Kodak Employee Fired For Calling "Coming Out Day" "Offensive and Disgusting"

News Source 13 ^ | October 21, 2002 | Mike Doria

[ladylib]

You know how to stop this crapola? Everyone who is offended at what happened to this gentleman should write and tell Kodak that they will not be buying anymore Kodak products.

[Dr. Frank fan]

Kodak is, as was pointed out in the article, within their rights to fire this guy.

You are probably right. However, the lawyer used unfortunate phrasing in defense of this point when he said

"If an employer goes a step further and promote diversity--you have no right to oppose that policy," Fusco said.

Read that again: the Labor lawyer (who let's face it is probably not sympathetic to the employee in this case) comes out with "you have no right to oppose that policy". No right to oppose a policy?

From a legal standpoint, this simply cannot be true. Of course, most likely it was just a Freudian slip by the lawyer, and the company's case rests on more solid ground than that.

[kitkat]

KODAK is now a Gestapo company.

[TC Rider]

Nippon based company. I think some is made stateside.

[Whilom]

Kodak makes good film, but film will not be able to compete with digital photography for much longer.

Yep, for Kodak, "coming out" day is just before "closing up" day.

[j_tull]

It would certainly appear to meet the "hostile work environment" test.

[cavtrooper21]

Oh spare me .... Digital for me Koduck does it again.

[mombonn]

I wonder if there's a "Coming Out Day" for people who are born-again Christians or new NRA members

If there isn't, there should be!

I've been born-again since August 5, 1965; and joined the NRA during the clintbilly years.

[DoughtyOne]

Thanks. That makes sense.

[DoughtyOne]

Thanks. I'd not heard of Greece.

[nanny]

[Kodak is, as was pointed out in the article, within their rights to fire this guy.]

Well, technically, any company is always within its rights to fire anyone. But, if a letter had been circulated that was offensive to gay people, or black people. I don't mean a personal issue just something which offended them, would it have been the same? Wasn't the employee within his rights to say, I am offended by this, much as a female would be if someone sent her a sexual offensive letter. I see no difference.

I, too, would have been offended, disgusted and insulted by this and I think the employer was wrong - dead wrong on this one.

[DoughtyOne]

I'm in agreement with your comments. And I can't for the life of me fathom anyone thinking that those S&M and worse parades would win friends and influence people favorably.

[DoughtyOne]

Yes, you're right. That did look strange to me, but thanks to you folks I've learned about Greese. At least they didn't call him a Greeser. Heh heh...

[Poohbah]

I have a slightly conspiratorial take on the "medical marijuana" initiatives.

Back in the late 1980s, Argonne National Laboratory managed to demonstrate how pot messed up one's immune system. Essentially, it caused T-cells to be released into the bloodstream before they were fully mature. If you were doing the wacky weed on a regular basis, your T-cell count increased, but they weren't worth a damn in keeping you well.

One of the biggest advocacy groups for "medical marijuana" is made up of AIDS victims. Now, just WHO might have a pecuniary interest in further screwing up an AIDS patient's immune system and killing him off faster? If you said "Your Friendly HMO," you broke-a da code! And when you trace out who FUNDS these groups, the foundations that support "medical marijuana" advocacy groups always seem to be getting big donations from HMOs and HMO industry groups. Of course, it's just a coincidence, nothing to see here, move along.

[KeyBored]

"However, this only works if it's legal to terminate them once they come out. It isn't now. But it will be at some point in the future, because the HMOs will donate veritable dump truck loads of money to political candidates that will vote to do this."

Ahhh, this will be just another reason that we'll have to implement Xillary! Care (i.e. socialized medicine) and make those evil, discriminating HMO's illegal.

Government (read taxpayers) should foot the bill for the "gay" lifestyle, doncha think?

[Poohbah]

Ahhh, this will be just another reason that we'll have to implement Xillary! Care (i.e. socialized medicine) and make those evil, discriminating HMO's illegal.

Actually, Shrillary! Care would have made those evil, discriminating HMOs mandatory.

[vnix]

My opinion is this, now I'm not a lawyer but it seems to me they are wrong firing this guy. If Kodak is sponsoring a "coming out day" then they should have to sponsor a heterosexual day too. Kodak is simply wrong for getting into this kind of stuff to begin with, because shouldn't they then sponsor a day for every one in all aspects of cultural diversity to be recognized? I think that is something that simply should be left alone. Imagine all the crap that could start in the workplace just because someone wants to make a group feel good by recognizing them. My opinion, business is business and should be kept that way. Not a social experiment that could ultimately bring on problems like this and even bigger.

[DoughtyOne]

Interesting comments.