Diabetes org apologizes for ejecting scientists over criticism of Trump
- Thread starter JournalBot
- Start date
Ah… nope. The buck has stopped. Henderson must have personally authorized the police actions. He has to resign.
Upvote
555
(559
/
-4)
Unless every single person involved in the decision to eject them is publicly named and fired from the organization, the apology is worthless. Fuck them for catering to literal fascists.
Upvote
589
(594
/
-5)
I didn’t see anything about consequences for those who made the decision. I’m sure it was just an oversight
Upvote
419
(420
/
-1)
It’s amazing how every time stuff like this happens people in the (edit: spelling) wrong talk about how it doesn’t reflect “their values” or who they are. Well maybe fucking think about what your values are first before you shoot from the hip.
Last edited:
Upvote
460
(460
/
0)
Meh. He's a CEO. He'll probably get some sweet parachute on the way out and go on to fuck up some other organisation. Lather, rinse and repeat.
How did we get to this point? That is, a point where CEOs are "worth" hundreds - if not thousands - of times the workers that actually provide the value/output/product/etc? And, not only that, when they fuck everything up, they get given a sweet, sweet send off, with no real repercussions because they're quickly scooped up by some other org to go on and do it all again.
Why aren't there mobs with pitchforks knocking at all their doors?
Upvote
250
(256
/
-6)
The apology is insufficient. There is no resolution until the people who made the call to eject the scientists are named and fired.
Last edited:
Upvote
182
(183
/
-1)
Using the "what I did is definitely not reflective of who I am" denial is a dire sin even aside from what you are deflecting about.
Upvote
163
(163
/
0)
If wishes were horses... he's a CEO - they don't have the same rules that apply to us common plebs.
His career at the ADA might end, but he'll just go on to lead some other organisation into the gutter - and get paid inordinate sums to do so.
Upvote
85
(85
/
0)
I'm usually willing to give people a second chance when they admit that they made a mistake, but not here. Henderson kowtowed to the Trump administration and its efforts to harm people. He needs to go.
The ADA is a 501(c)(3) organization. Parachutes don't happen as often in those, as the organization gets hit with a 21% tax on anything over $1 million. He's not going to be poor, though. His 2024 reportable compensation from the ADA was $867,611, plus $420,000 in additional compensation. (See page 7 of their 2025 Form 990.)
Upvote
212
(212
/
0)
Because in this broken caricature of a "democracy" they are the "people" and you are ... a "human resource". A biomass.
Upvote
100
(100
/
0)
The harm's already done, dudes. It was done when you physically removed the scientists from the conference. "We're sorry we got caught" just doesn't carry any weight.
Try to do better in the future, but you own this one.
Try to do better in the future, but you own this one.
Upvote
126
(126
/
0)
According to this article Charles Henderson was the 6th highest paid executive for a non-profit health organization at $1.288 million in 2024.
https://www.thejdca.org/publication...tes-nonprofits-do-we-get-what-we-pay-for.html
https://www.thejdca.org/publication...tes-nonprofits-do-we-get-what-we-pay-for.html
Upvote
158
(158
/
0)
Jeez. $1.3 million a year for heading a charitable organization. But $15 an hour is outrageously high for restaurant workers, according to the ruling class (Republicans).
Upvote
178
(180
/
-2)
Meanwhile, the American Dental Association must be steaming about all the bad press
Upvote
164
(164
/
0)
This. I believe the first brazen reaction may be wrong, but it’s the most honest one into revealing their true colours and how somebody really thinks.
The excuses? That’s when the facade is erected again.
Upvote
46
(46
/
0)
Actions reflect values; they are not two different things. This is very much who he is, how he was raised etc. Appeals to emotion are also the tools of fascists.
Upvote
91
(91
/
0)
"It wasn't me, it was the decision-making process [that I executed as a thinking, rational human being]!"
Upvote
41
(41
/
0)
The apology is a start. Was he involved in the decision to genuflect? If so, it should only be the start of his journey of atonement. If not, he should clean out the Augean stable. After all, as a leader, he is paid to lead. And values only mean something if words and deeds are in sync.
Upvote
37
(37
/
0)
SubWoofer2
Ars Tribunus Militum
It does add hilarity and farce to a situation which is no laughing matter. Lysenkoism and the tactics of Lysenko are plain wrong.
Credit where due. At a press conference, it must be hard to get to the end of a "these are not my values" statement without cracking up in laughter.
Although, emboldened and on a roll, the corollary "and if you believe that, I have a bridge I can sell you" must have been sooo tempting as a follow-on.
