GELFAND’S WORLD-I've had a couple of unwise people try to bully me at meetings of my own neighborhood council. They didn't get far, but I can empathize with the real victims of bullying. I can understand how they would feel that the city has been letting them down. Now, word has it that the City Attorney's office is willing to do something about the problem people. The better news is that the city is backing off from punishing the whole neighborhood council community with useless training sessions, just because of the actions of a few.
You may remember the flurry we had just a few weeks ago when the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners (BONC) and the City Attorney's office circulated competing drafts about how to force neighborhood council board members to behave. One draft involved mandatory training in numerous subjects -- everything from sexual harassment to finance. The other draft, from the City Attorney's office, was more circumspect. It went to great lengths to define what kind of behavior crosses the line. It included specific conditions, all of which had to be in existence in order to declare something to be actionable.
The main issue in contention was whether or not to force everyone in the neighborhood council system, under pain of expulsion, to undergo mandatory training in the various topics.
One such training topic, as actually listed on a memo, was "sexual discrimination." This caused a witty friend of mine to ask why board members need to be taught how to tell men and women apart. Perhaps he was being overly literal in his etymological parsing, but the confusion in defining sexual discrimination as opposed to sexual harassment suggests that the agency that developed this draft didn't have its thinking cap firmly pinned on.
I think that most of us have figured out that telling everyone not to be bullies is analogous to telling drivers not to speed or shoppers not to steal. It doesn't take a two hour internet course to communicate to drivers that there is a speed limit. Speeding, like shoplifting or neighborhood council bullying, is the result of decisions that a few people make. The solution is to identify the speeders, the thieves, and the bullies alike, and then do something to get their attention.
If what I hear through the grape vine is correct, the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners and the office of the City Attorney are starting to figure this out. Just in case they haven't gotten to the precisely correct conclusions yet, let's help them. Guys: You don't need to spend two hours telling people not to be bullies. You just need to define it, and then tell people not to do it. This can be accomplished by handing them a single typed page.
I can remember going through an orientation session when I joined a research group one time. The Human Resources person explained, among other things, that the organization had a zero tolerance policy for sexual harassment. I was handed a pamphlet and asked to check a box confirming that it had been given to me. After checking off various other boxes concerning other kinds of human failings, I was invited to sign the bottom of the form. And that was that.
It all seemed proper, and it was minimally invasive of my time. There's no reason that neighborhood council board members can't be treated in similar fashion. All the city has to do is to understand that neighborhood council board members don't need training in how to engage in sexual harassment. They just need to be notified that they are not to do it. "Here's a piece of paper that lists our policies. Sign at the bottom. If you have any questions, call this number."
Let's get back to the definition of bullying for a moment. That single typed page that tells board members not to bully -- what should it be saying?
{module [862]} {module [662]}
One thing it shouldn't be saying is that you have to be civil, or polite. There should be no rule that you can't be insulting. These are elements of political speech, and they are protected. We do have some rules about the use of profanity, but they are more properly rules of procedure than codes against bullying.
But as one City Attorney explained to me, if you feel physically threatened, then that is a different matter.
I think there is a "reasonable person" test here. If you are so overly sensitive that you feel physically threatened when one of your fellow board members threatens to write a letter to the editor about you, then you've failed that reasonable person test. But most of us understand what threatening speech and behavior are. When someone crosses that line, then it is time to contact the City Attorney's office and ask for action.
The city does have tools at its disposal. It can go so far as to take legal action against real bullies. These tools can include filing court orders against participation, or at least against approaching particular individuals at public meetings.
If it can happen to Justin Bieber, it can happen to neighborhood council board members.
(Bob Gelfand writes on culture and politics for CityWatch. He can be reached at [email protected])
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 12 Issue 56
Pub: Jul 11, 2014
