Oklahoma Smokers

Is still discrimination and as such must be opposed.

Throughout history discrimination has existed in many forms.

While certain forms of discrimination are currently frowned upon, such as discrimination based on race, religion, ethnicity and gender, other forms of discrimination are tolerated. These latter forms of discrimination include discrimination based on appearance, body weight, lifestyle and personal habits. Although these latter forms of discrimination are not readily admitted by those practicing them, they do exist.

On April 5th at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center campus in Tulsa, featured “Wellness Week” speaker Ken Lackey, chief executive officer and chairman of the Nordam Group, came out of the closet and blatantly called upon the Oklahoma Legislature to authorize discriminating against smokers, America’s ’second class citizens’ in Lackey’s world view.

Lackey called for the repeal of an Oklahoma law which prohibits rejecting job seekers who smoke - permitting their rejection solely on the basis that they use tobacco products and without regard to their actual job qualifications.

Lackey said smoking and tobacco products not only are hazardous to the smoker but also to company employees. He further stated, “I can’t condone that. It puts a burden on the workplace”.

Lackey did not request legislative authorization to discriminate against those that consume alcohol but once he is finished with the smokers odds are he will get around to the ‘drinkers’. His kind always do, eventually.

After eliminating smokers and drinkers from the job pool, Lackey may wish to eliminate fat people, old people, young people and ugly people from the job pool also, as odds are none of them fit Lackey’s view of perfection. When one is as perfect as Lackey seems to fancy himself they often wish to surround themselves only with other perfect people and if they can not find perfect people, they will try to mold them from available stock through social engineering.

The mentality exhibited by Ken Lackey is that of the corporate bosses of old. Robber barons who created ‘company towns’ and controlled the lives of their employees while at work, and also their lives while away from work.

Lackey and his ilk do not view employees are individuals with rights, but rather company property to be molded into a form most beneficial to the company’s bottom line. In this regard, employees are no different from drill presses, saws, fork lifts and other ‘tools of business’; they belong to the company and the less say they have in their own lives the better for the company.

In an age where discriminating against people simply because they use tobacco products is common and considered acceptable by many it is not surprising that Ken Lackey asks for legislative approval to further that discrimination.

What will be surprising is if the Oklahoma Legislature does what it should and tells Lackey to ‘butt out’ of the private lives of those seeking employment with his company…