an angry letter

[jennyyee]

hi
i'm new to this forum but dont know where else to turn to for advise.
Recently i received a "spiteful" letter that belittle me regarding my age and body size. this person mentioned that i should belong to the old folks and that i should not be working in my company anymore. the sender also poke fun on my weight. what should my reaction be report to the police, keep quite and hopefully a second letter will not be sent anymore . i've already brought up to the management but my boss told me not to pursue as the letter does not carry any threats.
The day i received this letter i was much disturbed but now after talking to a few of my colleagues, i'm feeling much better in fact i too am laughing at the insult thrown at me. However my sleep pattern is disturbed. should i do anything to forget about this whole incident.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

It may not contain any threats but in Canada and the US at least it could still constitute harassment. However, I don't know where you are writing this from or what the applicable laws may be in your area.

Your first action should be the one you have already taken: reporting it to your boss. It seems that this is a single letter only at this point and your boss may be right -- there may be no need to pursue it further at the moment. It is doubtful that the police would be able to do anything at all since, as your boss notes, there is no threat involved.

If there is another similar letter, however, you should report that to your boss and insist that he do something to protect you from further harassment. As I said, I'm not surfe where you are, but in Canada I do know that an employer who is aware of harassment and fails to take reasonable steps to halt it is held legally responsible for the continuing harassment.

As to how you cope with it, your best bet is to assume that whoever wrote the letter is either (1) simply an immature and insensitive clod, and a coward to boot since he/she hides behind anonymity, and therefore someone who is not worth your time and energy to worry about, and/or (2) someone who for some reason is jealous or envious of you and your accomplishments or achievements.

 

[jennyyee]

David, thank you so much for replying to my mail. i'm from Malaysia and we dont have so much rulings on this kind of situation let alone hold the mgmt for not taking action.

i'm glad i did the right thing by not getting this letter interfere my life and over these few weeks i 've put this bad experience behind me and hopeful things will go back to normal again. My only fear is if this person turn more aggressive as i think i know who this person is (a she) and she knows where i stay. i 'm also silently wishing that a next letter never arrived as i do not want to make it a police case.

once again thank you for your advise and time.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

You're welcome, Jenny... good luck.

In all likelihood, this person won't take it any further than the anonymous letter anyway -- anonymous letter writers aren't likely to confront in person because they are too afraid to do that -- that's why they write anonymously.

 

[Ash]

By all means, don't let this consume your life. This person will "win" if they know that it's bothering you to the point where you're worried about another letter.

 

[jennyyee]

thanks Ash . everything is behind me now and thank GOD my life is back to normal .