?....ignore or open my mouth and risk my job??

[charliebrown]

I work in a two person department (my boss and I). He is a repuke but we both know we differ and leave it at that. Very seldom do we talk politics.

Today a dude from the front office came by to talk to him. I was doing my job but the door was left open. They were openly laughing about Kerry and how he wants to tie our national security to the UN.

Then my boss said something that pissed me off. He said, Look at the most important sporting event in France... Its bicyclists that run as fast as they can to wear a YELLOW jacket.

I wanted to say something but I have a good job that pays well. Do I just say F@ck it and know they were goading me or speak up?

I am off to bed so I will check your reactions in the morning.

Thank you all in advance as this really bothered me.

[Endangered Specie]

1. Perhaps wearing some pro-French garments,

or a yellow shirt ;)

[AbbeyRoad]

12. I like how you're thinking, Endangered Specie

You could put a calendar of scenes from France on your wall. Or you could casually sip out of your Tour de France water bottle while nibbling on a croissant.

link: http://store.velogear.com/todefrme.html

Wearing a beret and a black and white striped shirt would complete the image, but that might be pushing it. :)
I don't think you have to confront him, but you could have fun with it.

[leftofthedial]

17. yellow french shirt

Maybe with some sort of pro-Lafayette slogan on it.

[osaMABUSh]

2. I say nothing at work but posted a John Kerry bumper sticker

on my wall. It's been up a couple of months and absolutely no one has said anything (pro or con)! I work with about 50 other people.

I know this doesn't really apply to your situation but if you post something on your wall he's bound to say something directly to you then you can respond.

[gmoney]

3. just slowly sabotage him from within

figure out ways to undermine him and get him into hot water, without getting yourself in trouble or telling him off.

Should he be joking about Kerry and the Tour de France on company time? Where do all the Post-It notes keep going?

Either that, or figure out ways to slack yourself and use company resources for the Kerry campaign...

[Stew225]

4. Having "slept on it"--by the way

good morning!--I think that you might wait for an oportune time to tactfully repay the remarks that were made. That is to say: Timing is everything. At this point, why jeopardize a good gig? There will be a time when you can make your point in a cultural way. Have a great weekend!

[DemBones DemBones]

5. charliebrown, your boss is a clown,

don't let him get you down.

They were trying to get a rise out of you -- don't give the bastards the satisfaction!

If your boss mentions it, just smile, say "I know what your politics are" and shrug it off.

[merh]

23. Good Morning.... I have to agree with Dembones

Don't let him get you down. If his political barbs do bother you, just smile and say exactly what Dembones say "I know what your politics are" and leave it at that.

Jobs are too scarce, well paying jobs even scarcer. Think Nov 3rd and plan on giving him F 911 for Christmas.

(You could also offer to buy him some a burger and some freedom fries for lunch one day.)

[Warren DeMontague]

6. Plus, if you stick around,

You'll be able to come in with a shit-eating grin on Nov. 3, after Kerry Wins... "Mornin', Boss!"

[Massacure]

7. It depends on what you do

If you are in a position that needs a lot of training or where there is a shortage of workers, then he will be more reluctant to do anything than if a person can be easily replaced.

Employers hate hiring new people, but I wouldn't press his buttons too far.

[Lautremont]

Just hold your own.

If you reply to everything stupid you hear, you won't have time to do anything else. Play hilarious tricks on your boss. Pranks are absolutely the best, and a "keep your enemies closer" strategy is required for the really good ones.

Ah, quiet diplomacy and cunning tricks - am I Canadian or what?

[mahatmakanejeeves]

40. If you reply to everything stupid you hear....

"If you reply to everything stupid you hear, you won't have time to do anything else."

I couldn't agree more. The incident in question is hardly a world-class indignity. Still perhaps the OP should:

- leave a copy of "Velo News" on his desk. Or

- have a TdF screensaver. Or

- commute to work on an old Gitane "Tour de France."

Not worth losing a job over.

[BiggJawn]

8. Your boss is just a jealous fuck.

Because HE knows there's NO way he'd ever be able to make 12 Megabux a year for something as "simple" as riding a bicycle.

Bet he gets winded waddling out to his Lexus every afternoon, right?

Shine him on, unemployment's not worth telling some ass what he already knows (because his wife tells him every night)

[readmylips]

9. Best to say, I don't talk politics at work...

and I am a Democrat. I had to tell some of my neighbors that I'm a Liberal Democrat. They stopped talking politics with me.

[ringmastery]

10. are you fucking crazy?

we are in a shitty economy.

Be grateful you have any job, let alone a good one.

