7 Dead in Calif. Post Office Shooting

[PeterofLoneTree]

<br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://tinyurl.com/b2oxm">tinyurl.com/b2oxm</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--> <p></p><i></i>

[Asta]

A woman pulling the trigger. That's not the norm.<br><br>Although, I have to ask....what the hell is it about working at the post office that makes people crazy? Please tell me before I get desperate enough finding a job to fill out those civil servant exams.... <p></p><i></i>

[chillin]

Wonder if she decided to quit her SSRI cold turkey? I got a presciption once and didn't renew it when I ran out and experienced some pretty uncharacteristically psychotic thought patterns one afternoon. I think they're still really downplaying the adverse side effects of that stuff. Especially quitting it. <p></p><i></i>

[Avalon]

I worked for the post office for a few months when I was rather young. Some of the finest co-workers I've ever had were in the post office, as well as some of the most dysfunctional ones.<br><br>At the time, veterans had extra qualifying points added to their entering tests automatically. I'm not sure if being a veteran was a factor in my co-workers having some major issues, but some of them were really screwy. The pay was great, but I left when I realized that working there was bad for my sanity. It was not a healthy atmosphere.<br><br> <p></p><i></i>

[LoganSquare]

<br>The post office is a high pressure work environment. The veterans priority issue is valid in that many who work there wouldn't choose to be there otherwise, (this is especially so in Santa Barbara, CA. where good paying jobs with benefits are scarce). <br>There is a sorting facility in addition to the carrier station at the Goleta location where the shooting took place. I don't know if the shooter was a sorter, but sorters are under even higher pressure processing thousands of letters through the night and being timed for speed. I would guess amphetimine use is common.<br>Supervisors are in a adversarial role rather than a support role in that their job success depends on meeting high quotas. Workers on the bottom of the chain of command (the military metaphor is appropriate) are overworked to compensate for the usual high federal bureaucracy overhead in order to compete with private companies and to provide low bulk rates for private companies.<br>As you can see by the post office's basic strategies for reducing violence, listed in a Postal Inspection Service report, (from www.chron.com) very little is included that addresses these problems:<br><br>_Hiring the right people in the first place.<br><br>_Ensuring the security of people and property.<br><br>_Communicating and enforcing zero tolerance policies consistently.<br><br>_Creating a working culture and environment perceived to be fair and free from inappropriate behavior.<br><br>_Providing support to employees in dealing with problems of work and daily living.<br><br>_Handling the separation process professionally, including assessment for potential violence.<br><br>___ <p></p><i></i>

[yablonsky]

here's an update:<br><br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/02/01/state/n110003S85.DTL">sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...003S85.DTL</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><br>from the article:<br><br>Sanmarco's reputation for bizarre behavior ended her postal career. She worked at the mail sorting plant for nearly six years but left in June 2003.<br><br>She was granted early retirement on a medical disability because of psychological problems, the U.S. Postal Service said.<br><br>"She went through all the requisite screenings. There were no prior indications" of problems, said Keith Blackman, a media consultant to the Postal Service.<br><br>-------------------------------<br><br>also:<br><br>Sanmarco left no suicide note.<br><br>However, acquaintances said Sanmarco sometimes talked to herself and spewed racist comments. In New Mexico, where she moved in 2004, she once tried to start a publication called "The Racist Press" but didn't qualify for a business license, authorities said.<br><br>All of the dead were minorities, an acquaintance said.<br><br>Sanmarco may have killed the former neighbor shortly before the 8:59 p.m. attack.<br><br><br> <p></p><i></i>

[Ted the dog]

I was about to start a new thread on this until I saw this one....I noticed this detail today that I hadn't seen before:<br><br><br>"According to people there, she began circulating a rambling, seven-page newsletter called "The Racist Press." The hard-to-understand text includes a discourse on religion, karma, the Ku Klux Klan and "Son of Sam" killer David Berkowitz's ability to "channel a dog's commands to murder seven teenagers." <br><br>"She also talks about "the technique of telepathic communication," implanting new realities in people's minds and "exacting exchange in verse.""<br><br>here's the link for that:<br><br><br><br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.newspress.com/Top/Article/article.jsp?Section=LOCAL&ID=564675238294585647">www.newspress.com/Top/Art...8294585647</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br> <p></p><i></i>