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.