Standing Up for What I Believe . . .
In September 2021 I became distressed, along with many of my colleagues, when our employer began requesting everyone register their vaccination status so we could return to the office after working from home for well over 1.5 years (all the while reporting record profits). I attempted reasonable discussion in our town halls, I expressed concern over the threat posed to our personal liberties and was dismissed as an anti-vaxer in front of everyone. I decided to send an open letter to nearly 400 of my colleagues in which I stood up for their diverse views, even those I disagreed with. The day I sent that letter I expected to be immediately fired, that was the same day I reached out to the Libertarian party to ask how I could get more involved. I wasn’t fired, though. I became an underground source of support to a diverse group of colleagues with widely ranging reasons for sharing in my concerns; most fearing retribution if they spoke out honestly. Some months later the company’s request was ramped up to a ‘condition of employment policy’, but my division (having mysteriously experienced a low rate of compliance with the request) was excluded from the policy. I left that company because they committed a heinous act by interfering with individuals’ right to personal choice in medical matters with threats to their financial security, the fact that my division was spared doesn’t change who they are and what they did. I was disappointed that much of the world and most of our leaders stood by silently - even smugly passing judgment - while so many were tormented.