IDIOT COWORKER

[Guest archerdr1]

So, yesterday after work I took my son fishing. I went home, got my son, put my guns in their rightful places aka, in their holsters on my hip and back and came back to my place of employment which many of you know is Camping World here in Chattanooga. Before heading out to the ponds I had to get some stuff out of my office so I walked in carrying my son and my pistols, got my stuff and went out. Today my coworker that was working when I walked in yesterday said something to the affect of I should be beaten for carrying my guns while having my three year old with me. I stopped, turned around and asked "Why? what is going to happen? and why would I put myself in the position that I could not protect my son when the protection of him and his brother are the reasons that I carry in the first place?" She just walked away. Shouldn't start an argument that you can't back up!

[Guest jackdm3]

Violent words from a pacifist.

[jtluttrell]

Camping World here in Chattanooga

Where?

[Kelemvor]

Hopefully your coworker doesn't have any children 1.) Because she couldn't protect them and 2.) People that dumb shouldn't reproduce.

[Guest jackdm3]

Could you consider that threat an assault or some other chargeable offense?

[Guest archerdr1]

unfortunately, she does have kids. She is by no means a pacifist, there are other words I could use for her, but we aren't supposed to use that language here, right? She didn't say that she was going to beat me, just that she thinks I should be beaten, of course, I wouldn't worry about her trying to do anything physically, she is probably too high on her meds (or her mom's or her sister's) to do much at all. and jtluttrell, Camping world is actually IN GA, but the entrance to the property is in East Ridge right across from the Flea Market, used to be Shipp's RV.come on in and see us some time, I am the guy sporting the empty holster b/c I am too lazy to take it off when I come to work and it has to be empty b/c employees can't carry while working. Stupid policy.

[Mark@Sea]

Violent words from an anti. Just one example of many.

[daddyo]

Ignorance makes people say stupid things. I have one of these types in my own family, unfortunately.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

So, yesterday after work I took my son fishing. I went home, got my son, put my guns in their rightful places aka, in their holsters on my hip and back and came back to my place of employment which many of you know is Camping World here in Chattanooga. Before heading out to the ponds I had to get some stuff out of my office so I walked in carrying my son and my pistols, got my stuff and went out. Today my coworker that was working when I walked in yesterday said something to the affect of I should be beaten for carrying my guns while having my three year old with me. I stopped, turned around and asked "Why? what is going to happen? and why would I put myself in the position that I could not protect my son when the protection of him and his brother are the reasons that I carry in the first place?" She just walked away. Shouldn't start an argument that you can't back up!

She walked away because she didn't have an answer. Perfect handling of an idiot.

[Guest cheez]

Hopefully your coworker doesn't have any children 1.) Because she couldn't protect them and 2.) People that dumb shouldn't reproduce.

My thoughts exactly. Lots of ignorant/stupid people around.

[TGO David]

In today's economy you really need to watch what you say or do on the job. Provoking a fellow employee (what she did) is not a smart move. Engaging an employee in an argument (what you did) isn't either. There are just too many overqualified people looking for jobs out there for an employer to put up with a bunch of crap between his or her employees. It's easier to just ****can them both and hire new.

I leave my politics (and my holster) at the door when I clock in. Anyone who wants to be an idiot doesn't get to use me as their stooge because I don't give them the ammo nor do I give them the reaction they're looking for.

Just one of those things I've learned over the course of the past 20 years working for the man. Everyone is expendable.

[Guest Plainsman]

Hit the nail on the head David...

[daddyo]

In today's economy you really need to watch what you say or do on the job. Provoking a fellow employee (what she did) is not a smart move. Engaging an employee in an argument (what you did) isn't either. There are just too many overqualified people looking for jobs out there for an employer to put up with a bunch of crap between his or her employees. It's easier to just ****can them both and hire new.

I leave my politics (and my holster) at the door when I clock in. Anyone who wants to be an idiot doesn't get to use me as their stooge because I don't give them the ammo nor do I give them the reaction they're looking for.

Just one of those things I've learned over the course of the past 20 years working for the man. Everyone is expendable.

Good advice.

[gregintenn]

Everyone is expendable.

No truer words have ever been spoken.

[rentalguy1]

Everyone is expendable.

