Author Archives: abfifer

Employees Terminated: Could there have been a better outcome?

Two lively young women work as aides in a nursing home. One evening, as they are preparing a resident for bed, they start goofing around, and one of them takes a video of the other, with the bewildered resident in the background. Then, as young people so often do, they post the video on Instagram. […]

Pastor as Mediator

Pastor Lester L. Adams posted a good article on mediate.com, “The Minister, Mediation and the Protective Order,” advising pastors how to deal with a domestic violence case involving a couple in the church. His article includes both what to do (stop the meddling, cut off the gossip) as well as what not to do (don’t take sides, […]

Actor’s Apology: “A New Low”

Actor Shia LaBeouf issued an apology this week for his disrespectful behavior towards police officers who arrested him last weekend. He was arrested in Savannah, Georgia, last Saturday, and charged with disorderly conduct and public drunkenness. The police body-camera video of his behavior during the arrest was released and posted on CNN, showing him hurling […]

New Congressman Apologizes for Assault

Greg Gianforte won a special election yesterday for Congressman from Montana. His acceptance speech last night included an apology for assaulting a reporter the day before. “When you make a mistake, you have to own up to it. That’s the Montana way. Last night, I made a mistake and I took an action that I […]

First Do No Harm

Australian mediator Greg Rooney posted an interesting article on mediate.com this month, The Profound Apology, about managing apologies in mediation. Three aspects stand out: (1) Don’t permit an offender in a sexual abuse case to apologize to the victim; (2) Prepare each party ahead of time by telling them not to prepare; (3) An example of […]