Bullying in the work place is a real issue and a problem that is too often ignored. I am aware of a bully department manager being reported several times to the store owner and he would just shrug and dismiss it as nothing worthy of his attention. Those employees usually ended up fired or worked out within the next couple weeks. This is a problem that needs to be addressed. There are incompetent managers or just employees who feel threatened by star employees so they make it a personal agenda to rip them down and destroy their reputation. Obviously this seafood employee acted out her anger the wrong way but I can certainly understand what pushed her to the point of violence. You did not mention if she ever reported this harassment to her superiors. If she did and they did not act I feel that they should be held responsible for allowing a hostile work place.

I have had the bad luck of seeing 4 meat people get shot in my time, not a pretty sight

one meat cutter standing next to me shot by his meat wrapper girlfriend from that market

meat wrapper setting in a car with her meat man boyfriend from another store, husband got them both with a shot gun

meat cutter coming out market door and shot by a husband, this cutter lived, the other three die on the scene 

Wow what a story. Thanks I'll watch for it. I watch I.D. a LOT in fact the wife says too much because it's so depressing. It seems everybody has a hair trigger now, ready to snap at any moment. Nobody knows how to handle life situations anymore just get the gun, knife, or start asking around... will you kill so and so for me? I'll give you $$$ cash. A lot of very loose cannons out there beware!

Bill_meatcutter wrote:

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anyone remember these killing  http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/11/fresno-chicken-plant-gunman-tried-to-shoot-fifth-co-worker-police-say.html

 

 

It would be nice if that story could give a hint of a motive because all I can gather after reading it is that this career thug decided one day to shoot employees in a chicken plant for no particular reason.  Seeing how all his victims have Spanish names I wonder if it was a hate crime.  

 

(ps  I accidently clicked the edit button instead of the quote button when reply to this post that is why it says I edited your comment.)

 

 

 

-- Edited by fdarn on Saturday 31st of January 2015 03:47:06 AM

Shelley wrote:

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i find the whole thing sad from different angles. there has been bullying since the dawn of time. what i find sad is that for some reason the generations coming up are unable to handle the situations. is there really "MORE" bullying now? or is it just that we have more avenues with social media for everyone to see what is happening? i have been bullied at the work place early in my career, by managers thinking they could get away with it cause I was new, and female. Not once did I think taking their life would be the answer to the problem. Did i fantasize about beating their ass, slashing their tires or getting them fired? absolutely. Either way, I didnt put up with it, and worked my ass off and came out on top.

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If you think it was because you're a woman, I'm sure you're right.

But in some cases,  just because someone is a woman (or anything else) and being bullied, doesn't meat that it's because they're a woman, or a _____, or a ______ . Maybe they would have been bullied no matter who they were. Maybe that person was just a bully to everyone and there was no reason for the Catholic to think it was because he was Catholic or the woman to think it's because she was a woman, or the Eskimo to think it was because she was Eskimo, etc. 

Maybe the individual in question is just a jerk, or had LMS. I hear this once in a while. It's racist, or sexist, or homophobic, when no, the guy is just an a$$hole to everyone. He discriminates equally.

If you think it was because you're a woman, I'm sure you're right.

But in some cases,  just because someone is a woman (or anything else) and being bullied, doesn't meat that it's because they're a woman, or a _____, or a ______ . Maybe they would have been bullied no matter who they were. Maybe that person was just a bully to everyone and there was no reason for the Catholic to think it was because he was Catholic or the woman to think it's because she was a woman, or the Eskimo to think it was because she was Eskimo, etc. 

Maybe the individual in question is just a jerk, or had LMS. I hear this once in a while. It's racist, or sexist, or homophobic, when no, the guy is just an a$$hole to everyone. He discriminates equally.

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 From my experience bullies don't usually bully everyone in the place.  They single out one person who appears weaker because this makes them feel more powerful because inside they are just scared and insecure with themselves.  They often are able to get everyone else on their side and all them work together to push that person out or down in status.  Bullies are cowards and they need the gullible lackeys around to back them up while they torment the one person they singled out to be the target of their abuse.  As soon as that person they felt was weaker is gone they move on to the next weak person who is often someone who rallied with them against the first victim.  

The person who is a jerk to everyone, is what I refer to as the "arrogant jerk"  He is self centered, doesn't give a crap what anyone thinks and behaves anyway he wants to and if you don't like it boohoo.  He is not necessarily a bully in my book because he doesn't feel threatened by anyone or insecure with himself as he is not trying to boost his self esteem.  He actually suffers for over confidence and thinks he is something special.  This type of jerk rarely wins in my opinion as he has successfully alienated everyone in the work place and will the first one to be reprimanded when his abuse is out of control.  

My opinion on the story you shared is that we did not get the full story.  This Seafood woman was probably bullied for some time by this guy and a group of people.  This guy probably felt threatened by her for several possible reasons or maybe he just felt bigger when she felt smaller.  I don't know, but I wonder if the woman felt she was in a male dominate environment and would not be helped if she asked for it and she was eventually pushed over the edge with her termination. Unless she was a former gang member or someone with a history of violence I highly doubt this was jus a couple incidences of harassment, but rather something that had been going on for a long time.  

 My opinion is that if she was being tormented by an arrogant jerk instead of a bully and his lackeys, then she would not had resorted to violence as she would have the support of everyone else in the store who also received his abuse.  

 

-- Edited by fdarn on Saturday 31st of January 2015 03:21:48 PM

Burgermeister wrote:

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fdarn wrote:

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If you think it was because you're a woman, I'm sure you're right.

But in some cases,  just because someone is a woman (or anything else) and being bullied, doesn't meat that it's because they're a woman, or a _____, or a ______ . Maybe they would have been bullied no matter who they were. Maybe that person was just a bully to everyone and there was no reason for the Catholic to think it was because he was Catholic or the woman to think it's because she was a woman, or the Eskimo to think it was because she was Eskimo, etc. 

Maybe the individual in question is just a jerk, or had LMS. I hear this once in a while. It's racist, or sexist, or homophobic, when no, the guy is just an a$$hole to everyone. He discriminates equally.

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 From my experience bullies don't usually bully everyone in the place.........................

 

-- Edited by fdarn on Saturday 31st of January 2015 03:21:48 PM

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 When I wrote that they will bully everyone, I meant that they might bully anyone but of course not everyone. Often it's only one person at a time, but not always for the reasons (race, gender, etc.) you may think. If their target person leaves the company, it might not take long for the bully to find a new target. 

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 I absolutely agree.  I think the primary reason a person will be a bully is because he or she feels inferior so they single out someone who appears weaker for any reason.  It could be gender, race if they are one of only a few but I think it would most likely just be the person's passive/friendly personality that makes them an easy target.  If that target is no longer available they will simple find the next weak person to target.  In my meat cutting career I have worked for many managers who utilize these kind of bully tactics.  They always had the support of their brown nosing friends and singled out one person to blame for everything that goes wrong for as long as it takes to get that person to quit or be fired.  Then they move on to the next one. I have seen this a lot in shops run by females in particular and the people being run out are often very hard workers trying to please everyone by bending over backwards.  I could only come to the conclusion that bullying managers simply feel threatened by employees who are talented because this makes them look inferior (in their minds).  There are a lot of disordered dimwits running things with no leadership skills what so ever.  A good leader treats everyone with respect and works to build an environment that feels safe.  Sadly in our line of business leadership skills are often not considered an importance when i comes to running a meat department.  I wonder if the man harassing the seafood employee wasn't just a lackey for the department manager.  I guess we will never know.  It is sad.