Author Archive

The true story in my latest book titled “Minority Viewpoint – my experience, as a person of color, with the American Justice System”, describes how defamation (likely bias-based) spreads through a community, and what, if anything, can be done to fight it. It contains several aspects:
• How the defamation started
• How it spread through the community
• Actions by a hotel employee against an unsuspecting guest of color
• Inactions by a hotel manager/owner
• Inconsistencies in handling the case by a lawyer and his law firm
• Actions by police officers, both good and not so good
• Review by the appeal judges
• Mishandling by the Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board of a complaint made by me regarding the performance of my lawyer
• Likelihood of impact of racism in the actions or inactions by several individuals
I have personally learned a lot from this incident and I hope that many readers around the country will find the information very useful.
I have recently talked about this story in an interview for the WWBC radio in Florida. The interview can be heard at (if anyone is interested):
www.seetamedia.com/sumi-mukherjee/

My book titled “How to stand up to workplace bullying and take on an unjust employer” is primarily meant for employees having to deal with bullying and harassment in the workplace. But it also focuses on what kinds of things contribute to a negative workplace environment and how it can impact the organization. Here are some areas that could be very useful for employers who are trying to maintain a positive culture:

• All organizations should know about how to respond to workplace bullying and harassment incidents between employees as well as between employees and supervisors
• Improper handling of these situations can be harmful to the organization
• It is also important that all employers have a thorough understanding as to what kinds of things might constitute ‘harassment’ and what kinds of impact that might have
• Harassment in the workplace can come in various shapes and forms. However, in general it is about treating everyone the same way (i.e., fairly) no matter who the individual might be and how different he/she might be from others
• If an organization is not able to maintain a well-established approach in this regard, it may have to deal with difficult situations that might be significantly unproductive for the organization
• In general, it can cause several different outcomes that are typically negative for the company
• It is important for all organizations to have appropriate processes and procedures in place so that difficult situations can be handled through a well-established framework.

I have written my book titled “How to stand up to workplace bullying and take on an unjust employer” because bullying and harassment in the workplace is a real issue for many organizations (irrespective of the types of products and services involved) and it is important for everyone to understand that creating and maintaining a positive and rewarding workplace is a very important objective.

Today there are many organizations in the country where the environment is not positive and a large number of dedicated employees are experiencing one or more of the following: (1) Facing day-to-day oppressive atmosphere in the workplace and do not feel empowered to do anything about it (2) Personal life is being affected significantly because of a very negative work situation, causing depression and other associated effects (3) Facing one or more different forms of discrimination and harassment, but do not feel comfortable in standing up against it (4) Facing undeserved consequences for doing the right things at work, but feeling helpless in fighting back (5) Not willing to report unjust activities at work (whistle blowing) because of fear of negative consequences (6) Are not aware of their rights in situations of this nature.

I wanted to write this book because I would like all employees to know that there are things one can do to protect themselves against workplace bullying and to fight back, in a non-violent manner, when appropriate. All employees deserve respectful treatment in their workplace. There is no reason for an employer to resort to maltreatment no matter what the circumstances are.

In my book titled “A Life Interrupted – the story of my battle with bullying and obsessive compulsive disorder” one of the key messages is about the fact that many victims of childhood bullying often ends up having to deal with various forms of anxiety disorders later in life. And these mental health disorders can significantly impact the lives of victims going forward.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is one of these anxiety disorders that many victims of bullying (like myself) have to deal with. It is a fairly common occurrence among victims of childhood bullying because OCD can control a victim just like a bully does. That is why OCD is sometimes known as the “enemy within” or an “internal bully”. Instead of a typical bully trying to control a victim from outside, OCD tries to control the victim from within. Impact can be significant but fortunately a good therapist, along with some medication, can help a person recover over time.

