Being PC in the workplace

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We have new people in the office that will be co-workers that I have to interract with every day. It has long since been known throughout my large office that I am a devout Catholic, very conservative in my beliefs and the office leaves it at that. (I’m in the minority big time!) However these few new people have been there about 3-4 weeks now and constantly the subjects of homosexuality, conservatism, how liberal they are in their views etc…, etc…, etc…, all the PC hotbuttons come up.

I have always been very open and honest with people about how I feel but I’m hesitant about this group since I will be working so closely with them. They have no problem espousing (sp?) their views but their views are in the majority of the office. If I stay quiet I feel that they think that I am agreeing with their views.

Do I sit in silence or when asked tell them my views? Yesterday at lunch we were talking about homosexuality and I simply said that if one of my kids came home and told me they were homosexual I would not disown them but tell them the truth that the homosexual act is a grave sin and that I would pray, pray, pray for them to see the light. All I got was blank stares.
 
If I put to question every respect for life issue in my work place there would be half against every question, with different people against different issues each time. Also, I do not want to be opinioniated or judgemental. I do what you did, I answer the question once according to the teachings of the RC faith-then I try to set a good example of my faith and I also pray for them. You plant the seeds and the Holy Spirit converts. I have been pretty much accepted with that policy, and sometimes it is difficult to keep out of the arguments, but I just feel that actions speak louder than words sometimes.
 
Rebecca New:
If I put to question every respect for life issue in my work place there would be half against every question, with different people against different issues each time. Also, I do not want to be opinioniated or judgemental. I do what you did, I answer the question once according to the teachings of the RC faith-then I try to set a good example of my faith and I also pray for them. You plant the seeds and the Holy Spirit converts. I have been pretty much accepted with that policy, and sometimes it is difficult to keep out of the arguments, but I just feel that actions speak louder than words sometimes.
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I AGREE 100%. Nothing like being a good Catholic by EXAMPLE. The Holy Spirit will do the rest.
 
But why should we be deemed judgmental or opinionated because we voice our opinion which generally goes against the opinion of the majority? The majority speaks out every chance they get without question. I can’t count the times that I have been “judged” due to my conservative values or Catholic faith.
 
I don’t think you should be shy about stating your views as long as it isn’t on company time. You may find that more people agree with you than you think, and you may plant a seed of doubt in those with different views.
 
And if you do not want to get into things but feel your silence will be taken as agreement, a simple “I disagree” will either silence the conversation, or invite them to ask why. If they ask, tell them, but it lets you stand for Christ without getting into long posssibly unwelcome discussions.

God Bless,
Maria
 
I agree. A simple, quiet “I disagree” may be all you need. I’ve always lived by and very much enjoyed Voltaire’s words - I may not agree with what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it.

You don’t have to agree with them, and they don’t have to agree with you but everyone should be able to respect the other’s opinions. “I don’t agree with you, but I am not trying to convince you. I just feel the need to state my opinion as well.”

I just had this EXACT conversation happen to me at work. I work in close proximity with two other girls. We are in a room together 45 hours a week. They’re views on homosexuality are VERY different from mine.
One girl got a telephone call from this automated service about the gay marriage issue. She was very offended because I guess teh phone call was really really strong in it’s opinions and then said “god bless you” at the end.
I simply told her that I could understand how that would be offensive to people and that I understood why she was frustrated that she ccouldn’t get through to a real person to speak to about her frustration. Then after agreeing with her a bit I said taht personally I did not agree with homosexuality and didn’t think it should be allowed to be recognized as a religious marriage. To end on a good note I said (and I do feel this way) that I do not hate the person, I hate the act.

She seemed to accept that and we moved on and are back to normal today. No problems.

So express yourself if you want to. You already know you are in the minority so you are prepared for people to not agree with you. Just stick to your beliefs and you’ll be fine. Show by example too and maybe some of them will start to really think about your strong stands on things.
 
The best way I found is to state your opinion, let it be known that you don’t bend, and don’t argue with a fool, for me is was the issue of abortion, I stated my stance on pro-life, many disagreed and said “who is going to support all these unwanted babies” and “the womans right to her body” and all the “usual PC garbage”, I saw I was getting nowhere with these people, I stated one more time “abortion is murder, no matter what” and walked away. I have seen many people, who I know are pro-life, but will agree with pro-choicers just to “keep the peace”
 
This is a huge issue where my dh works too. He either gives the cold and distant this-isn’t-appropriate-professional-business-conversation stare and abruptly changes the subject to the actual business at hand.

