Letter: Losing job not the worst thing

Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2001 | 8:35 a.m.

In response to letter writer Kymberli Roberson's question of Oct. 7: How could the major players in the casino industry donate $1 million each to New York City while laying off thousands of people in their own city?

Well, I think it's obvious. They pledged that money immediately after the attack. They didn't start to lay off employees until they realized the impact the tragedy had seven to 10 days later. In their quick response to help New York City and Washington, D.C., I don't believe they realized what the ripple effect would be. Are they supposed to renege on that promise because business has slowed down and they had to lay off employees? I sent a check. Gee, should I put a stop payment on it since I got laid off?

As for her "victim statement," maybe we should look up the word victim; person injured or killed as a result of an event or circumstance. Although I was laid off as many others, I certainly don't consider myself a victim. I feel the city of Las Vegas and the state of Nevada are doing everything they can to help the community under these unusual circumstances.

Teach the casinos the reality of loyalty? What is that? The only thing that most of us are loyal to is our paycheck. The reason we behave like worker bees is so we don't get fired for saying what we are thinking. I hear employees putting down management all the time. Is that what a loyal employee does? If Kymberli were a little more involved in the community, maybe she would realize that these large companies do contribute a lot to our community.

I am embarrassed to live in the same city with someone so thoughtless and insensitive. In my opinion, if the worst thing that happened to me after Sept. 11 was getting laid off, I'm pretty lucky.

K. MASELLA