The same can be said about jobs. Sure, the economy is tight, but there are still jobs available. People hire every day. There are even some employers who are having difficulty finding employees.

I guess my question is what exactly does it say about a person who is completely willing to forgo the safety of themselves and those around them for the sake of the almighty dollar. Does money mean more than your values? If you're willing to set aside that moral for a paycheck, what else are you willing to do?

[Guest Al56]

I guess my question is what exactly does it say about a person who is completely willing to forgo the safety of themselves and those around them for the sake of the almighty dollar. Does money mean more than your values? If you're willing to set aside that moral for a paycheck, what else are you willing to do?

I agree,,, but then I don't have two kids to feed.

[strickj]

The same can be said about jobs. Sure, the economy is tight, but there are still jobs available. People hire every day. There are even some employers who are having difficulty finding employees.

I guess my question is what exactly does it say about a person who is completely willing to forgo the safety of themselves and those around them for the sake of the almighty dollar. Does money mean more than your values? If you're willing to set aside that moral for a paycheck, what else are you willing to do?

Are you serious?

You can have all the 'values' you want.... while being homeless from not being able to pay you mortgage

[eapking]

In today's economy you really need to watch what you say or do on the job. Provoking a fellow employee (what she did) is not a smart move. Engaging an employee in an argument (what you did) isn't either. There are just too many overqualified people looking for jobs out there for an employer to put up with a bunch of crap between his or her employees. It's easier to just ****can them both and hire new.

I leave my politics (and my holster) at the door when I clock in. Anyone who wants to be an idiot doesn't get to use me as their stooge because I don't give them the ammo nor do I give them the reaction they're looking for.

Just one of those things I've learned over the course of the past 20 years working for the man. Everyone is expendable.

+1

I had to bite my tongue last week at a company dinner. The topic of "guns in bars" came up from someone at the table. I said nothing as a few people at the table started in with the ridiculous "anti" crap and illogic. As much as I was tempted to jump in, I value my job a lot more. Got to pick your battles.

[Guest archerdr1]

I won't lose my job over it. Other than that, I get along with her pretty well. She also works with my wife at a part time job, my wife works with my boss' wife, and my boss and I are pretty good friends. The fact that I was off the clock when I went in to get the stuff out of my office protects me from the no carry at work, and b/c it is actually in GA, they can't prohibit me from carrying in my car. We play fox news on the tv all day, so politics is discussed by everyone, and there is a hiring freeze at our company, so if someone is canned, it can take months before my company allows my boss to hire. We are short staffed as it is too. I am not worried about losing my job over any of it and I just answered her anyway. She is just a little stupid on some of the crap she spews. In the end, she is the one who looks like a loser! She just likes to start up stuff so that we can go back and forth until I give an answer that leaves her speechless! Gotta love it!

[daddyo]

I won't lose my job over it. Other than that, I get along with her pretty well. She also works with my wife at a part time job, my wife works with my boss' wife, and my boss and I are pretty good friends. The fact that I was off the clock when I went in to get the stuff out of my office protects me from the no carry at work, and b/c it is actually in GA, they can't prohibit me from carrying in my car. We play fox news on the tv all day, so politics is discussed by everyone, and there is a hiring freeze at our company, so if someone is canned, it can take months before my company allows my boss to hire. We are short staffed as it is too. I am not worried about losing my job over any of it and I just answered her anyway. She is just a little stupid on some of the crap she spews. In the end, she is the one who looks like a loser! She just likes to start up stuff so that we can go back and forth until I give an answer that leaves her speechless! Gotta love it!

Sounds like you're not going to change her mind, so why even bother with it? Is it about making someone else look like a fool, or are we as responsible gun owners going to rise above the pettiness and educate the uneducated and prove to them that we are not the bad guys?

[Guest Catdaddy]

Sounds like you're not going to change her mind, so why even bother with it? Is it about making someone else look like a fool, or are we as responsible gun owners going to rise above the pettiness and educate the uneducated and prove to them that we are not the bad guys?

I don't see what the OP said as petty at all- I believe it was a reasonable response to a stupid, unthinking comment. I'm sure he did not respond to make her look like a fool, either. Seems to me she was capable of that all by herself.

