Victoria Denise Gaines continued...I didn't know the law then (they should have had a warrant when they came to my hotel room) and was stupid enough to follow the advice of a friend and let the police in the room. Here my memory fails me, for I don't think the police are the ones who actually took me to the private hospital. But they are the ones who more or less took me into custody, where subsequently I ended up in a private psychiatric hospital where I stayed for three months (which my company was more than happy to pay for, fearing that I might sue them for harassment).
In those three months, the only time I was drugged was upon entry when I "freaked" at where I was and was Thorazined to subdue me. I didn't know about the court option so did not go that route. Instead, I eventually learned how to "play" the program, and took my time (three months) to work my way out of there--I copped to being a cocaine addict and had to attend AA and CA meetings. I knew there was no reason to rush back to a job that was in turmoil.
At the time, in 1988, I was working for [a major corporation] (my 13th year). The company was going through another major restructuring where many people were scared for their jobs and more than a few were being even physically intimidated, as was eventually I. However with plenty of money in the bank, no debt, no dependents, no fear, etc., I stood up for what I thought was right.
All I wanted to do was quality work, have a clear mission, etc., and I produced documents on what the problems in the organization were and how I and a team would go about fixing them (an action plan). I also stood up for other people whom I knew were being wronged. I used the Open Door Policy to present my case to upper management. Not only did I have my own analysis (I was a Staff Programmer Analyst) on my side, but I had managed to find a document compiled by paid consultants to support much of what I said. At this point in time, although [the corporation] spoke about quality, it was a sham. All was about expediency, and much of management, I soon learned, was full of "yes" men afraid to speak the truth to their superiors. I got tired of their daily harassment of calling me into one of their offices and trying to scare me into giving up the fight to do quality work or quitting.
The reason I was going to work less often is because my newly formed department had no mission, no real work to do. I had worked up a scheme where we could have standup five minute meetings--something which I had nearly perfected while I was in my last programming job. Productivity and quality had earlier become my main interests, and that is why I had agreed to be the team leader for this new dept. When I had joined the dept. I had been deceived into believing that my ideas would be taken seriously. Many of these people I had worked with when I had first been hired there, so I thought we had a certain rapport and ability to work together. I had forgotten how "top-down" the computer operations area was. So when I went into work I was either making work for myself (my case for what we should be doing) or "arguing" my case with the powers-that-be. If there was bad weather or any other minor excuse I could find, I decided it was just as wise for me to stay home as to go into such a ridiculous environment. My mother remembered that when I was young, inspired, and a believer in the company and had work to do, I drove through blizzards to get to work, but circumstances had drastically changed. There was absolutely no reason for me to risk my life or other people's lives to do nothing or to be a "troublemaker," as I later learned some manager had called me.
I was right in what I did at IBM. Management was so kind to me when I was locked up, and I can think of no other reason than that they knew they had wronged me and that during one of our last confrontations I told them that I felt I was being harassed and I was not going to take it. I do believe they think they drove me into the nuthouse, so they gladly paid for my three-month stay at what essentially became like a country club--except that I could not leave when I wanted to.
As soon as I returned to work, they allowed me to take a buy-out, even though people of my skill level were not supposed to be able to leave the company at that time. And before I left they gave me a 7% raise. For what? Not working? My problem was that I wanted to work, and I wanted to be PROUD of what I produced and in the kind of environment in which it was produced.
In those three months, the only time I was drugged was upon entry when I "freaked" at where I was and was Thorazined to subdue me. I didn't know about the court option so did not go that route. Instead, I eventually learned how to "play" the program, and took my time (three months) to work my way out of there--I copped to being a cocaine addict and had to attend AA and CA meetings. I knew there was no reason to rush back to a job that was in turmoil.
At the time, in 1988, I was working for [a major corporation] (my 13th year). The company was going through another major restructuring where many people were scared for their jobs and more than a few were being even physically intimidated, as was eventually I. However with plenty of money in the bank, no debt, no dependents, no fear, etc., I stood up for what I thought was right.
All I wanted to do was quality work, have a clear mission, etc., and I produced documents on what the problems in the organization were and how I and a team would go about fixing them (an action plan). I also stood up for other people whom I knew were being wronged. I used the Open Door Policy to present my case to upper management. Not only did I have my own analysis (I was a Staff Programmer Analyst) on my side, but I had managed to find a document compiled by paid consultants to support much of what I said. At this point in time, although [the corporation] spoke about quality, it was a sham. All was about expediency, and much of management, I soon learned, was full of "yes" men afraid to speak the truth to their superiors. I got tired of their daily harassment of calling me into one of their offices and trying to scare me into giving up the fight to do quality work or quitting.
The reason I was going to work less often is because my newly formed department had no mission, no real work to do. I had worked up a scheme where we could have standup five minute meetings--something which I had nearly perfected while I was in my last programming job. Productivity and quality had earlier become my main interests, and that is why I had agreed to be the team leader for this new dept. When I had joined the dept. I had been deceived into believing that my ideas would be taken seriously. Many of these people I had worked with when I had first been hired there, so I thought we had a certain rapport and ability to work together. I had forgotten how "top-down" the computer operations area was. So when I went into work I was either making work for myself (my case for what we should be doing) or "arguing" my case with the powers-that-be. If there was bad weather or any other minor excuse I could find, I decided it was just as wise for me to stay home as to go into such a ridiculous environment. My mother remembered that when I was young, inspired, and a believer in the company and had work to do, I drove through blizzards to get to work, but circumstances had drastically changed. There was absolutely no reason for me to risk my life or other people's lives to do nothing or to be a "troublemaker," as I later learned some manager had called me.
I was right in what I did at IBM. Management was so kind to me when I was locked up, and I can think of no other reason than that they knew they had wronged me and that during one of our last confrontations I told them that I felt I was being harassed and I was not going to take it. I do believe they think they drove me into the nuthouse, so they gladly paid for my three-month stay at what essentially became like a country club--except that I could not leave when I wanted to.
As soon as I returned to work, they allowed me to take a buy-out, even though people of my skill level were not supposed to be able to leave the company at that time. And before I left they gave me a 7% raise. For what? Not working? My problem was that I wanted to work, and I wanted to be PROUD of what I produced and in the kind of environment in which it was produced.