«  Thu.10.12.2000  » 6:41 pm EDT        66°F (19°C) in Ann Arbor As of Monday afternoon, October 9, I have been relieved of my duties at Transportation Services. The news in itself came as a shock to me, but the reasons behind the action shocked me a hundred times more. Apparently, this site and some of the things I've said on it led to my demise. I honestly don't believe that 95% of what I was spoken to about is inappropriate material. I will admit that one post I made on my message board, in which I referred to a co-worker by full name, was inappropriate, and I have removed that post as well as one other post. Furthermore, I admit that my expletive-laden tirade about Ann Arbor drivers in general (the September 20 update in this section) crossed lines of good taste. This page has likewise been removed. I apologize for having made these mistakes, and I shall redouble my efforts to avoid anything like these in the future. Furthermore, I apologize for having taken three days to get around to removing the materials in question, but midterms and formal lab reports are a higher priority than this site. However, much of the material I was spoken to about was comprised of nothing more than frank, honest criticisms of others. I made no unwarranted personal attacks in these particular posts. Some of it spoke about my supervisors, but again, they were honest criticisms, not personal attacks. There is one item in a post I made that I intended as a joke about going over to AATA; unfortunately, somebody misconstrued my point. In response to something I was told on Monday, I do understand that words can sometimes have harmful effects on others. I want the individual who told me that to realize I did not completely intend that they have harmful effects, and that I was unaware that people could take them as such (unlike in the previous incident involving this site, back in June -- I knew it was somewhat inappropriate, but I wasn't considering my potential audience). Furthermore, I still don't understand the correlation between occasional angry rants on a personal web site and my level of service and safety at the wheel of a bus. To say that I'm an unsafe bus driver just because I write about things that make me angry is some of the most faulty logic I've ever heard. Well, I don't know if I'm going to change any hearts or minds with this post. I really wish I could, but there are folks out there who just don't care. That's fine -- I'm just going to have to deal with those folks, I guess. I'm really not the "angry young man" that I have been made out to be by several individuals at Transportation Services -- I wish people would know that. I merely want things to be fair and equitable -- as a matter of fact, several other individuals in Transportation have sent me e-mail messages of sympathy and agreement with my ideas in the last few days. But all I can say is this: If you've made up your mind, you've made up your mind, and there's nothing I can do about it. I'd really like to see you show me some compassion in this matter, but I won't hold a grudge against you if you don't. I believe that there is a God, and that he forgives those who are contrite about their mistakes, shows compassion, and punishes hard-hearted people when they pass on. I want to close by stating that I have undertaken a grievance against the individual who made the decision to terminate me. I am firmly convinced that the reasons he stated for my firing are unlawful, and that furthermore, I have been denied what U.S. Constitution experts would call "due process." In other words, I feel that if any action against me had to be undertaken, it certainly could have been something less than termination.