Ethic Alarms has frequently used Superman Comics’ Bizarro World analogy to discuss the problem arising when a culture is so warped and so confused that normal ethical principles have no applicability. When one is in a culture where white is black, up is down and crazy is sane, it makes no sense to act according to traditional ethical values. They won’t work there.
The best and most ethical response to a Bizarro World culture is to follow the sage advice of the Amityville House and “Get OUT!” A common example of this problem is in the workplace, when one realizes that the culture is corrupt, incompetent and devoid of ethical considerations. The choices an ethical employee has are to remain in the organization and be corrupted by it, to devote oneself to changing the organization, which is often futile, or to quit.
The latest dispatch from uber-woke Oregon makes it clear that the Amityville House’s solution may be the only one remaining. The new session for the Oregon House of Representatives was opened by a performance by two black drag queens this week because it’s Pride Month, and that means that professionalism, dignity and decorum must be sacrificed because….well, just because. Democratic Rep. Travis Nelson (D, of course), the first openly LGBTQ+ African American Oregon legislator—he’s historic, so he can do no wrong!— invited Isaiah Esquire and Aqua Flora to perform for the session’s opening ceremony. The House speaker, also being a Democrat, didn’t have the integrity to tell him, “You are out of your mind! Absolutely not!” So the result was this:
The two drag queens lip-synched to Aretha Franklin’s “A Deeper Love” and Beyoncé’s “I Was Here” while wearing bright gold outfits and dancing across the room for five minutes. Some members gave them a standing ovation.
“I’d like to take a moment to extend deep gratitude and recognition to the incredible drag performers who joined us this morning,” Nelson said after the debacle. “Aqua Flora and Isaiah Esquire joining us on the House floor today in addition to all of the LGBTQ+ folks in the building. Your presence, artistry and courage are a powerful reminder of the joy, resilience and cultural impact of drag in Oregon and beyond. Thank you for sharing your light with us this morning. It’s an honor to have you here.”
A new House resolution, also advanced by Nelson, passed on a 34-9 vote. “That we, the members of the House of Representatives of the Eighty-third Legislative Assembly, recognize and honor Oregon’s rich history of Black drag, and we congratulate all those whose spirited contributions have made Oregon’s Black drag community one of the most vibrant and vital in the nation,” the resolution read.
If I have to explain to any readers here why all of this is nuts, irresponsible, corrosive to public trust and an example of democracy at its most embarrassing, those readers already have their Green Cards (in Bizarro World they are red, of course) to reside on the cube -shaped planet. Or maybe the card means you can’t stay there….its so confusing.
Better check the Bizarro Code…or the Oregon Code.
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Pointer: Siegalwriter
Ethics Alarms 
if it wasn’t bizarro world the member of the legislative body who invited these “hero’s” and this who gave a standing ovation would be sanctioned and hopefully loss the next election.
And some people hold California out as an example of broken government…. Sheeeze…
Yes, this is bonkers. But here’s a more practical example of how Oregon is spinning out of control.
Judges in Oregon are elected (I’ve always thought that electing judges falls into the Really Bad Idea category). This makes pursuit of litigation in the state something of a free-fire zone.
I’ve done much work in the ski industry. Skiing is a comparatively safe sport in many ways, but there are risks and serious injury and death can result. In most states, it’s recognized that these are inherent risks involved in the sport.
Recent court decisions in Oregon have rendered assumption of risk documentation – implied when purchasing admission to a ski area – aren’t valid in the state.
The result? One of two major insurers serving Oregon’s ski areas – and it has a fair number of them – has announced that it will no longer do business in the state. This leaves ONE insurer, which is well aware of what’s going on. Short term, it’s likely to increase the cost of participation in the sport. Long term, it could result in the state’s ski areas to shut down if the last insurer also decides it’s too risky to do business in the state.
There are other active sports in the state that are likely facing similar difficulties.
My Oregon story is not nearly as nuts as Arthur’s, but here it is.
A couple years ago, Oregon decided that you had to be licensed by Oregon in order to prepare their state tax returns. That’s unusual in and of itself (very few states have a licensing requirement, the most notable that I deal with is New York).
To back up a step, the IRS requires that you be registered to be able to a paid tax preparer, there’s a fee and you have to renew it every year, and there may be continuing education requirements each year.
This is good enough for most states. NY has a requirement that you be registered with them to prepare NY tax returns. But, if you prepare less than 10 per year they don’t make you take their courses or pay a fee. Fair enough — most tax pros around here see very few NY returns, so you just need to not do 10 or more.
Oregon, though, now requires that if you do any returns you have to take their courses, pay the fee, and get a license.
Not only that, and this is unique to Oregon, they specifically forbid someone from preparing the federal return and then asking another preparer to do the Oregon.
So, if someone walks into our office wanting a tax return done, and at some point we find that they need an Oregon return we have to turn them away. There might be one or two preparers in my district certified for Oregon, so they have to get in their car and drive the 10 or 40 miles to that office. Or…..turn to TurboTax and get it wrong.
But what can we do? We’re 3000 miles from Bizarro World and have zero influence on them. I’m sorry but I’m not going to spend 5-15 hours in courses every year to be able to do one return every 3 or 4 years.
Oh, I dunno, Diego – I’d say that’s more nuts than mine.
And dollars to donuts the legislation demanding that was pushed by tax preparers in the state. It’s the same thing we see in many other states, with a different field in mind. In most states, one needs to be licensed by the state to engage in barbering, cosmetology and other services.
An example: on the maine.gov website, the preamble to the relevant section states that “The State Barbering and Cosmetology Licensing was established to protect the public through the regulation of the practice of barbering and cosmetology in the State of Maine.”
Bullshit. Yes, there are a few techniques that require real knowledge and training – straight razors, some chemical hair treatments, etc. But let’s get real. It’s not to protect the public. It’s to protect the interests of those already engaged in the field and limit the path of entry.
Well, that hadn’t occurred to me, but I certainly wouldn’t rule it out.
The only real problem with that scenario is that one of the big problems in the field is attracting new workers. It’s hard to recruit tax professionals mainly because by definition it’s only a seasonal job — you really cannot support yourself just with that, so many folks do it either as a second job or are semi-retired.
As well, when we’re talking states like Oregon the legislature likely feels that the more regulated an industry is the better. Add that to the known issue of licensure requirements serving to restrict competition in a given industry.