Anyone
following this nonsense should do so with an air of insult
and disdain. A disdain for corporate America
and the legacy of American privilege - white privilege
in particular. Let�s rewind a few weeks to examine the
saga of Yahoo�s Chief Executive, Scott Thompson, who demonstrates
the reason why Black activists and conscious Americans
as a whole demand accountability when �power players�
are caught with their proverbial pants down.
A
few weeks ago, one of Yahoo�s largest shareholders gave
the company an ultimatum to fire Thompson by noon on Monday,
May 14 or the investor �will consider it grounds
for further action.� The it was that Thompson lied
on his resume; specifically he lied about that which helped
secure him the top spot at Yahoo.
Lying deceives the hearer and
contorts the consequences.
Yahoo
hired Thompson this past January. Several weeks later,
he signed a regulatory filing for publication, attesting
that its contents were accurate to the best of his knowledge.
The document said Mr. Thompson had degrees in accounting
and computer science from Stonehill
College. Subsequently, Stonehill College, a small Catholic college
in Boston said
that Thompson did receive a BS in Business Administration
in May 1979. I say, the BS is in more than the degree.
Thompson
lied. His public statement on the matter was that he �misstated�
his accomplishments. This is an affront to millions of
Americans who seek work - honestly - and are denied employment
because they are �unqualified,� according to the rejecting
hiring managers.
How
many of us can get away with falsehoods on our resumes
and not get fired? For the record, Thompson
apologized for the �misstatement,� but he did not resign.
Though I am not a Yahoo shareholder, I called for his
termination immediately upon public disclosure of his
lie. On behalf of �The 99%� and other �non-organized�
workers nationwide, this practice of the casual mea culpa
is unacceptable. Obviously, Scott Thompson wouldn�t have
agreed. Lying seems acceptable behavior in corporate America - if you�re a white male in a �powerful�
position. There�s nothing cool about that double standards.
This act of lying-casual mea culpa is symptomatic of racial
privilege.
What
I know is that, had Thompson been Black, he�d have been
fired. We know that former New York Times reporter,
Jason Blair, was fired when his lie was revealed in the
public sphere. Yahoo is a highly visible and supposedly
trusted corporate entity. If it accepts this behavior,
then should we trust any claims Yahoo makes about its
business practices?
Resume
fibbing is nothing new in corporate America. I�m not saying that it is. Veritas Software
Chief Financial Officer, Kenneth E. Lonchar, resigned
in 2002 after it was discovered that he lied about earning
an MBA from Stanford. Radio Shack CEO David Edmonston,
lied about his education background in 2006. He resigned
in a �mutual agreement.� Terrence Lanni, Chairman and
CEO at MGM Mirage, was ousted for his lies about his academic
background. Those corporations acted swiftly - and responsibly
- when duped by their top executives. Hell, even America
pushed former President Nixon off the edge of the cliff
when he was caught lying about Watergate. So what was
the issue with Yahoo? Why did it take two weeks for Thompson�s
exit? (By the way, he left with millions of dollars in
cash and already vested stock.)
It
could be worse Companies like Bausch & Lomb, after
learning the biography of its CEO, Ronald Zarrella, rejected
his resignation. Huh? You ask. Zarrella claimed he had
an MBA. The company rescinded his bonus, but he
remained CEO. You can�t pay me to buy a
Bausch & Lomb product to this day!
Lying seems acceptable behavior
in corporate America - if you�re
a white male in a �powerful� position.
This
insulation from moral and ethical fortitude is the result
of white privilege. Sure, poor people lie in desperation
when it comes to gaining employment. Where unemployment
rates exceed 8% in a struggling economy, the poor and
working-poor might �embellish� their resumes too. It happens,
but we know that when they are �found out,� they are canned.
We expect nothing less for those at the top of the food
chain. Those in power positions are no better than any
of us. We are only as good as our ethics.
Shareholders,
the public, and pundits should have demand CEO Scott Thompson�s
immediate resignation, especially when CEOs like him are
unrepentant and non-remorseful for their deceptions. Who
knows? Let�s hope that negative press and shareholder
agitation made his position untenable.
For
us to apathetically stand by and thumb-twiddle is as irresponsible
as Yahoo. If Yahoo had upheld Thompson�s position, I vowed
to drop any Yahoo-affiliated products I use and call for
others to do likewise. (I happen to prefer Google search
tools.) This is the season - an election season, mind
you - to demand accountability. Cultural and institutional
values are at stake. No one should justify or condone
lying, whether it is police testifying, prosecutors withholding
evidence, or parents lying to their children. Lying deceives
the hearer and contorts the consequences.
No
one should embrace the power to lie. I revert to a frequent
theme: the injustice criminal justice system in America. This commentary is no different, so I
say, many a man has been wrongly convicted by the lies
of another. This doesn�t have to be �the way it is.� Scott
Thompson had to go. Thank goodness for Yahoo, he�s gone.
BlackCommentator.com
Columnist, Perry
Redd, is the former Executive Director of
the workers rights advocacy, Sincere Seven, and author
of the on-line commentary, �The
Other Side of the Tracks.� He is the host of the internet-based
talk radio show, Socially
Speaking in
Washington,
DC. Click
here to contact Mr.
Redd.
