April 30, 2002

Editor's Note: Laboratory Director John Browne has stated on more than one occasion that there will be zero tolerance at the Lab for people mistreatment incidents.

Words can hurt even those for whom they're not intended

I've stewed over this for several weeks now and I'm still not sure whether calling public attention to it is the right thing to do. But "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." (E. Burke) If silence may make things worse, hopefully speaking out will have a positive effect. I report and reflect on a comment overheard in the Otowi Building cafeteria.

One person was talking very loudly, so neither effort nor intent was required to overhear the conversation. There was an interesting series of sensible comments related to stockpile stewardship, and then after a quieter period, I caught the end of something that seemed to have referred to one of the classic blood-libels, recognizing its falsehood and that it had been used as an excuse to mistreat "the Jews." This of course caught my attention, but what astonished me was to hear what followed: "not that you need an excuse to mistreat them."

Whether it was from cowardice or politeness, my initial reaction was that it was neither proper nor my place to intervene in an otherwise private conversation. And this is a free country (perhaps the freest ever) so everyone can say and think what they like.

But America was founded on and has risen to greatness on the premise that everyone should be treated on the basis of their individual actions, not their origin, race or creed. If we forget that, if we weaken in our resolve to base our behavior on that premise, then we weaken the core strength of America; we undermine our ability to make one out of the many.

However, I heard no one at that table raise any objection, or say that it is un-American to mistreat anyone on the basis of their ethnic grouping. Hoping that it is never too late to do good, I speak out now. Certainly this view is to my benefit; I also believe that it benefits each and everyone of us.

--Terry Goldman