I've Grown to Not Hate You

I get requests every once in awhile from people to be references for them.  I'm happy to do it, assuming I know who they are, and that I at least somewhat believe that they are decent, upstanding people and that the world would benefit from them getting a master's degree, working as a Program Officer, opening a Netflix account, or getting paroled early.

Sometimes the requests come in the form of a request to give a "Linked In" endorsement.  Linked In is like Facebook, but without the face (or the book).  It's like a professional, on-line resume and networking tool.  I've asked for and given endorsements many times.

But yesterday I got a request from someone I worked with for a little less than ten months when I moved back to Austin.  The organization (we'll call it the TwoStar Foundation - since I am contractually obligated not to say bad things about the place) was the closest I have come to pure evil in my lifetime.  The "TwoStar Foundation" ran the AmeriCorps programs in the state.  Before I came on board, the place had been moved from being an independent government agency to being a political arm of the very conservative Governor (we will call him "Governer Hairy").  Governor Hairy recruited the ex-head of the Republican Party to run this agency, and infused it with the mission of transforming it from supporting service to supporting faith-based initiatives, and other conservative values.

Now, I'm not against conservative values, I am against an agency that is supposed to be the champion of young people serving their community, being against service, and tax dollars funneled to religious groups surreptitiously.  And the woman who ran the place at the time (I'm not going to give her a fake name - she still scares me) hired me to oversee (and break the spirits) of seven young, idealistic program officers.  She-who-won't-be-named had an inner circle, and you were either with her or against her.  I was very quickly against her.  Which is why that job lasted about ten months (and why I was "dissappeared" on a Friday - with all evidence of my existence wiped clean before the staff arrived the next Monday morning - but I'm contractually obligated not to say anything about that).

The woman who asked me for an endorsement (we will call her Muriel), was "with" she-who-won't-be-named.  And helped implement some very underhanded stuff.  So, one of the evil minions, with whom I worked for less than a year, and haven't even seen for over five years, wants my endorsement.

I am thinking of sending her the following:

"I have grown to not hate Muriel.  In fact, in the five years that have passed since last she darkened the path in front of me, I can honestly say she had completely slipped from my mind.  I think it's likely that she no longer has a stick up her backside.  Her e-mails were always nicely punctuated, and it was clear she used spell check with some consistency.  I believe that she is an optimist, as evidenced by her request to me for an endorsement.  I'm sure she will bend to the will of any future employer, which could be considered a plus."

Too nice?