One of the Retirement Board members was a highly placed Legal Aid attorney and I had hoped for his help when He got on the Board. Dream on. If I'd been a child-abusing parent he would never have tolerated any of the many incidents of abuse I've taken from ACERA employees. But, as a Board member, he has become one of my abusers. After an email he sent me I referred him to a website about emotional abuse where the same thing he had said to me was given as an example of abuse. Good point here - people who are abusive, especially emotionally abusive, are usually convinced that they are not abusive. They are "helpful," pointing out your responsibility (they wish) in the situation, even as the enable the other abusers and add to their victim's abuse.
I have been reading up on the Public Defender site and may follow up as the P.D,'s are also Alameda County employees and have the prospect of the same problems should any of them become disabled.
I've also wondered about the possibility of a class action suit. I have no idea how many others have been subjected to some or all of the same abuses I have encountered and ACERA has a divide and conquer approach so one task I (or someone) will have is to find others. Considering the number of problems I have had over thirty years I doubt that I am alone. I also doubt that any ACERA employee or Board member is going to help.
This is another good point and I hope others who read this thread will continue to offer suggestions as they help to clarify my thinking.
katie
