Posted: 6/14/2011 4:31:14 AM EDT
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So, I live in the great liberal utopia of Maryland, and I work for the Federal Government. I know it may come as a huge surprise, but MOST of my coworkers are liberal. But, you know what? They are free to be liberals (aka idiots). My biggest problem is the constant republican/conservative bashing at work, as if everyone else is a liberal as well. For the most part I don't express my views, but I don't hide them if I am somehow asked. This morning two individuals were in the cube next to mine talking about how stupid the republicans were during the debate last night. In the past, I have dealt with individuals saying things like..."Come on! If there were one member of the Supreme Court you would throw out, wouldn't it be Clarence Thomas?" FYI - I am a HUGE Clarence Thomas fan. Or, a while ago during the last CPAC, I was watching the C-SPAN broadcast in our lobby when one INSANELY liberal woman came up behind me and said, "Ugh! What horrible people!"
The question is this...Is my current behavior the best course? That is, keeping my views generally suppressed in order to not risk isolating myself in the workplace. OR, should I man up and confront my coworkers when they say things like this? Albeit, in a non-hostile manner? 
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Speak your mind in a non confrontational manner.
Make your points and make it known they are free to say what they want and so are you. Drive them crazy with facts. (be careful they will use anything to get you fired or blackballed so make sure you got your ducks in a row e.g. within your contract or workplace standards) If fired for sticking to your views... profit. 
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Quoted: (be careful they will use anything to get you fired or blackballed so make sure you got your ducks in a row e.g. within your contract or workplace standards) That's why you should keep your mouth shut. Just like putting some stickers on a car will get your car fucked up... speaking up in opposition to the crazies, which happen to be the majority, will almost certainly end in your job getting fucked up. |
| I have this problem too. I'm one conservative amongst 11 liberals. I normally just try to keep my mouth shut and ignore their idiocy. But I couldn't hold back on the Sara Palin Paul Revere stuff. She was correct and the historians back up her story. Since I am the only Rev. War reenactor the people around me have ever meet, I figured I could get away with telling them they were wrong. |
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just smugly smile knowing when their little fantasy utopia comes crashing down around their ears, (which it's almost time) just know they are the FIRST ones that will gladly give up their "O" ring to the first pimp that offers them garbage to eat.
while you can eat comfortably in your home because you stocked food and the tools necessary to protect your food..........assuming you have those things. politics is sport humans play when things are civilized, survival is what they play when things are not ....... |
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This is happening at work.
Think to yourself, "does my expressing this opinion further any goal they're paying me to meet?" If not, keep it to yourself. The unprofessional conduct of your coworkers should not be met with more unprofessional conduct. Religion and politics. 
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Familiarity breeds contempt.
I don't divulge ANYTHING to my co-workers that they do not need to know. I've learned through the years that the less they know about me the better off I am. It's none of their business who I vote for, what I think, or anything else about me. Probing, gossipy, nosy people are met with, "I don't discuss my personal life" and a weak smile. All they know about me is that I'm single, I'm originally from Kentucky, I like black coffee, and I'm not there to socialize...I don't know. Not a whole lot else. Really freaks the "good looking" women out. They're accustomed to men bending over backwards for them and acting like horny teenage boys around them. I treat them all the same. I don't give a fuck what they look like. This, I've noticed, leaves "beauty queens"...perplexed. Mystified. Most humans are dull-witted herd animals without the vaguest clue WHY they do WHAT they do. |
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Report the offensive and hostile work environment behavior to Human Resources Dept. You could do this. A woman where I work complained to HR because she overheard a man expressing political views she didn't like, even though he wasn't taloking to her. HR made his life miserable for a while. 
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| Don't waste your time arguing or debating with them.. It's not healthy. You'll end up stroking out at work.. Instead, just have fun with it. Liberals are easy to infuriate. Make it a point to say the most outrageous, far-out, right wing extremist stuff you can think of and enjoy watching them start frothing at the mouth, with veins popping out on their forehead and unable to speak without flinging spittle everywhere.. Bonus points if you get one so mad, you can complain to HR about it. I find that Jesus & Sarah Palin are especially effective topics. |
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Familiarity breeds contempt. I don't divulge ANYTHING to my co-workers that they do not need to know. I've learned through the years that the less they know about me the better off I am. It's none of their business who I vote for, what I think, or anything else about me. Probing, gossipy, nosy people are met with, "I don't discuss my personal life" and a weak smile. All they know about me is that I'm single, I'm originally from Kentucky, I like black coffee, and I'm not there to socialize...I don't know. Not a whole lot else. Really freaks the "good looking" women out. They're accustomed to men bending over backwards for them and acting like horny teenage boys around them. I treat them all the same. I don't give a fuck what they look like. This, I've noticed, leaves "beauty queens"...perplexed. Mystified. Most humans are dull-witted herd animals without the vaguest clue WHY they do WHAT they do. THIS! Seriously, if you are married to a doctor people won't leave your ass alone with medical questions. I don't say shit and just do my work. If I can never talk to anyone and never go to lunch with anyone....I do that. Just spend all day working....amazing concept and people will hate you for your hard work and diligence to your profession. The only thing that I may bring up is work history. All other questions are answered with a question....we all know most of these people just want to talk about themselves anyway. |
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This is happening at work. Think to yourself, "does my expressing this opinion further any goal they're paying me to meet?" If not, keep it to yourself. The unprofessional conduct of your coworkers should not be met with more unprofessional conduct. Religion and politics. +1 Good advice. |
