Snapped

The kooky bus arrived at my place of employment today. A co-worker whom has always appeared to be calm, easy going, ride with the changes kind of guy, totally lost it. Not shocking seeing as it is a large corporation and we are a crew of office rats crammed into a sea of cubicles. We live in the world depicted in Office Space. However, he certainly wasn't the Merlin character portrayed by Steven Root. No one is quite sure what sparked it or a whole lot about his history of mental stability but this is a true case of cracking up and not in a giggle sort of way.

On friday this co-worked attended a work sponsored party put on by one of the various diversity groups. There was a lot of discussion regarding empowerment of the "little guy" and what we can do about it. After having time over the weekend to brew and come up with ideas, he shared it with several folks at a "town hall" which was comprised of VP's, Directors, as well as regular old Joe Schmoe. From there he went "spreading his message" around the company with books, slides, and handouts. This morning he hijacked a meeting and literally went nuts. Security was called, HR, and others to focus his attention elsewhere and remove him from the public forum. Since that time he has been sent home to "rest" for a while. Crazy thoughts of what he could do entered everyone's mind.

What's most disturbing is that not only that this happened but the thoughts of a co-worker going postal and harming others is the first thing thought of and it's not a good feeling. How has our society come to this? Is the only way someone can be heard is if they go off their rocker? Why are immediate thoughts of destruction what comes to mind when thinking about what he could do? It was certainly an eye opener and hope it doesn't happen again anytime soon.