This is an appalling story:
“Ghetto dude” e-mail sent by mistake, province says
But taking it a step beyond the obvious racist, classist slur meant to describe, it seems certain, the job applicant is the pathetic bureaucratic reaction of the supervisor of the woman who sent the e-mail:
Reached on vacation in the Maritimes, Craig Sumi, manager of Siu’s department, last night referred to her as “an unclassified, part-time employee … low level.”
“I don’t know where you’re going with this,” he said.
Oh, well that’s OK then. It’s just a low-level, unclassified employee acting as team leader for hiring for — oh, for Cabinet Office. Who is likely represented by one of the major unions or at least covered by a collective agreement and collecting years of service toward her pension. And who has taken the oath of secrecy and who, most likely, was hired through a competitive process. Not really connected to the Ontario Public Service in any meaningful way. I don’t know where that Star reporter was going with it either.
UPDATE: The Globe and Mail is planning an online discussion tomorrow on “How to avoid e-mail disasters”, which seems to miss the point. Wouldn’t an online discussion on “How to avoid being an ignorant asshole” be more useful?