I"m dreading the conversations I'm going to hend up having about Palin with freeper coworkers

[LittleClarkie]

That's already started, actually. A co-worker snarked that Democrats would say that leaving a special needs baby behind at home to go and be VP makes Palin more fulfilled as a woman. He's rabidly pro-life, referring to abortion clinics as "death camps" and such.

I like to be able to discuss things with people, and pride myself on being able to have civil discussions with some, though not all, of my conservative friends. But not with this guy. He likes to launch zingers in the middle of the conversation and stand there grinning like he just won and is laughing at you. He says that's not his intention, but he does it often enough that I don't believe him. I end up speaking farther to the left than I actually am because he's so damned far to the right. All I end up doing is going red in the face because he's talking about the culture of death and death camps when he means abortion clinics. I hate extreme rhetoric, from either side. It's so hard to have a conversation with someone who has their own pet names for everything, designed to cut of conversation so they can win and grin their smug little grins.

I'm not even sure it's valid to be questioning Palin's choice to run for VP when she has a four month old child with special needs at home. Maybe it's that she belongs to a party that touts family values as if they were the only ones who had them. Maybe it's that she has the was and means and resources for such a choice, while others do not, and that she hold herself higher than them because she had a child she reckons others would abort.

Why does this woman annoy me so much? Am I being sexist? That would be bad, what with being a woman and all.

[alittlelark]

1. I wonder what forums devoted to Downs Syndrome children

would have to say.....


I'm gonna scoot off and have a peek.

[AlCzervik]

2. Then why even discuss it with him? If he ran that bullshit on me i'd just look at him

and say "Bless your heart" and that would be it. You said "Civil discussions" and clearly that person cannot engage in one so you should disengage from him.

[LittleClarkie]

5. He's a manager and often initiates these things

I haven't found an acceptable way to tell him to fuck off yet. Perhaps I should just say I don't think it's appropriate to have these conversations at work.

But he's usually the instigator.

[AlCzervik]

9. you should tell him you aren't discussing it with him and especially since he's a

manager, if he acts like a douche he could possibly be guilty of creating a hostile work environment, that's bad enough when it's done by a coworker but it's done by a manager it's terrible because you're not sure who you can talk to about and trust.

[mitchum]

3. Tell him that the child actually belongs to Palin's 16 year old daughter...

because it is the truth

[musette_sf]

16. i hope this has legs n/t

[SpiralHawk]

4. Just keep asking him questions...

about the massive republicon borrow-and-spend spree resulting in the SUPER STINKING DEBT we are in.

About the mortgage-foreclosure saga (far from over).

About the failing banks. About the layoffs.

About Osama bin Still Alive.

About George Bush & his Saudi cronies (remember, almost all the 9/11 hijakers were Saudi; none were from Iraq or Iran. I know McCain is the candidate, but he has the stink of Bush & Cheney all over him till election day and beyond).

About MASSIVE FREAKING PROFITS for the republicon-Cheney-crony oil corps, and $4 a gallon gas (you know gas is going back to $4 in December, a few weeks after the election. You can depend on it.)

Etc. etc. There are a million unanswered and suspicious matters the republicons have either cover up, or just FAILED with.

Keep asking the dude about the massive republicon FAIL.

He might begin to think.

You never know.

[area51]

14. Good idea, asking questions.

Including, ask him why he's not really pro-life, as it's doubtful he supports single-payer healthcare. Ask him what he's doing about the 273 people who die every day due to lack of access to healthcare in the U.S.

[childslibrarian]

6. Don't worry, this was such an incredibly poor choice

There is so much against her, you don't need to say anything.
Be nice, be polite, say that pick was INTERESTING.....
Smile....
:D

[ColbertWatcher]

7. "He likes to launch zingers in the middle of the conversation ..."

Before you get into it with him, mock him for this go-to tactic.

Ask him if he's going to pull another FOX cliche out of his ass.

[EC]

8. So does that mean he doesn't think she should be running for VP

because she is leaving an infant with Down's unattended while running for office? That's confusing...

And no, as a Dem, I disapprove, she chose to have the child knowing it would have Down's, she should care for him and not be gallivanting around leaving him with nurses or whomever...

[LittleClarkie]

10. Glad I'm not the only one. But it sounds sort of sexist to say so, doesn't it?

But then, as you say, she knew she was having the child and that it had special needs. To talk about what a blessing and a challenge it will be, then hand the kid off to someone else, irritates the hell out of me.

[warrior1]

11. Fastest way to shut down someone

When they start spewing their hate, start waving you hand in front of your face and tell them their breath smells.

[spanone]

12. ask them if they would vote for her for president? cause she may end up there if mckook wins

[L. Coyote]

13. Please report back on the talking points.

It sheds a lot of light on their propaganda focus, without having to listen to the talk radio crap..

[musette_sf]

15. i'm in the midst of a polite email exchange

with a co-worker, who recently came out to me as Pub.

i do look at it as "coming out"... working for a very progressive company in a very progressive area, the Pubs don't speak up so presumptuously as they as they do in, say, Southeast Texas. he started talking to me about politics when we had a team outing to the ball game a few weeks ago. he grew up in Hawaii and I said "oh, like Senator Obama!" he took that as his lead to start talking politics. interestingly enough, all the memes he came out with were brand new to me, and only hit the blogosphere a few days afterwards. makes me wonder how plugged in he is.

anyhoo, we've previously mutually agreed that Harriet Miers was a BIG mistake.

which leads me to... he said in his email that he thought Palin was a "smart move", and asked what i thought.

i wrote back and said that Palin was equal to the Miers nomination.

it will be a fun next few months at work. he is respectful and polite about it as i also strive to be, hence the "fun" part. i think i'll stay away from the reproductive rights part and harp more on the 'Jesus riding a dinosaur' part :-)

[LittleClarkie]

17. I don't mind having discussions with such people

It's the name calling that gets me sometimes though. Socialist fascist. Marxist. Just plain socialist. Death camp when he means abortion clinic. As if they didn't know what these words really meant.

[musette_sf]

18. yeah, i heard one of those last night on the radio

i turned on the right wing nut radio after Senator Obama's speech, and a guy called in who actually, seriously, said "Obama is a Commie Socialist Marxist Baby Killing Muslim", and the host (Brian Assman on KSFO, if anyone cares) not only did NOT cut him off, but encouraged him and said "Yes, Obama's a Muslim, he was born a Muslim" and so on and so forth, Founding Fathers, blah blah yadda yadda.

i do have a personal advantage, sad as it is, were i to have to work with one of these fucknuts. i'd just tell the guy, "my father was in a death camp, lived through it, and i do not take that analogy lightly". unhinged people of any sort who use the Nazi card with me, get schooled quick. they always STFU forever, at least around me.