As more grisly details come to light about the shredding of the “Bainbridge Eight,” a community that unfailingly pats itself on the back for global compassion and justice is waking up to the reality that these fundamental virtues are in short supply at home.

Union grievances have never been directed against the “what” – the city’s right to set whatever headcount it needs to survive. They have always been about the “how” and the “who.”

Interim City Manager Brenda Bauer’s pietistic protests of fair play are belied by an emerging pattern of systematically targeting the city’s most senior employees – especially those with union activity – for removal.

When employees competing for the same job are asked completely different questions by the same interview panel, and when favored survivors brag about the fix being in for them even before the interviews begin, it seems clear that Bauer has certainly not let a good crisis go to waste.

And you thought Wal-Mart was bad.

Hil Hornung

Bainbridge Island