The Haversian Canal

I called Rush delivery too, and as a business owner lauded the fact Rush Delivery allowed Chase to resign after his having used a company computer for the prank - no doubt to hide his identity. While it may have been a "joke," that did not prevent Chase from correcting the dubious biography after the "joke" had had its intended effect. Seigenthaler had enough character to forgive Chase for this faux pas, only to turn around and berate Wikipedia for some generalized failing to assure accuracy in every article - as if Wikipedia were a newspaper. Chase has disgraced himself, no doubt, but Seigenthaler has gone over the top and proven himself an outright hypocrite for free speech.

John,

thanks for stopping by. So you're saying Rush exercised restraint in not firing Chase. Good point. I agree. I point out that Seigenthaler himself asked Rush to rehire Chase. To a great extent, my position is based on deferring to this senior businessman in the community who surely has more intimate detail of the situation than even Chase's employer. No doubt Chase is in the wrong, however, on the scales of actions and consequences, I'm not sure anyone at Rush, Chase or his superiors, was acting in the reasoned manner they will want the Nashville community to remember them in. Chase is a bit of a wash, but Rush has the opportunity to demonstrate some real benevolance.

Do not rehire this man at all. He slandered a guy, accusing him of double MURDER, and being a commie on the internet, in an article that was available for the entire world to read. Then he says he didn't know wikipedia was used as a reference tool. What kind of ignorant brain dead person is this? Does he think people are working to put wikipedia online for nothing? Especially considering the fact that Siegenthaler was a friend of the Kennedy's that had to be extremely painful for him to read an accusation like that. I say firing is not enough, the man needs to face charges, and I would hope, jail time.

John Graham's post is interesting, but he is too harsh on Siegenthaler. In fact, I haven't observed the reactions he's describing. However, here's a challenge. I'd like to see if his point of view remained the same if an untrue and slanderous article appeared on wikipedia about himself, his mother, wife, sister, child... etc...

Here's the bottom line. Is Brian Chase really someone you want in charge of anything at your company? Making decisions? Managing people? I see you're a Lt. Would you want this man working under you as a chief or 1st class?

http://www.dicksonherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051211/NEWS01/512110366/1297/MTCN02

He's fit for a delivery boy job, that much is certain. I'd be able to see rehiring him in that capacity. But not to return him to management.

Navy Vet,

thanks for commenting. I think there are a lot of people around the world who are still trying to get a grip on computers, let alone web 2.0 sites like Wikipedia. Some people are more up-to-date than others. Maybe Chase is a better family man, spends time with his kids. Some people may not grasp how many people use one site or another. For one, I was amazed that I get over 100 hits a day on this blog. In the end, none of us, perhaps noone in the world knows more about this situation than Mr Seigenthaler. In addition, Mr Seigenthaler surely has extensive experience with internal morale and discipline problems.

Personally, I have known first-class petty officers and chiefs who were good people and, faced with an unfamiliar circumstances beyond the scope of their previous experience, have made wrong decisions. I submit my experience is that they grow far more in response to the incident than an eighteen- or twenty-year old does after a similar incident.

Additionally, as I said above, this is really more about Rush Delivery's opportunity to establish a reputation of benevolance in the community. Nothing can be better for morale than a sense of safety. Does he get his old job back? Well I don't know. I don't know what job he had. Do you?

Yes sir, it says in the article I provided the link for, that he was operations manager. Having a man in management horsing around on company computers on company time... If I were the business owner, I would just be relieved to accept the man's resignation and count my blessings. It sounds like the guy's something of a perpetual teenager, to read the article about him.

He posted the article to 'shock' a co-worker nine months ago. Mission accomplished, co-worker duly shocked, everyone got their giggles, then he walks away and leaves his article posted? He could've removed it after it had it's intended effect. He didn't have to leave it up for the world to see. If I were the business owner, and this was a member of my management team, I'd be worrying right now about what else this guy has been getting up to that I don't know about!

I like your idea about benevolence, although I question wether benevolence is best represented by returning this man to his previous position. I know as a former BT1, when you're working on steam @ 1200 psi & 900 degrees, you don't get benevolence when you lay an egg, you get hurt and you get your shipmates hurt. I respectfully suggest that the man is a 38 year old manager, not a high school prankster.

Operations manager. So this sounds like a department head on a small boy, maybe a destroyer? Crew of less than 300? When I was legal officer on a ship, my job was to offer my informed counsel to the CO (the captain, the commanding officer of the ship) on stuff like this, and then I followed orders. I don't know.

I think the first option I would recommend would be a nonpunitive letter of reprimand, anything beyond that and an officer's career would be toast. If nothing else, to let the CO mull it over. Of course, a NPLOC is useless when the story is in the national media, but the military doesn't listen to the media much when making disciplinary decisions. And Rush Delivery isn't the military.

If we're talking about legal charges, charges can only be brought if the conduct meets what are called 'elements' of the offense. One of the four elements of libel against a public figure is actual malice. So Chase didn't break the law. That's a fact. Moral and ethical obligations of due diligence and respect for others aside, he didn't break the law.

In addition to all the arguments made above, I think it's important to recognize that the guy did the right thing when he found out what had happened. Really, this thing unfolded in a matter of a few days. It's not likely that he sat around for months thinking about this day and night, congratulating himself on his brilliant prank. He probably did it and forgot about it. Indeed, it is interesting that no one in the wiki world didn't jump in and correct it.

Don't you ever joke around with people on the phone? I'm not talking prank calls, but everyday office humor? How 'bout the seriously warped humor that has gone on now and again in central control stations at 2 in the morning four months into a deployment. C'mon. Crossing-the-Line ceremonies?! To some extent, don't we encourage certain activities that, though slightly inane, build camaraderie?

He definitely should have taken it down. But haven't we all failed to follow through on a good intention, having found our priorities rearranged by the events of the day? Has there ever been a sailor that never forgot to take a reading on the HPAC because, oh, the SSDG just went down? Got caught in the middle of setting up an elaborate prank by a real, unrelated emergency in the plant? What about when the chief engineer is EOOW. Never forgot to take a reading? Never made a joke? Never forgot to pick up a flashhood he was using to demonstrate some obscene joke at the moment EPCC went dark? Then somebody slipped on the flashood? Man, these things happen. I really think that's what this was.

I think there's a lot to be said in setting the example that doing the wrong thing is bad, but making amends of his own accord is a substantial mitigating circumstance in sentencing guidelines around the world. This guy did everything he could to make amends and is now suffering the worst outcome possible (because, remember, he didn't break the law).

By the way, I would like to say that it a sad thing the Boiler Tech rate was disestablished, especially as there are still boilers around. You have my sincere regards.

Rehire him? That's absurd. He was only CAUGHT doing one inappropriate thing. It is possible that many other acts went undetected. Sure, the company may gain some sympathy for being lenient, but they will also do some damage to their reputation for rehiring someone who many feel to be a detriment.

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