Photo by Flickr User Joelk75
Back in 2011, Co-CEO of Archie Comics Jonathon Goldwater tried to oust fellow co-CEO, Nancy Silberkleit, claiming she was “unstable and threatening to run the company into the ground,” with sexual harassment charges and bullying thrown in for good measure. This, after she assumed the position of co-CEO with a 50% stake in 2008 following the death of her husband, Michael Silberkleit, Chairman of Archie Comic Publication.
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That lawsuit ended with an injunction in November ordering her to stop “harassing, yelling, or abusing” employees of Archie Comics, which sounds like an insane thing to have to legally order someone to stop doing, yet by the following January, Nancy found herself in court again after contacting employees, claiming that she herself was being “the one being harassed and abused.” This time, federal judge Shirley Kornreich decreed in no uncertain terms, “She is not to do anything for Archie Comics Productions.” Not being allowed on the premises meant that an intermediary was chosen to represent her interests in the company. The intermediary filed suit in less than a year, saying that she had become “unhinged” and should be permanently removed from the company. Nancy responded claiming sexual harassment.
Now, five employees, including President Mike Pellerito and Editor-in-Chief Victor Gorelick, are suing Nancy for gender discrimination and intimidation to the tune of $32.5 million. They allege that the co-CEO rarely called her male employees by their given name, preferring to refer to them as simply “Penis,” and yelling “Penis! Penis! Penis! Penis!” while pointing at the men during meetings, like a baby having just learned the word, or a teenager who never actually understood the rules to the Penis Game. Also included are allegations that she would stalk and intimidate her employees, pulling such stunts as arriving at the corporate offices flanked by Hell’s Angels, or frequently asking around if anyone knew where her late husband kept his revolver and ammunition. Nancy claims that the accusations are “absurd.” It’s not absurd because she didn’t do these bizarre, humiliating things, but because “white men aren’t members of a protected class.” She’s implying that you can pretty much do anything to white men and it’s no big deal.
Nancy, you fucking idiot.
There is a certain willful ignorance at play when somebody makes the claim that it isn’t possible to be sexist or racist towards white men. It stems from the correct identification of us as the historical “oppressors,” and works on the theory that overcoming an oppressor means defeating them, and potentially oppressing them a little bit too. But the purpose of an integrated society is to not simply overcome the “oppressors,” but rather to overcome “oppression” itself. Singling out white men for special treatment? I’ve heard of a few gentlemen in white robes who are fond of that idea too.
If she had taken half a second to look up what is actually a “protected class”, she’d have learned that all races and all genders are included, and further research would’ve shown that white is indeed a race and male is a gender. In the eyes of corporate business, nicknaming your employees “Penis” is akin to referring to the women in your office as “Pussy Lips.”
What I’m saying is that now might be a good time to stock up on Archie comics, because as Justice Kornreich put it, “[I]f, in fact, Ms. Silberkleit stays, the company will probably be destroyed, which she doesn’t seem to care.” When asked if she would consider leaving, Nancy told reporters, “That hasn’t even crossed my mind.”
Nancy, who was an art teacher before her husband’s death, is also running for mayor of Rye, New York. Go figure.
