Politics in the workplace?
Oh look, it's an overload of blog posts in a very short amount of time...must mean there is too much controversy in my life that I feel compelled to comment on!
I roused myself early this morning, which, as anyone who knows me knows is almost downright impossible for me to do, for an 8:30am sales meeting. Well, at least it was advertised to be at 8:30, and it was supposed to be strictly about sales. Weird how things work out though...
The first 20 minutes of said supposed "sales meeting" was one of my stupid coworkers (who I really hate anyway, this has nothing to do with it, it just adds fuel to the fire!) rambling on and on about politics.
I was always under the impression that there are things you should leave OUT of the work place: for example, personal lives, religion, and politics.
Yet this morning, for about 15 minutes I had to hear the stupid conservative ramblings of my idiot coworker.
And he REALLY pissed me off, on a number of levels.
First, I went to a sales meeting, not a political rally. Had I known I would have gotten to work at 8:30 so that I could sit there until 8:55 listening to political discussion that was completely one-sided, I would have slept later and gotten to work at 8:55, clearly I did not miss anything important.
Second, I felt VERY insulted. I was listening to a one-sided conservative Bush fan go on an on about the following things:
1. Liberals are stupid.
2. The Republican party will split because the Democrats won't be able to keep up unless they go back to their roots, with no Democrats the Republicans will have to run against someone...
3. The reason the country is in such bad shape is because of this theory...it's because of the 60s generation of hippies. The logic behind thid argument is because hippies have no values, and consequently, the children of hippies will not have values either.
4. George W Bush is a great President, Clinton was a moron.
5. The Democratic party needs to go back to their roots (like I mentioned before) because they are more Green than Democratic, with small but vocal groups such as those who are pro-choice and gay rights. The Democrats are going to be forced to go back to being pro-life because that's what everyone wants, and they are going to have to move away from gay rights groups...etc.

What the hell do you say to such a fucking moron?????
First of all, I consider myself to be liberal, but I consider myself to be a well-read liberal...if I don't know about a particular issue, I read about it, and THEN make my decision. I do NOT appreciate being called stupid. Generally, I don't make political decisions based on party lines. I will confess to having voted 100% Democrat in the 2004 election, but who the fuck was I supposed to vote for - George W Bush?? Yeah RIGHT. For example, in the upcoming mudslinging race, I would have totally voted for Terri McCormick had she defeated John Gard (provided Jamie Wall hadn't won the Democratic ticket), why? Because I think that Steve Kagen is an idiot too. (I like how I am airing my political choices on the internet, but c'est la vie. I don't actually know who I'm voting for in the Kagen vs. Gard race). But anyway. The issue is that someone saying point blank that liberals are stupid in a work-related meeting should NOT be allowed. However, not wanting to stoop to his level (and what's the point in arguing with someone who is not only opinionated, but cannot accept that other people have different opinions....), I kept my mouth shut. I don't think that politics should be discussed at work, period....unless two (or more) people are willing to have a discussion...I however, was not OK with his comments.
In retalitation to #2...if the Democrats should go back to their roots, so should the Republicans! When the Republican party was founded, I'm pretty sure that those people in Ripon who founded it weren't imaging it would evolve the way it has today...
And as for the hippie comment, I think my parents were sort-of hippies. So, they don't have values then, and consequently, I don't have values. Well hell. Do you NOT know that half the freaking country was a hippie in the 1960s??? (slight exaggeration I'm sure, but you get my point)...either way, that's a lot of kids who have no values.
Another point my idiotic close-minded fucktard coworker made is that we shouldn't be so hard on Bush because he is a bad public speaker. According to him, public speaking was unimportant until the onset of TV and radio because nobody actually heard the presidents talk until then. So, by his logic, if Bush had been president 100 years ago, it wouldn't be so bad. Except that it's NOT 100 years ago, it's the 21st century and public speaking IS important and someone who can't speak well maybe shouldn't consider running for president. Besides, who cares if he's a bad public speaker, it's not like his grade in college back him up!!!!
I don't even know what to say to #5.

Maybe I am being old-fashioned, but let's poll you guys. Do you think my coworker had the right to bash people who don't agree with him in a situation such as work meeting?? I don't think politics should be allowed in the workplace at all, but I've overheard political conversations at work before, and I just make myself scarce. I don't offer my political opinions for the precise reason that I don't think that anyone should form a different opinion of me based on my political views. My political views are simply that: MINE.
I know I'm on a soapbox here, but I don't really freaking care. So, I'm sorry if I dropped a few names here and there, but let me have a few last words.
I enjoy political banter, especially with people who disagree with me. I find it entertaining to dispute with people who enjoy disputing with me. I respect pretty much anyone who can back their opinions and I respect anyone who respects me. I would rather argue with someone who disagrees with me yet is well-read than agree with someone who can't back up their opinions. But I don't think people should be allowed to rant about politicals, especially when they are bashing other people's opinions, when work is involved.
Your thoughts please...
- posted by L. @ 10:26 PM