Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Conservative coworkers

I know that Shakesville has addressed this in the past, but I'm stuck. Hard.

I like my coworkers. In their interactions with me they are kind, friendly, supportive, and pleasant. But I'm beginning to experience some cognitive dissonance. Because otherwise.....

I hear comments like (in response to a flaky client who happens to be a woman) "That's why we can't have a woman president!" Like the stories one of our resident doctors is telling about how hilarious it was that, while they were away at a teaching seminar, one of the foreign students said the word "horse" funny, so now they all say it that way at random intervals. Like how a fellow tech was explaining to me, quite earnestly, how she doesn't think that welfare should increase if you have more children, because "the money certainly isn't going to the kids!" (This from a person who told me that her MOTHER was on welfare while raising her and her siblings!!!!!)

I don't know how to handle this. I don't want to come off as a preachy wench. I'm working hard at presenting my positions as coming from a place of compassion. Not only because that's true, but because almost all of them are hardcore Christians, and supposedly should believe in that sort of thing. I push back when I can, not angrily, just disbelieveingly. But it's hard.

So here's my question, I guess. How do you handle the cognitive dissonance between people who you genuinely want to like, but still say douchey things? (This applies to my inlaws as well, now that I think about it....)

2 comments:

Rufus said...

Just dropped in here. To be honest, in these situations, I just stop liking them. I wish I didn't, but that's what usually happens. Good luck.

Unknown said...

I have to second what Rufus said. I know that's not a helpful approach, but often I just let people like this drift out of my life. I wish I could put political differences to one side, but I find that it fundamentally affects the way I view someone.