Job Discussion Forums

[mccainjohn96]

Is there anybody here who even took the LSAT? I understand you are all amusing yourselves with conspiring to have mccain labelled a paranoid. No such thing as a blacklist? Ha! And no JournOlist, either, I suppose. I was willing to believe Cleo that there is not one at the embassies, until she lost all credibility by saying there is no such thing as a blacklist, period.

[johnslat]

Dear mccainjohn96,

I'm afraid you're asking the impossible.

While it's not impossible to prove a negative, it is, however, impossible to prove that something does not exist.
For example, when I say "There is no such thing as a unicorn" this can't be proven, because, somewhere a unicorn might exist.

So, since you're on the positive side here (i.e. a blacklist exists,) it would seem that it's really up to you to offer the proof.

Otherwise, all we have here are unsupportable (the negative) and unsupported (the positive) opinions

Regards,
John

[mccainjohn96]

I know I posed my scenario as a hypothetical, but the following really did happen.

1. An informant on the hiring committee says, "Yep, I couldn't believe it, but he blacklisted you."

2. Before expelling you from the country instead of giving you an iqama, an officer at the Jeddah immigration office says, "So...have you ever been blacklisted before?"

This is circumstantial evidence, but evidence nontheless. My conclusion is that if there is not a blacklist at the embassies, there must be one at the iqama office, or somewhere else in country. I am just asking if anybody else has had a corroborating experience. Or perhaps there is somebody here who sits on a hiring committee who has experience with this sort of thing.

[johnslat]

Dear mccainjohn96,

Well, I don't know all the context, but isn't it also at least possible that the speakers were using the word "blacklist" incorrectly, perhaps intending to mean more like what the word "blackball" usually conveys?

"black�ball (blkb�l)
n.
1. A negative vote, especially one that blocks the admission of an applicant to an organization.
2. A small black ball used as a negative ballot.
tr.v. black�balled, black�ball�ing, black�balls
1. To vote against, especially to veto the admission of.
2. To shut out from social or commercial participation; ostracize or boycott.
blackballer n.
Synonyms: blackball, blacklist, boycott, ostracize
These verbs mean to exclude from social, professional, or commercial activities: blackballed by the fraternity; blacklisted because of her political beliefs; a threat to boycott the product; ostracized following the harassment charges.
Antonym: admit"

The difference being that whereas a "blacklist" in the context of this thread would (presumably) exclude one from being hired by ALL (or at least most) other institutions of learning in the Kingdom, , a "blackball" would refer to only the one institution in question.
This seems as though it could be the case in your first example. As for the second, well, I might be a little dubious as regards a Jeddah immigration officer (presumably a Saudi) using too much English vocabulary with great accuracy.

Regards,
John

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

[007]

[Cleopatra]