Don't even think about leaving, unless you have a better job lined up.

I would though start sending out resumes and tactfully looking for alternatives. Never hurts to see what else is out there.

[BillZBubb]

11. He's the boss.

Grin and bear it, until you can get a better job (and boss). Don't feel bad about it, you are not in the power position, he is.

[emulatorloo]

13. Too Dumb to even bother with

I mean really, what a lame thing to say.

If he says something substantive ever, engage him in a dialog.

But I wouldn't get bent out of shape over something like this.

PS maybe you need to buy him a copy of OUTFOXED.

[LibDemAlways]

20. I agree.

Tomorrow is my last day at my part-time job in freeper hell. These "morans" have pictures of the chimp on their cubicle walls and listen to Rush and Hannity all day.

Early on I thought about confronting them. Then I realized they are so dumb and brainwashed, nothing I could have said would have made a difference - so I just decided to ignore them.

I bought a walkman and listen to a combination of the local Pacifica station and an oldies station -- although I'd listen to a tape of people belching if it meant I could drown out Rush.

No sense arguing though. Whatever brain cells they once had are long gone - lost to rightwing propaganda.

[mourningdove92]

14. My boss always says

Don't be a rattlesnake, be a copperhead.

[Toucano]

15. I don't understand...

I guess I don't know the properties of the snakes in question.

I only ask because it SOUNDS like something I might want to use someday. :)

But the meaning eludes me.

[jayfish]

25. I Think It Means...

don't announce your going to strike... just do it.

Jay

[Piperay]

30. I like that

idea. Too many people pop off at the mouth and give themselves away by giving a warning, better to strike when it's not expected and catch em off guard. ;-)

[Toucano]

35. Thank you!

It seems so obvious now.

I kept thinking it had something to do with copper. LOL!

"Don't make noise but have a shiny head" was all I could come up with.

[DemBones DemBones]

37. Rattlesnakes shake their rattles loudly before they strike.

Copperheads don't have rattles, though I suppose they might hiss to frighten you. They have a reputation for being hard to see, too.

It's a good saying. Another appropriate saying, which everyone has surely heard, is "Revenge is a dish best served cold."

[foolmeonce]

18. as a serious lance fan and daily watcher of "that bike race"

i would have told him to cram it. dumb ass certainly showed that he doesn't understand the magnitude of what one lance armstrong is attempting to do let alone the harm he puts himself in by traversing the open roads of the middle of a continent his government has completely alienated.

i hope you job has it's advantages because working for the sloth you described would wear me thin.

[TrogL]

16. keep the job

jobs are scarce

[Toucano]

19. Good answer.

Let them laugh it up now. It's their man who's numbers are in the toilet.

We'll have the next four years to laugh at them for backing such a criminal loser dumbass.

[jayfish]

21. You Shouldn't Have Even Started This Thread,

Now your boss can fire you. What really sucks is that there are a lot of DUer's who would say it's ok. If I were you, I would ask that this thread be locked and hope it sinks to oblivion by morning.

Jay

[foolmeonce]

22. really?

you think her boss has time between ass waxes to know where this site is?

[jayfish]

24. It Won't Start With The Boss (READ THIS)

Not so funny huh?

Jay

[foolmeonce]

26. open letter to my boss

dear guido-

i am tired of selling joints to 3rd graders. you treat me with so little respect that i have no option but to tell you to put your "head weed slinger" job in your ass. i dis-respectfully add that you may FUCK OFF even tho you are the head priest of the chickawana michigan congregation.

signed,
squips

[Must_B_Free]

27. Here is another thing you can do

Probably the most cruel vindictive thing you can do is to pretend to agree with your boss and his friend, but embrace and extend their grossness to the point that it sickens even them.

Get blantly mindless and fascistic in agreeing with them. But do it just near the edge. Try to never let them nail down for certain that you are essentially mocking them.

Prentend you've "come around to their way of thinking" and start making foolish comments about the french. Parrot the most idiotic talking points each time it comes up.

Another thing you could do instead of quitting is to blow up in some way that damages the business (with no liability on your part, make sure) and that ultimately makes the boss look bad. He clearly is the problem.

I GOT my boss tonight. She is a "dyed in the wool" republican. What finally got her another guy looking at the RFID tags and the mark of the beast theories, and I proved to him that it was already starting in Mexico and Japan. I said I had little confidence in man, looking at history, and that ultimately it would lead to the "vealization" of human beings. I said we're already basically there - we live in tiny little boxes and spend our daylight hours slaving for someoine else.

