STEM-winding Fury
How to lose a generation of scientists in one Thursday night.
Last Thursday night at about 9:00 p.m. a young scientist, let’s say a close relative, received a phone call. It lasted 1 min. and 10 seconds—a bit longer than it takes to say “You’re fired.” The call took the whole minute because she also had to be told that access to her work phone, computers, etc. had been shut off. It seems the powers that be had shut down her computer before the termination notice was emailed. Of course, she couldn’t receive work emails. If she had, she would have seen the part reading “you have not demonstrated that your further employment at the agency would be in the public interest.” Boom! BTW come in tomorrow and clean out your desk.
Twenty-four hours later that same young scientist received notice that she was un-fired. Again in a perfect storm of havoc, Trump’s Bros had failed to consider the safety of the nation’s nuclear program. Nevermind. “You’re hired.” Now it seems they are having trouble contacting the formerly fired to un-fire them.
How will this Thursday Night Massacre affect a generation of scientists? What will happen to their ongoing research or their chances of getting research funded? It is a slap in the face, a broken promise to a generation of young people who believed in the future of STEM careers—careers at government and university labs that are incubators of discovery. To a person, the “Fired” are in their first jobs after graduate school and fellowship programs. They are chemical engineers, physicists, biologists. They are someone’s son, or granddaughter, or the kid down the street.
I am STEM-winding furious over the actions of our leaders, elected and otherwise. I tried outsourcing my opinion to more knowledgeable writers. I was worn out, and my own life needed work. But lesson learned. When you stop tending to democracy, the crazies take over, and soon they are on your doorstep. I don’t know how I’ll summon the energy for yet another battle, but I ain’t dead yet.
Note: I had planned to post a three-part article on my ancestors’ part in the American Revolution. I can’t help thinking of their contribution to the cause in light of today’s political crisis. Stay tuned.
Notes:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-federal-employees-probationary-firings-layoffs-workers-impact/
Thanks for letting us know and I will be sharing this. I am worried about my brother's job too.
FFS