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Quoted: This is happening at work. Think to yourself, "does my expressing this opinion further any goal they're paying me to meet?" If not, keep it to yourself. The unprofessional conduct of your coworkers should not be met with more unprofessional conduct. Religion and politics. agreed |
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People, it matters not how many liberals you speak with. Truth and logic have no ideology. 1 or 100 liberals, if your position is correct, defend it. TXL ETA: IOW, set the morons straight. TXL is correct, debate them and show them the light. Most liberals I have encountered have no or a superficial understanding of politics. They are sound byte people. "Obama is for the little guy. Evil corporations. Windfall profits" Use facts and logic (yes, this is as foreign to them as common sense, but it doesnt hurt to try) to drive your view home. Worst case scenario, you talked to the wall for 20 mins and they realize that you know more then they do and they keep their mouth shut in your presence. Edit: forgot to mention "Greedy fat-cats" and "War-monger" in the post. |
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Quoted:
So, I live in the great liberal utopia of Maryland, and I work for the Federal Government. I know it may come as a huge surprise, but MOST of my coworkers are liberal. But, you know what? They are free to be liberals (aka idiots). My biggest problem is the constant republican/conservative bashing at work, as if everyone else is a liberal as well. For the most part I don't express my views, but I don't hide them if I am somehow asked. This morning two individuals were in the cube next to mine talking about how stupid the republicans were during the debate last night. In the past, I have dealt with individuals saying things like..."Come on! If there were one member of the Supreme Court you would throw out, wouldn't it be Clarence Thomas?" FYI - I am a HUGE Clarence Thomas fan. Or, a while ago during the last CPAC, I was watching the C-SPAN broadcast in our lobby when one INSANELY liberal woman came up behind me and said, "Ugh! What horrible people!" The question is this...Is my current behavior the best course? That is, keeping my views generally suppressed in order to not risk isolating myself in the workplace. OR, should I man up and confront my coworkers when they say things like this? Albeit, in a non-hostile manner? I believe there are regulations in federal and state governments about discussing politics. If they are doing it you can report it and they will probably get get a warning. If they continue they can be disciplined. I know this for a fact. It is just how strong you feel about taking this route. |
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This is happening at work. Think to yourself, "does my expressing this opinion further any goal they're paying me to meet?" If not, keep it to yourself. The unprofessional conduct of your coworkers should not be met with more unprofessional conduct. Religion and politics. agreed Another +1 If it helps you understand why they do it, it's because human beings need adversaries. A healthy way to do it is by creating a proxy system of friendly rivalry. For example, college rivalries or regional professional sports teams. Perhaps fraternal competition between branches of military service. That sort of thing. The unhealthy way to do it is to create socio-political systems that actively pit rival political groups against one another to the detriment of the citizenry and the benefit of only a select elite. So, just ask yourself, even if you "win" the argument, who really wins? Not you. Not them. Politicians, though? Yep. Don't give them that. |
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I like to use a bit of reverse psychology. ie, Obama sucks because he didn't go door to door and confiscate guns. He isn't doing enough to force people to buy heath care. Government is not doing enough to control the economy.
Try listening to them and then structure your response around their position. Don't volunteer any of your conservative views, they will fall on deaf ears and get you in trouble with your team. |
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Report the offensive and hostile work environment behavior to Human Resources Dept. This So, it seems that my current method is best, as indicated by the hive. 
As far as reporting to HR...That seems like a non-option really. I know it is always SUPPOSED to be that reporting things like this will not subject you to retribution, but the fact is that you will get flak for reporting. Even if it is indirect. You may not get selected for assignments, with no obvious connection to the reporting. OR, you may be generally left out of discussions at the work place. I find it is best to simply remain quiet because then I can be a double agent in some small way. Hearing what all the liberals say, meanwhile I can let them live in their idiotic utopia as another person posted above... |
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They have freedom of speech and are free to express their views. You don't.
Liberals are vindictive and violent. Politics IS a religion for them and debating will NOT change their views. It does surprise them though when they realize that not everyone agrees with their "facts". |
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The best way to argue with liberals is to agree with them in exactly the right way. Here's an example: Liberal idiot: " The gun registry is a good idea and the gun owners are being unreasonable" Me: " You're right. The gun registry has only cost a few billion dollars and it's not as if the money has been wasted. It's not as if we can't afford to hire new police officers to fight crime. And I'm sure that in the fullness of time our law-abiding criminals will all register their guns. The gun owners are being unreasonable because they should give our law abiding criminals time to register their guns and for the system to work" The key is to agree with them in such a way as to make them feel stupid. And you should agree with them with a straight face. |
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Quoted: A very wise man.Familiarity breeds contempt. I don't divulge ANYTHING to my co-workers that they do not need to know. I've learned through the years that the less they know about me the better off I am. It's none of their business who I vote for, what I think, or anything else about me. Probing, gossipy, nosy people are met with, "I don't discuss my personal life" and a weak smile. All they know about me is that I'm single, I'm originally from Kentucky, I like black coffee, and I'm not there to socialize...I don't know. Not a whole lot else. Really freaks the "good looking" women out. They're accustomed to men bending over backwards for them and acting like horny teenage boys around them. I treat them all the same. I don't give a fuck what they look like. This, I've noticed, leaves "beauty queens"...perplexed. Mystified. Most humans are dull-witted herd animals without the vaguest clue WHY they do WHAT they do. |