Blacklisting--Is It Really Happening To People?

The open threat made to me at one workplace was done using something called "Directed Conversation". This is a type of group conversation done in a loud enough way for someone to hear what is being said, yet elements of the conversation will only be understood by a TI to personally pertain to them by either the way the conversation is directed, or words or phrases previously used by a targeted or monitored person (either in a monitored phone or personal conversation) are repeated in such a way to show that the conversation is indeed being directed to a certain targeted individual. Most people are familiar with this being used in a benign and joking way when people who are familiar with one another (like a husband and wife or good friends) mimic a comment one or the other makes and then loudly repeats the information to others in the room knowing that their spouse or friend can hear them--it's done in fun and no harm is meant.

This technique is also used by perps to let TIs know that some tidbit of information has been found out about them (usually by coerced means) or to let TIs know what they can next expect in the way of harassment. Because only the TI is aware of what is happening, others, although they can hear that something is going on, are not tuned into it (except for the fact that it is usually done in a very loud or disruptive manner so that it can be heard across a room for example), so others are most likely not listening and are absorbed in their own activities. The perps will insert any little personal aspects into this usually loud conversation they can to make the TI aware that the conversation is meant for them. But whether the conversation is heard and understood by others or not, the TI will be the one who understands why it is happening. This is not done for fun, but is done to unnerve someone, to again let the TI know that they are under a constant state of harassment, that their personal information and life are being violated for the umpteenth time in a day or week, and that it is not going to stop. If the perps or the group involved in this activity are approached by the TI or even by a sympathetic supervisor to make the disruption stop, the perps will deny that anything was being said about the particular person complaining and make it plain to whoever is listening and observing that the TI (and the supervisor) is either, at the very least, "a bit too touchy" or, at worst ,"totally paranoid."

This makes it almost impossible for TIs to be able to go through supervisory channels to make this kind of thing stop, and TIs who try to handle it alone directly with the perps only leads to an office argument (a disruptive spectacle in the workplace for everyone else to observe and report to management or HR). Most perps who engage in this type of activity are very adept at playing innocent after doing these kinds of things to someone. It just adds to the blame and humiliation being heaped upon someone they choose to target.

I was told in this way at one job that I "would never work again". So is it possible to blacklist a person so that any subsequent job search will come up negative? I used to think not. But I've changed my thoughts on this because of two things:

1. The extent I've personally seen to which these perps will go to ruin a person's life and character (I've seen it done to others as well as myself).

2. And that there is not only positive networking that job searchers engage in to find work, but there is also negative networking that companies engage in to get the supposedly "right" people hired (let's hire this person because they are a friend of a friend of a friend, not because they are a reliable and hard worker--that's how these activities take hold in a company environment, when perps can get their perp associates hired at the same company, and preferably in management positions where hiring decisions are made--I've seen it numerous times). Another scenario experienced at one company recently was when one TI did successfully obtain a job, perps somehow gained access into the doors while employees clocked into the entrance, made bogus 911 calls to police and the fire department reporting bogus illegal and emergency activities, causing the police and other emergency vehicles to arrive only to search the building to find nothing wrong. This kept up for a good couple of weeks. The directors of the company in an effort to quell what was happening employed a security company (of perps) to install further security equipment (at expense to the company) and hire security guards (perps) to watch over the buildings to make sure this did not happen again. This only served to put the perps exactly where they needed to be (inside the company's buildings) to be able to keep their TI under surveillance more easily--another instance of "Problem, Reaction, Solution"--foment a problem, whip up a reaction of outrage from the observers, and provide the solution to the problem (and get paid for it besides).

I'm convinced even more now that it IS possible for blacklisting to occur, because in today's economic environment, if you don't already know someone in the company, your chances of getting hired are slim, and are even slimmer if you've had words on the job with these perps (or their network of people they know in other companies) in defense of your own character when being subjected to the innuendo and gossip they spread.

It's still not known to what extent most companies purposely engage in this kind of thing, but one particular incident has led me to believe it is not only possible but very probable in the case of some TIs.

Here is what happened:

I had applied to a well-known department store as a cashier (something I've had previous experience at). I had given several personal references to the fact that I had done that type of work before. When I arrived at my scheduled interview, I was told that I would be next and was sitting in the waiting room (which was next to one of the cashier checkout areas). While waiting, a very loud conversation between two men (one a male cashier and the other a customer who was "checking out") began taking place. The customer had arrived only a few minutes earlier. Close by was one of the hiring supervisors, so the conversation was loud enough to be heard by everyone in the waiting room. The conversation went something like this: "Yeah she's been looking for a job for a long while. You know she goes to church something like 6 times a week. I don't know how she finds the time to work. And you know her kids don't go to church at all. They don't listen to her at all and are always in some kind of trouble. I don't know how she would even be able to hold down a job with all that happening in her life."

(Note: my kids are grown and out of the house, and it was at my daughter's suggestion (who works as a supervisor in an office of the same department store in another city) that I even bothered to apply for this job at all.)

To continue: This person passed by the back of my chair as he was leaving the store, and as he was doing so said "I'm sorry ma'am, but I had to do that." Shortly after this incident, I was called to the door of the interview room and told that they did not have an online application in their system for me and that I would have to reapply. However, THEY were the ones who called me and made the appointment for the interview, so they most certainly DID have an application in their system for me or they would not have called me at home to make the appointment in the first place.

This was all the proof I needed to know that, although blacklisting as it has been understood in most instances may or may not actually happen, skits and "street theater" like this DO happen, and can be devastating to a person's efforts to find work and thus affect their well-being and livelihood. This is the ultimate in evil, because if a person can't find work, they will eventually become homeless, something the perps (in their sick way of thinking) take delight in. (Google "street theater" and just see what comes up). The only thing is, this person did not walk in front of me when leaving the store so that I could identify him, but walked behind my chair where I couldn't see him. If I had been able to see him, I probably would have asked him what he was talking about (and the classic perp answer would have been to deny that anything was said at all). These people have been trained in how to conduct themselves so that they cannot be pinpointed or caught in obvious acts of personal sabotage such as this.