heritage, than all the Hispanophone or Lusophone nations of the Americas put together.   It is only because I know them well personally that I even learned their ethnic background;  obviously, no one ever talks about it, let alone wears it on their sleeve or demands special treatment; for all I know, fifty percent of everyone I have ever met there is a Norwegian-American; the subject just never comes up.
Accordingly, after a major lobbying effort, the Director has finally authorized an unofficial

Norwegian Heritage Minute

This is to be observed silently and privately within the confines of your own corner of your assigned workpod,  outside of working hours, and not to exceed fifty-nine (59) seconds, otherwise it will be deducted from your paycheck.

1 comment:

  1. The whole, "designated month" thing is, as you've shown, a slippery slope. Has it done anything to bolster the position of minorities anywhere?

    Maybe if we had a Women's Month, culminating in a Special Day, whereon our co-workers would be encouraged to pat us respectfully on the shoulder in thanks and appreciation, women would indeed equal men both in numbers and in wages in the workforce.

    If nothing else, at least the female Hallmark-card-writers would see an increase in employment.

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