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avevale_intelligencerThe emergency board meeting was in an uproar of outrage, and Mr Huntington was thumping the table in his fury.
"Fire every last one of 'em!" he shouted. "I want every damn Latino off these premises by sundown, or I'll start firing people myself, starting in here!"
Many of the directors were nodding, echoing him. One, though, a junior director named Harvey Benson, timidly raised his hand.
"Isn't that a little extreme, sir?" he ventured.
Immediately there was silence, and Benson coloured in embarrassment.
"Go on," said Huntington, in an ominous tone.
"Well," Benson said, swallowing, "we know that Rodriguez was the man who torched the warehouse. But we also know that he was under a great deal of stress at the time, what with his wife being ill, and--"
"Are you trying to make some kind of point here, Benson?" said Mr Huntington, in the same tone.
"Well...you have no grounds for sacking all the other Latino workers just because of the actions of one man."
"If it hadn't been him, it would have been another one. This is a safety precaution, Benson."
"Yes, but..." Benson cleared his throat nervously. "The point is that not all Latinos are like that, sir."
Mr Huntington actually smiled. It wasn't a nice smile. "Are you trying to derail this discussion, Benson?"
"N-no, sir..."
"I know 'not all Latinos are like that, sir.'" The imitation was cruel, but accurate. "That isn't the point. The point is that they could be. By taking this action, I'm sending a message, Benson. A message to everyone. To our white workers, that we care about them, we're standing up for their rights. To those Latinos, that we know what they're like, we've got our eyes on them, and they better shape up and behave themselves if they want to get other jobs in this great country. Answer me this, Benson. If not all Latinos are like that, why didn't the others stop him?"
"I--I don't know, sir."
"Exactly. It's up to them to enforce standards of behaviour on each other if they want to be trusted. And since they don't, well, we know what to do about this."
"But...but the facts in the case, sir..."
"The facts in this case, Benson, don't matter." Huntington had become fatherly. "I see you're confused, son, so let me straighten you out. It's not the first time a non-white has committed a violent and destructive act against us whites. It won't be the last. Are you suggesting that I forgive them, just because some of them aren't like that? No, my boy, the facts don't matter compared to this vital political message we're sending here. Whatever reasons this Latino may have thought he had for doing what he did, well, they're irrelevant. We've got to keep our heads straight on this; he did it because he was a Latino, and that's what they do. Maybe not all of them, but that's not important. We have to make it clear to every last one of them; this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated. Get them out of my plant, Benson. I'm making you personally responsible for it. Do it today."
"Did you know," said Jilks, another director, "that if you ask a Latino what worries him most about white people, he'll tell you things like not getting a job, not being served in restaurants, not getting respect, maybe getting arrested...but if you ask a white guy what worries him most about Latinos, he'll say 'I'm afraid they'll kill me'? Don't you think that means something?"
"Exactly." Huntington nodded wisely. "All right, gentlemen, I think we're done here. Thank you for coming in."
The meeting broke up: but Harvey Benson's face was troubled, and his manner abstracted.
"Fire every last one of 'em!" he shouted. "I want every damn Latino off these premises by sundown, or I'll start firing people myself, starting in here!"
Many of the directors were nodding, echoing him. One, though, a junior director named Harvey Benson, timidly raised his hand.
"Isn't that a little extreme, sir?" he ventured.
Immediately there was silence, and Benson coloured in embarrassment.
"Go on," said Huntington, in an ominous tone.
"Well," Benson said, swallowing, "we know that Rodriguez was the man who torched the warehouse. But we also know that he was under a great deal of stress at the time, what with his wife being ill, and--"
"Are you trying to make some kind of point here, Benson?" said Mr Huntington, in the same tone.
"Well...you have no grounds for sacking all the other Latino workers just because of the actions of one man."
"If it hadn't been him, it would have been another one. This is a safety precaution, Benson."
"Yes, but..." Benson cleared his throat nervously. "The point is that not all Latinos are like that, sir."
Mr Huntington actually smiled. It wasn't a nice smile. "Are you trying to derail this discussion, Benson?"
"N-no, sir..."
"I know 'not all Latinos are like that, sir.'" The imitation was cruel, but accurate. "That isn't the point. The point is that they could be. By taking this action, I'm sending a message, Benson. A message to everyone. To our white workers, that we care about them, we're standing up for their rights. To those Latinos, that we know what they're like, we've got our eyes on them, and they better shape up and behave themselves if they want to get other jobs in this great country. Answer me this, Benson. If not all Latinos are like that, why didn't the others stop him?"
"I--I don't know, sir."
"Exactly. It's up to them to enforce standards of behaviour on each other if they want to be trusted. And since they don't, well, we know what to do about this."
"But...but the facts in the case, sir..."
"The facts in this case, Benson, don't matter." Huntington had become fatherly. "I see you're confused, son, so let me straighten you out. It's not the first time a non-white has committed a violent and destructive act against us whites. It won't be the last. Are you suggesting that I forgive them, just because some of them aren't like that? No, my boy, the facts don't matter compared to this vital political message we're sending here. Whatever reasons this Latino may have thought he had for doing what he did, well, they're irrelevant. We've got to keep our heads straight on this; he did it because he was a Latino, and that's what they do. Maybe not all of them, but that's not important. We have to make it clear to every last one of them; this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated. Get them out of my plant, Benson. I'm making you personally responsible for it. Do it today."
"Did you know," said Jilks, another director, "that if you ask a Latino what worries him most about white people, he'll tell you things like not getting a job, not being served in restaurants, not getting respect, maybe getting arrested...but if you ask a white guy what worries him most about Latinos, he'll say 'I'm afraid they'll kill me'? Don't you think that means something?"
"Exactly." Huntington nodded wisely. "All right, gentlemen, I think we're done here. Thank you for coming in."
The meeting broke up: but Harvey Benson's face was troubled, and his manner abstracted.
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Date: 2014-05-28 02:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-05-28 02:51 am (UTC)