The night we were discussing her impending visit, I noticed a truck in a parking lot covered in bumper stickers. The most notable of these stickers? “I’ll forgive Jane Fonda when the Jews forgive Hitler.” Yeah, seriously. What the…?

However, the real WTF moment was while we were out at the bar. Now Jill and I have always been a bit crass; it’s just who we are. After a couple of beers at a local pub (a classier joint than the outings of our early twenties; the one bartender here puts the shamrock in your Guinness foam!), we were discussing which celebrities we thought would die this year. I mean, 2009 was a year for tragic celebrity deaths with Farrah, Michael, Patrick, Brittany, etc. 2010 has potential. First on Jill’s list was Amy Winehouse. The lady bartender overheard, and joined in our conversation. She also had Amy Winehouse at the top of her list, which made us happy and allowed her to stay in our conversation.

Big mistake.

This woman said that she wouldn’t mind seeing a certain high-ranking political figure die. I don’t even want to write it into a sentence on the internet that’s how “Holy Mother of God, are you SERIOUS?” such a statement is to me.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that the Change We Can Believe In™ was too good to be true. That’s not the President’s fault. The people in the other branches of government are working hard to light the flaming hoops for him to jump through. He has a lot of messes to clean up. He’s trying his damnedest and he’s doing a pretty good job with the shitty hand he was dealt. We could be living in a nuclear holocaust by now, or at least in a world where we shoot animals from helicopters. Reacting in a very unJill and unLindsay manner, we tried our best to steer the conversation back to the Isle of Sanity. I pointed out that my friend was from the Capitol, and Jill stated that many people in her land would be very sad if anything like that happened.

The bartender backpedaled a little bit. She kind of went in to why she doesn’t like him. Apparently “naming foreign dignataries” isn’t high on her list of presidential qualifications. She would prefer someone “regular.” Like Sarah Palin.

Really? Really?!

I don’t think we even really responded. The look on our faces said it all. She tried to qualify “regularity” by saying, “or you.” In retrospect, this doesn’t make me feel much better. I don’t want to be in the same category as Sarah Palin for anything but my X chromosomes.

The conversation wrapped up after I steered it to local politics and we politely asked for our tabs. I tipped fairly generously considering she had just grouped me with the newest Fox New commentator, so maybe she will finance some education or something.

I surely hope that my friend comes back to PA after this. I’m not sure I would!

Dear XX,

Please allow me to take this opportunity to explain my hasty departure from The Organization lest I be misrepresented in my reasons for leaving. As many of you know, I hold a BA in English with a minor in business management from Washington College. Despite my level of education and intelligence, I have been made to feel denigrated in my position as part-time administrative assistant despite my best efforts to accomplish a myriad of tasks that full-time administrative assistants might have difficulty accomplishing. I worked diligently for the past year not only to aid in day-to-day office tasks but also to modernize and streamline regular correspondence and the organization’s Web presence. I worked to find the most cost-effective solutions to problems from corporate gifts to printing to web-hosting and -design services. In addition to these duties, I also assisted Mr. B— by scheduling his appointments and luncheons, typing all of his written correspondence and doing his faxing and copying. While I realize that is what is encompassed in the job description of the administrative assistant, it becomes questionable when the perceived division of work is unmatched. I accomplished all of these tasks in five hours a day at a rate of $11.44 per hour while observing a complete inequity of my superiors’ workloads. While Ms. E— worked unflaggingly at preparing numerous loans for manufacturers and farmers, corresponding with townships and engineers regarding various projects and completing any other tasks that came across her desk, I witnessed Mr. B— leave the office for extended periods of time (including a daily 90-minute to 2-hour lunch) and coming back only to read newspapers and return phone calls. While I realize that being at the top of a chain of command has its own responsibilities and gives a person some leeway, I feel that the division of labor was far too imbalanced and the recognition received by Ms. E— far too inadequate.

Seeing the imbalance on a daily basis became disheartening. However, as I am not easily discouraged, I continued going above and beyond in my daily assignments. The first time I ever really questioned leaving the job was when my political values were openly called into question the day after the election. I was openly mocked for my political values, which I had never blatantly broadcast in the office. While I realize that the comment Mr. B— made to Mr. A—, “What does she know, she doesn’t even pay taxes,” was in jest, it was still shocking and debasing. Further comments in the months following increased my growing discomfort in The Organization’s environment.

Perhaps most disappointing for me is the organization’s shift from aiding the local economy and providing gainful employment and business investment opportunities to a seemingly self-serving showcase of ongoing publicity stunts. The Hawk Acres Grand Opening could be cited as an example in which a $900 sign was purchased for a one-time use and not even featured in the accompanying newspaper article. Additionally, herein I must state that while I disagree with the need to spend a large quantity of money on a new office in the face of the current recession, I meant no harm in pointing out the findings of the Economic Summit at the January Board Meeting. I was simply supplementing Mr. P—’s point with information I had garnered from compiling all the Economic Summit data and typing the final report. Upon returning from the Board Meeting, Mr. B— attempted to intimidate me for merely stating facts. It was at that point that I was, essentially, forced to choose between quitting immediately or subjecting myself to a new level of shame and hostility in the workplace; I feel that if I would have let this intimidation go, that I would have only faced similar situations in the future.

I apologize for my somewhat impetuous departure from The Organization and the somewhat uncomfortable nature of this letter. It is not meant to be a personal attack against Mr. B— or The Organization. However, I felt it was necessary, as the third administrative assistant to leave, to offer the Board some sort of explanation as to why the working conditions are unsatisfactory in hopes that those who hold the position in the future are not subjected to the same humiliation and inequity.

Thank you again for the opportunity to work with all of you, and thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Lindsay Bergman