Many people do not seem to understand what individuals with OCD have to go through. At times some people may think that the person is being lazy and just doesn’t want to do what he or she needs to do. But they simply do not understand what a person with OCD has to deal with. It’s an extremely debilitating disease that can have an enormous negative impact on a person’s life.

It is unfortunate that in these cases even after the external bullying stops, the victims continue to feel tormented by the internal bully. It seems like OCD takes over from where the external bully dropped off. That is exactly what happened in my case. And as I go around the country speaking about this, I have come across many individuals who have had very similar experiences. The real solution is to eradicate bullying from schools.

I am excited about appearing for an interview on a podcast this evening to have a conversation about “impact of racism”. The podcast is “Humanity Chats with Marjy Marj”.

Over the last year I have had the opportunity to appear on several podcasts but majority of them dealt with bullying and mental health. The topic of my first book titled “A Life Interrupted – the story of my battle with bullying and obsessive compulsive disorder” appears to be a very popular topic for many podcasts. That is understandable since bullying is still a problem in many parts of the country, and there is still a stigma about discussing mental health issues openly. I was happy to be a part of those podcast interviews since I strongly believe that we need to continue to discuss mental health issues openly so people will feel more comfortable in seeking help when needed.

There also appears to be a stigma about discussing racial issues. I strongly believe that we should also discuss these things openly so we can get to a better place as a society. In one of the podcasts I was asked to talk about impact of bias in childhood bullying. In my own situation, bias-based bullying was a key factor, and talking about it should open the door for further discussions and acceptance of diversity.

In today’s podcast with Marjy Marj we would be discussing that same issue about bias-based bullying as well as possible impacts of racism in other walks of life. I will be interested in bringing up and discussing the true story I described in my latest book titled “Minority Viewpoint – my experience, as a person of color, with the American Justice System”. The main goal will be to discuss things that can get us all to a better place as a society.

It has been a few years since I published my first book titled “A Life Interrupted – the story of my battle with bullying and obsessive compulsive disorder”. But the contents of the book are still applicable today and are still very pertinent since bullying seems to be a continuing issue for many children around the country. My book was based on my two decades worth of painfully acquired expertise in dealing with bullying, anxiety, depression and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. I have written this book so people would know about the devastating long-term psychological impact of bullying. It can ruin the lives of victims for many years to come.

This book also talks about impact of bullying based on diversity/cultural differences as well as ways to battle bullying and/or OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). In fact it seems that anyone who appears to be different in one way or another, is likely to become a victim of bullying. I wanted everyone to know that bullying can have extensive long-term psychological impacts and therefore must be stopped.

The key messages in the book can be summarized as follows: (1) long-term devastating psychological impact of bullying can be significant, (2) bullying can cause PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) which can then lead to other mental health issues, (3) why bullies do what they do (I have a description in my book about a confrontation I had with a past bully), (4) bullying can torment a victim long after the school years are over.

Whenever an author writes a non-fiction book based on a true real-life story, it is very important that there is no misinformation. Otherwise it can lead to defamation of character. That is why, for all my books, I make sure to get a thorough review done by a defamation lawyer before the book is published.

For example, for my most recent book titled “Minority Viewpoint – my experience, as a person of color, with the American Justice System”, I hired a defamation lawyer to review my manuscript, and went through the following steps:

• Step 1 – My lawyer did a thorough review of the manuscript (approximately 113 pages) and came up with 101 comments. Majority of his comments fell into two categories – words and/or phrases that could be actionable (with suggested edits in some cases) and a second category where he wanted to see the backup documentation to make sure facts were correctly described.
• Step 2 – I reviewed all of the comments made by my lawyer and suggested changes for the words and/or phrases identified by him as actionable. I also produced backup documentation for him to review to verify facts.
• Step 3 – A meeting (between myself and my lawyer) was held to go through each of the 101 comments and decide on changes to be made to remove risks.
• Step 4 – After that meeting, I made all the agreed changes and sent the marked up manuscript back to my lawyer for his final review.
• Step 5 – My lawyer reviewed the marked up document and found that all changes were made satisfactorily. He then identified four additional comments for me to look at.
• Step 6 – I reviewed the four comments and suggested appropriate changes, which were subsequently approved by my lawyer.
• Step 7 – All changes were then incorporated to finalize the manuscript.

