We're disappointed with Rep. Bill Post's complaints last week on his radio talk show about having to attend state-mandated sexual-misconduct prevention training.
Post, who represents portions of Keizer and rural Marion County in the state Legislature, started his Jan. 9 show on KPJC by likening the training to having dental work done without Novocain in weather 30-degrees below freezing.
He called the training at the Salem Convention Center "painful." He said he resented being told it was the most important work he could be doing that day.
Post said he knows there are "Neanderthals out there," but he personally learned nothing new at the training.
Post told the Statesman Journal that the annual training was "insufficient and ultimately unsuccessful," and questioned why the state couldn't offer online sexual-harassment prevention training like the Salem-Keizer Public Schools district does. The school district offers sexual-misconduct prevention training via an online presentation, but it also offers classroom-style training.
Post's comments are concerning given another member of the Legislature - Sen. Jeff Kruse, a Republican representing Roseburg, has been accused by two other lawmakers of sexual workplace harassment.
The women filed official complaints against Kruse, who was quoted in one of the complaints as saying people don't recognize that he's a "hugger" and that "a lot of women cry wolf."
Post counters that he was the first elected Republican in the state to call for Kruse's resignation after the allegations emerged last year.
But he's still missing the point.
Not everyone understands or is as stand-up as Post professes to be.
Corporations and businesses these days are conducting sexual-misconduct prevention training clinics for their employees. It's essential to ensure that everyone understands what will not be tolerated.
The training is also needed so victims of workplace sexual harassment know how to file official complaints and that they don't have to put up with such behavior in order to collect a pay check.
All of us benefit from refresher training given the negative publicity and lawsuits that are being made almost daily.
Post may well feel that his time was wasted and taxpayer funds were squandered for the sexual-misconduct prevention training that took place last week. The state spent $6,600 to train about 750 people Tuesday, said Dexter Johnson, state legislative counsel. It has had the training off site in the past, at Willamette University's Smith Auditorium, for instance, and opted to use the convention center to avoid having to conduct multiple trainings over several days in smaller spaces.
We believe it was money and time well spent to ensure that every worker feels safe in their workplace. We wish Post had used his air time, even if he did not appreciate the training, to tell his listeners about why such training is so important in today's social climate.
Instead of complaining about having to attend, he could have been the example for those who get it and those who don't. What a wasted opportunity.