You are right that he probably won't change her mind, and that the public NEEDS to be educated, but the same is true for many of them, as is for her.

They don't WANT to be educated. Their cherished opinion sounds good to them, so they cling to it.

Just how do you educate someone who isn't about to change her mind? And without making a response to a stupid comment?

Hand out flyers?

[Guest archerdr1]

wasn't being petty at all. She made a stupid comment (she happens to make a lot of them) and I gave her an answer. I don't get into an argument with her, I do, however, answer people even when they make a stupid comment. She said it in front of one of my coworkers (who just laughed) and a customer (who looked at me with the "How in the world do you work with fools" look. I gave my answer and they both laughed.

[TGO David]

I don't think you were being petty at all. There is an innate desire within each of us as freedom-loving Americans to speak up and express our side of the argument to those who would make patently absurd statements like your co-worker did.

However, we sometimes must temper our reactions with an awareness of the dynamics of the situation. Had this exchange occurred off company property and off company time (for both parties) then I personally would have felt more liberty to say exactly what was on my mind.

Some people, even in this thread, apparently feel that keeping mum at work is akin to selling out your beliefs. People like that concern me, not only in relation to topics like this but in a lot of other facets of life as well. They look before they leap; they speak without fully thinking through the possible ramifications.

Everyone "sells out" a little bit all throughout the day. If you observe the speed limit, you're not living out your desire to drive however fast you want. If you're speeding and you slam on the brakes when you see a cop, you're not carrying through on the idea that you'll do whatever you please, damn the consequences.

We all know that with every action, there is a reaction. Sometimes those reactions may mean that you lose your source of income and the ability to provide food and shelter for yourself or your family. In the grand scheme of things, using some intelligence about when to make a big deal out of your personal beliefs on the job is as much a part of your overall tactics for keeping your family taken care of as is the decision to go armed for your protection.

[rentalguy1]

Are you serious?

You can have all the 'values' you want.... while being homeless from not being able to pay you mortgage

I am 100% serious. As long as we, as a group, continue to act like a bunch of pansies where our rights are concerned, then we shall continue to get what we deserve! If you don't have the stones to speak up, and stick by your beliefs all of the time, then that's your bad. You just need to know that your actions affect the rest of us whether we like it or not. If you are willing to table one of your beliefs for a paycheck, then you are willing to table even more of them for money, whether you are willing to admit it or not. Now, I'm sure that you're going to respond to this with something along the same lines as your previous post, and that's ok. Maybe you don't get it. Maybe you never will. The point is, though, that your line of thinking is exactly how we got to this point in this country. They come at us one little issue at a time, and they always win, because the majority seem to think, "I better not say anything if I want to keep my _______." And each and every time a little bit more of our freedom slips away.

EDIT: Let me add to this that I never, not once, stepped on my own personal beliefs in the name of the almighty dollar. I have left several jobs because the company was doing something that went against my personal beliefs and morals. I never had a problem paying my bills or feeding my family. I finally realized that the best way to live within my own morals was to work for myself. Most people don't have the C.O. Jones to do that, though, which furthers my point that the other side is winning, one little thing at a time.

Everyone "sells out" a little bit all throughout the day. If you observe the speed limit, you're not living out your desire to drive however fast you want. If you're speeding and you slam on the brakes when you see a cop, you're not carrying through on the idea that you'll do whatever you please, damn the consequences.

Complying with established laws is not selling out. It is being a responsible citizen. The person who disagrees with the written law also has a responsibility to work towards getting that law changed and freedom restored, though. In response to your exact point, not all of us have a innate desire to go fast. I no longer do. I used to, though. In the days when I rode sport bikes I loved to go fast. I went as fast as I liked, and had the attitude that if they can catch me, they can haul me in. They never caught me. Thing is, I was wrong in my actions then, and I realize it now. I was not being a responsible citizen, and I put a lot of other folks in danger. That was the reason that speed limits were enforced to begin with.

Edited April 11, 2010 by rentalguy1

[strickj]

Maybe you don't get it. Maybe you never will

I think that maybe you don't get it.

You have no rights to work anywhere.

You have no right to carry a gun on someone else's property.

Whether that's a families property, a friends property, or your bosses propery.

Choosing not to carry while on the job that you have no right to, does not in any way effect the second amendment.