the quiet one

always did what they were

told at work,

always gave 120%,

always was there early &

stayed late if needed,

always came in on his/her

day off

when called upon to do so,

never complained about the

preferential treatment

that s/he saw happening

around him/her,

which made the work

environment easier for some

& so much harder for others---

the “some”

who got to do less & not get

hassled, walked hand in hand

with the authority figures,

not standing with their fellow

workers anymore (worse than

scabs, acting as the ears &

eyes of the boss, when the boss

wasn’t around).

 

the quiet one kept his/her head down,

nose to the proverbial grind &

the difference between her/him &

others was that s/he actually liked to

come to work,

far be it for this writer to say,

quite possibly it was the job itself &

the people around him/her at the job

that gave light to this person’s life,

that made his/her existence

worthwhile.

 

to this day, we don’t know what

brought the “management” to

single him/her out---

maybe it was because s/he was

just quiet enough, just peaceful

enough, just compromising enough,

to be the kind of person that

none of his/her coworkers would

ever think of doing the “wrong”

of which s/he soon became the

target of all blame at the

workplace---

s/he was the perfect “example” to

be made.

 

like clockwork, other workers saw

the heat that was being let down on

the quiet one & when the first

suspension occurred, they simply

didn’t want the same to happen to

them---

rather than be compassionate &

try to find out the truth of what

was happening,

the quiet one’s coworkers went

about their day, worrying about

themselves only &

suddenly the divide between

“us & them,” “workers &

bosses,” these got blurred---

no one would stick up for each

other,

no one would refuse to testify

against the quiet one, to sell out

each other, to stand & fight against

the pressure that was crushing

what had been a healthy work

environment.

 

when the quiet one looked for

friends to confide in, no one

listened, so when the quiet one

got a hold of his/her assault

weapons of choice, no one paid

attention, so on the day they

spoke loudly at work,

no one saw it coming &

the people up top could blame it

all on one

person &

the news reporters kept asking

“why” &

the american people continue to

run on their little hamster wheels,

not making a peep,

not thinking it will happen at their

workplace,

putting their hopes & dreams in

this capitalist reality,

while countries outside our borders

want to be like us---

so will the plague

spread,

one worker at a time.