At this point she said she was planning on dropping out of society and retiring to a place where she could live off the land.

[ContinentalOp]

28. Nah, don't bother to respond to such silliness.

But what you should do is use that same tactic against them. Drop little comments now and then that slowly rile them up. I also agree with the tactic Must_Be_Free mentioned of making yourself appear like you're in agreement with them but the taking their rhetoric too far (therefore revealing it's stupidity). Or more subtly you could pretend to agree but try to slip in little doubts and questions.

For example in the situation you describe it would have been pretty harmless to pretend to agree with them that the Tour De France is a wimpy non-sport. Then you could have one-upped them and started talking about how "dorky" Kerry looked in his yellow biker suit (dig up the picture online to actually show them). But at this point you've changed the topic to Kerry's jockishness which plays right into their stupid macho stereotypes. Then if you've gained their attention and confidence you can start to pull up other photos of Kerry windsurfing or hunting. On the surface you can be mocking all of these photo ops but subconsciously they'll be absorbing images of Kerry that are diametrically opposed to any images of their little cheerleader.

[chicagojoe]

29. When dealing with these types, always remember...

...the size of ones' mouth is always inversely proportionate to the size of ones' intellect.

[Swamp Rat]

31. I wish I had a job to be fired from...

If you are going to do it, at least set it up properly. Get your boss very drunk and take photos of him with a prostitute. Then after you're fired, you can give the photos to his to his wife (and her family) and church leader (and the congregation). You won't change these assholes, but you will change your income. If you keep your political identity a secret, you may be able to subtly influence others (that would have voted for Bush&Co) to vote third party or not vote at all.

[area51]

32. As mentioned by previous posters,

jobs are extremely hard to come by in this economy. I'd suggest trying to put up w/his being an asshole until you can find another job.

[charliebrown]

33. Thank you all.

I am at work now and not supposed to be posting but I wanted to thank you all for your thoughts and insights.

Things are going fine for now and I hope it stays this way. I don't wanna have to look for another job but I also don't like the way things went yesterday.

Once again thank you all!!!

[Bandit]

34. You may say something like

"I thought you were above that sort of thing" and then let it drop. You will never win in any confrontation with the boss. Don't try. It wouldn't hurt to let out that you are dissappointed in the pettiness of it all.

[mellowinman]

36. As one of the most obnoxious

motherfuckers our side has, surprisingly I'm going to suggest you let it lie.

Do everything you can do to get Kerry elected.

Maybe start looking for a different job.

For now, do NOT lose your job because your boss is a lousy fucking moron who should be drowned in a vat of pig vomit.

This is no time to lose a job. Not with idiot Bush at the helm.

If you get in a position where you can afford it, rub President Kerry in his smarmy face.

But for now, leave it alone.

[donhakman]

38. The courage of your convictions

will close certain doors and open others.

As the old song used to say

You gotta go down and join the union
You gotta go down and join the union by yourself.

[DemBones DemBones]

39. But it's smart not to close one door unless

you have the key to another one in hand. Never quit one job unless you have another lined up.

[charliebrown]

41. Today made it even worse!!! He brought in a gun.

I know he owns guns and thats ok(whatever) with me. Today he brought in a Colt 45 and showed it to me.

Is that legal? It wasn't loaded and in fact still had the tag of purchase on the trigger. But is it legal for him to bring it to work?

I didn't freak out cause I have handled guns a few times but to bring it to work!!! And he brought his 13 year old girl in that same day and she went with him to purchase it.

I just have to think this out. I really can't leave cause its a good job 95% of the time. But, the last two days have really messed with my head.

Thanks again to all who have answered.

[charliebrown]

42. I felt really uncomfortable with a GUN in his hand.

I wanna keep this kicked cause I wanna know if its legal for him to have the Gun and display it at work. Sorry if I am a pain but I would like to know.

I will be off to bed in a few cause I have to work with the idiot tommorow for OT.

Thanks for any input on legallity. I will check for responces tomorrow.

Thanks DU!!

[w4rma]

43. To my knowledge there are no federal laws preventing this.

There are probably no state or local laws, either.

[charliebrown]

44. Thank you w4rma.

thanks

[Seabiscuit]

45. Show up at work

with a blue beret, a "tricolor" flag button on your suit, and a fresh baguette under your arm, with a string bag carrying a bottle of Evian and some Gruyere cheese, and a box of freshly baked patisserie. Whistle "Le Marseillaise" as you walk through the office all day long. If you really want to go all out you could cough up for a Zili silk tie.

Just don't talk about the French. Let your "accoutrements" do all the talking. :-)