The statement is a joke. It makes the man look like a joke. Certainly his leadership is now known to all as a joke. The organisation is a joke for having bootlickers like this in charge.
All because the ADA made the wrong choice between "Battacharya" and "integrity".
Upvote
64
(64
/
0)
Unless this is immediately followed (or preceded by) "I am ashamed of what I did," this is just someone who got caught and is trying to distance themselves from the backlash via passive voice and self-inflation.
If what you did truly doesn't reflect who you are or what you value, then own up to (1) having done it (no "what transpired" baloney) and (2) now being ashamed of that fact. Explicitly, no dodging. It won't feel nice, and it won't redirect blame away from you, which is the point.
Upvote
70
(70
/
0)
Why aren't there mobs with pitchforks knocking at all their doors?
Because Capitalism has successfully sold the illusion of class mobility. It doesn’t matter if the odds are never in your favor, you too can be Elon Musk. You too can hustle, and grind, and win. Why, you only ever have to consume the never ending rolodex of wunderkinds and rags-to-riches success stories from our cultural output to know that!
Incentives maketh man.
Upvote
84
(88
/
-4)
That apology and $2.50 will buy you a coffee. Maybe not attacking people based on the potential backlash from Dear Leader and his cult is a better plan.
Upvote
35
(35
/
0)
ReadandShare
Ars Centurion
“What transpired is not reflective of who I am, the values I hold, or the way I was raised,” Henderson said.
Then why did you act the way you did? Sometimes, people's impulses are the most reflective of their deepest values. Perhaps a genuinely honest soul searching would reveal: What transpired is reflective of who I am and the values I hold... I apologize and I promise I will work hard to change my values?
Not that I know. Only the transgressors themselves can know. But seems far too often, transgressors have "apologized" by disavowing their own actions as 'not reflective' of who they are! Apologies sound hollow when there is little to no actual ownership. Recognition of a problem is the first step to solving it.
Then why did you act the way you did? Sometimes, people's impulses are the most reflective of their deepest values. Perhaps a genuinely honest soul searching would reveal: What transpired is reflective of who I am and the values I hold... I apologize and I promise I will work hard to change my values?
Not that I know. Only the transgressors themselves can know. But seems far too often, transgressors have "apologized" by disavowing their own actions as 'not reflective' of who they are! Apologies sound hollow when there is little to no actual ownership. Recognition of a problem is the first step to solving it.
Last edited:
Upvote
73
(73
/
0)
Talk is cheap, but the comments have that covered.
As a leader who owns that mistake, if fired, can the ADA sue Henderson and other ADA leadership for the price of the damage caused to the organization's reputation?
If not fired, shouldn't their compensation be pared back until they have made up the price of the damage?
This isn't the same thing as a grunt worker at the bottom of the hierarchy making an errer, leadership are paid what they are to make and own decisions. There could be times where a controversial event has complications to consider, but this one seems pretty straightforward.
As a leader who owns that mistake, if fired, can the ADA sue Henderson and other ADA leadership for the price of the damage caused to the organization's reputation?
If not fired, shouldn't their compensation be pared back until they have made up the price of the damage?
This isn't the same thing as a grunt worker at the bottom of the hierarchy making an errer, leadership are paid what they are to make and own decisions. There could be times where a controversial event has complications to consider, but this one seems pretty straightforward.
Upvote
42
(42
/
0)
They did think about them.
The problem is those values didn't align with reality. They apparently believe that catering to fascist ideology is the way to go. That worked SO WELL for the Jews.
This is just pandering "let them eat cake" bullshit trying to de-escalate the rhetoric. They don't get that the focus is now on THEM and what they MADE HAPPEN, and absolutely not on anything to do with the ADA other than it being hugely out of character for an organization that supposedly has shits to give about people.
Their continued occupation of the top positions in the ADA will continue to bring bad publicity to this incident, and the ADA itself will get collateral damage.
The ONLY thing that divorces the incident from the organization is if those in charge who made this incident happen in the first place resigned, and stayed the fuck away from the top positions for the rest of their lives.
Upvote
29
(30
/
-1)
The problem is those values didn't align with reality. They apparently believe that catering to fascist ideology is the way to go. That worked SO WELL for the Jews.
Fascist states did work well for the institutions, corporations, engineers, doctors, scientists, and industrialists who danced with them. They were made the elite and privileged of their fields and markets. They were awarded contracts and wealth and power. It didn't work out for the Jews because Jewish peoples were not the in-group.
The people at the top of the ADA in this analogy? They are the in-group.
Upvote
46
(46
/
0)
Upvote
47
(47
/
0)