Chair Today, Gone Tomorrow

I am the chair of the facilities and landscaping committee at my condo and we are in charge of all the building’s issues and plant life that the residents see. We have this plastic plant the builders placed near our mailboxes that is about the most ugly thing I have ever seen. Others agreed with me about the plant being ugly and want to get rid of it. We have a proposal from a florist to replace it and add plants throughout the lobby.

We, the committee members, were kidding about destroying the plant and then said we would give it to a resident, since she mentioned she really, really liked the plant. Then one of the members said if we shred the plant then give it to her she would turn into a Tasmanian devil gone wild. This comment offended one of the other members, and the drama started.

Being the chair of the committee I had to be the middleman for all Emails and had to put out every little fire that came up responding to and from that Email. I tried to explain that the comment was aimed more at the plant and there was no intent to disrespect anyone. The analogy was only to show she would get upset and nothing more. The person who got offended did not back down from his being offended and then took the matter up a notch.

Someone sent the internal Email to the lady and she blew up thinking she was being called the animal and referred and compared herself to the actual animal. The comment in the email was to just express she would be upset and nothing more. I was really shocked it was taken so for, but nonetheless there should have never been the comment made in the first place.

I sent the lady an apology and tried to let her know it was not an intentional dig towards her and I hope she will be able to forgive the man who made it. The person who had such an issue with the comment in the first place dropped out of the committee, after causing all the drama, and to top it off, the guy who made the comment is now saying he is going to sue us all for defamation of character because he feels this is now a personal attack on him. He wants to sue the guy who had the issue with the comment, the lady and everyone on the committee, unless I don’t calm everyone down and put a stop to the drama.

This guy started the problem with his stupid comment, and someone had a problem with it. Now he wants to sue us all because he made fun of someone. I think he needs to go back to law school and read about liable. Defamation of character was is not even an issue since his name is never even mentioned; yet he feels like it is a personal attack on him.

As it is right now, I have not really replied to the guy who wants to sue the world, but the lady he offended, I think, may be OK. I talked to the management office and told them what happened and I will be quitting the committee and leaving the drama behind. I told the guy I sent the lady an apology and that I had nothing more to do with that matter.

Stress over nothing is killing me!

Peace,
DeMo