My book titled “How to stand up to workplace bullying and take on an unjust employer” describes a true story about my battle against bullying and harassment in the workplace. It is an important and timely topic because in many workplaces around the country employees are being bullied and harassed on a regular basis, and this has a significant impact on the employees’ mental health and personal lives.

The only way this unwanted behavior will be deterred is if the employees are willing to fight back against such egregious treatment by these employers. I am not asking every employee to fight back no matter how they feel about it. I know that it can be stressful and some employees would rather just tolerate this treatment or simply quit and find another job.

I would suggest that if you are not prepared to fight back, it is much better to quit rather than remaining employed in the same place and tolerate continued mistreatment because that would most certainly lead to difficult mental health issues. It is just not worth it to stay in a job where negative treatment is a norm.

But ideally the employee should try to fight back. The message I want to communicate is that there are ways to fight back that can effectively change the negative environment promoted by the employer. Also, there are organizations that are available to provide assistance to employees who want to fight back against such maltreatment.

The bottom line is that unless we fight back against such behavior, the maltreatment will continue and will disrupt lives of innocent and dedicated employees. Many employers will not learn until they have to face a serious battle.

In my book titled “Father Figure – my mission to prevent child sexual abuse” I have described a true story that focuses on the fact that prevention of child sexual abuse is everyone’s responsibility. Even an ordinary citizen can at times be able to do something to minimize or eliminate risks for young children.

The first point I have tried to make is that all adults should keep an eye open to detect any red flags and take some action if a red flag is detected. It is very critical because even one episode of child sexual abuse can torment the victim for a long time to come. No child deserves that.

There are some who might say that you really cannot do much if you are not a member of the family. That is the second point I have tried to make in this book. No matter who you are, there are things that can be done even if you are not a member of the family. An ordinary citizen can do things that can initiate actions on the part of systems such as child preventive services, law enforcement services, etc.

One of things I have heard people say is that trying to do something can be extremely frustrating and can consume a lot of your time. Well, that is the third point I have tried to make in my book. It is true that sometimes it can take a significant amount of time and energy to get the systems to initiate some actions. But it is worth it because you are trying to protect the life of an innocent child.

A lot of our systems are over-burdened and it can take some perseverance and persistence to get them to take some action. But eventually they will take actions because they do care about the safety of all children.

One of the things I talk about in my book titled “A Life Interrupted – the story of my battle with bullying and obsessive compulsive disorder” is about why bullies do what they do. I firmly believe if we can get to the bottom of this, then we can eventually eradicate bullying from our schools.

To illustrate this point I describe in detail a very interesting meeting I had when I was in the midst of receiving treatment for my severe obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). I decided to try and contact my worst bully from middle school years and see if he would be willing to meet with me so I can find out why he did the things that he did to me in middle school. Since it had been more than 10 or so years since we attended middle school, I didn’t think I would be successful in locating him.

But surprisingly I was able to locate him and he agreed to have a meeting with me. This was a most revealing encounter that made it very clear to me as to why bullies do what they do. In summary, I understood that he had many difficult issues to deal with, primarily at home, and that is what made him bitter and he acted out by bullying others. I strongly believe that if he had received appropriate help at that time to deal with his issues during the middle school years (like seeing a therapist), he most likely would not have resorted to bullying others. If we are able to provide appropriate help to children like these in a timely manner, we would likely eliminate bullying from schools.

One other important information I learned from him – that the reactions of bystanders made a huge difference. Many bystanders laughed and cheered when he was bullying others and that boosted his ego.

I try my best to encourage school staff to understand these issues so bullying in schools can be prevented and even eliminated.