Extremism In The Defense Of Fascism Is No Vice

In early 1980, my new manager Pat Clover came into my office and gave me a new assignment. He asked me to check out a new Japanese product and then told me to order the material and evaluate it. The assignment was the type that guaranteed some positive results and would stimulate discussion and interaction with other people. I was surprised but pleased that Perry had asked me to do the work. I enthusiastically got busy on the assignment and completed all the necissary paper work to order the material for evaluation. Several days later I received a call from the Site Chemical Coordinator.

"This is Jim Pounds in chemical safety," he said. "I just received your Hazzardous Materials Authorization(HMA) for some chemicals and I was wondering if you have the Material Safety Data Sheet(MSDS) too?"

"Why do you ask that?" I asked.

"Well the state law requires that I have MSDA before I order the chemicals."

"I've never had to have one before!" I replied.

"Well, It's the law and I can't order the chemicals until I have one," he snapped back.

I wasn't going to argue with him so I said, "fine; I'll get them."

I went directly to Pat and told him the situation. He said it was the law and that I should go ahead and do it. I called the company supplying the material I wanted and they said that they did not have a MSDS on the product and could not supply one, but they could supply a MSDS for each component chemical in the product. I said that would be adequate and gave them my mailing address.

I was still upset because I had ordered many chemicals without a MSDS. I checked around and found that none of my co-workers had needed a MSDS to order chemicals. I began to get suspicious. After all I and other workers in the department probably broke about 3-5 laws EVERY DAY to perform our jobs. As most americans are now learning, laws have no meaning in the every day functioning of large corporations. The laws are there for the little people. You just did your job. You never worried about the laws. For the selective enforcement of laws, all you have to do is look at the enforcement of immigration laws in Naziland. The ruling fascists only enforce the laws when it is convenient for them to do so. Selective enforcement of laws is only one of a myriad of reasons most american are upset with the ruling fascists.

About a week later I received the MSDS copies for the component chemicals and sent them to Mr. Bannura A couple of days later I got another call from Jim Pounds.

"This is Jim Pounds. Those MSDS copies you sent me are not adequate. I need the MSDS for the product."

"The company does not have one," I answered angrily. "What is what I sent you?"

"I need a MSDS for the product," he adamantly replied. "It's the state law!"

"I'll take care of it," I replied as I slammed down the phone.

I was angry. I went to Pat and told him of the situation. Perry back Jim Pound's position and refused to go to bat for me. I was angry that I had been frustrated again. I left Pat's office knowing I had failed to complete the assignment and that I could not do anything about it. I called Jim Pound one more time, but I made no progress. Pound was selectively enforcing a law to frustrate me.

Two days later I was walking down the hall when I happened to pass Klaus Closeau's office. There sitting on his desk in plain view were two bottles of the chmicals I had unsuccessfully tried to order. HOW CONVENIENT AND OBVIOUS. Klaus was in his office.

"Where did you get that?" I asked as I pointed to the bottles.

"Oh, they were sent to me," he calmly replied. "I guess I'll have to evaluate it. It is suppose to work pretty good."

"I tried to get that and Pounds stopped me because I couldn't get a MSDS," I said. "How did you manage?"

Klaus just shrugged his shoulders and didn't say anything.

I walked out of his office thinking about the planning and orchestration the whole incident had required. First I was lifted up by a challenging assignme and then I was frustrated by enforcing an unused law and finally I was made to feel like a failure by having someone else be successful at what I could not do. The whole incident was typical of events which went on daily in my life. The thing would have seemed "normal" except for the selective enforcement of the rule to frustrate me. Pat's failure to support me and Klaus' coincidental interest and success in obtaining the same chemicals would have been enough to make me suspicious. About a year later the problem of requiring MSDS did surface on a broader scale, but nothing was done about it and it just faded away. Other than this one exception, I did not encounter the MSDS rule the entire time I was at RAM.