**Or he’ll say point blank, “Do you really want to discuss these issues or are you just spouting your own opinion? Because, giving an unasked for opinion often results in getting one you might not like.”😉 **

**Surprisingly, the later seems to work better.😃 He works in a VERY liberal office. (gay relatinships given marriage benefits, lesbians get in-vitro 100% paid for, on site nurse gives birth control “management and solutions” seminiars, etc…) Most are shocked to find a happily married to a Catholic father of 7.2 in the area. Apparently he is such a rare breed of fellow that they start grilling him like he’s some kind of foreign exchange student from another planet.:rotfl: **
 
Be sensative, but give your opinion. I see one problem that comes up is that they’ll start acting as if a conservative opinion means they are a chirstian fundamentalist and on the fringe at that. Leaves me thinking why don’t you pick on someone that might actually be able to give you an honest debate. In fairness I’ll see some conservates that seem to do the same thing to more liberal people too.
 
Hehe, what’s PC and RC? :o
I’ve racked my brain but can’t come up with anything
Public Criticism?
Problematic Chatting?
Personal Comments?

All I can think of when I see PC is personal computer, and when I see RC I think of RC cola. 😃
 
Politically Correct----meaning only saying and thinking things along the liberal way of life, as to not offend anyone except the conservatives (we are free game) Examples…It is not PC to display Christmas decorations because it will offend non-Christians, It is not PC to say same-sex marriages should be banned…and so on
 
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kaymart:
Politically Correct----meaning only saying and thinking things along the liberal way of life, as to not offend anyone except the conservatives (we are free game) Examples…It is not PC to display Christmas decorations because it will offend non-Christians, It is not PC to say same-sex marriages should be banned…and so on
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LOL, Politically Correct, DUH!!! Thanks, and I thought I had just figured it to be pro-choice lol. Oh yeah, I had to deal with that politically correct/ be extra careful not to offend anyone (except perhaps Catholics and other closed minded Christians), and never say the words Christmas or God, being an RA at a public university residence hall. .
RC is Roman Catholic?
 
Remember that wonderful, old-fashioned advice mom used to give…to avoid discussions of religion and politics at work and in casual social settings? Since things can get ugly pretty quickly and leave a bad taste that lingers it’s generally not worth bringing up or jumping into the fray.
 
I have worked at places where there were people from extremely diverse national, ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds. “Back home”, these people were actively killing one another with the most savage butchery. But here, everybody worked well together.

Occasionally, someone would “mouth off” or make a display of testiness, and the others would try to smooth things over, simply to prevent bloodshed.

There were frequent meetings on and off of work hours or lunch hour, on and off of company property for religious ceremonies or for cultural or national holidays celebrations.

On occasion someone would be “sentenced” to take sensitivity training for having offended someone. Often they would simply use the class to point out the absurdity of the political correctness movement.

On one occasion I, personally, was charged with some offense.
Hey, what do you want from me. It’s a Polish calendar.

It’s not like I said a Hewlett-Packard calculator used Reverse Polish Notation or something.

Go figure.

Some people just walk around all day looking for an opportunity to be offended.*
 
Some people just walk around all day looking for an opportunity to be offended.

Exactly. So never deny your faith. When asked directly give a direct answer, but judge your audience. Be a sheep but be wise. Don`t be drawn into giving someone with ulterior motives a lot of ammunition against you…
 
You might want to matter-of-factly point out to them that such discussion of socio-political issues is inappropriate and unprofessional. They don’t need to know your opinion and it’s unecessary for them to share their opinions with you.

I’d be careful offering your opinion. It’s one thing to speak the Truth but it’s another to speak it when it cause you to be alienated in your job.

Proper workplace discussions should not touch upon these topics. If it continues to be an issue I would speak to your human resources department and tell them that these politically oriented conversations make you uncomfortable.
 
The “biggest problem” I ever encountered is that working in a bureaucracy is different from working anywhere else. The “mission” is to protect and extend the bureaucracy. Getting a “job” done is at best secondary. Getting the job “done” may mean that there is no more work to do. So there is a tendency to have an infinite number of meetings.

Sort of like digging with the small end of the pick and hitting the same little hole or same little spot over and over again. Minimizing the amount of progress while maximizing the amount of effort.

Anyone or anything that puts the main goal of the bureaucracy in danger or potentially poses a threat to the bureaucracy could be liable to be eliminated.

Bureaucracies thrive on chaos. Chaos allows for security of budgets and head counts. Because in order to “solve” the cause of the chaos, more effort is required. So “they” don’t want people who actually get things done.

Political correctness slows down accomplishment of “stuff”. People dance around to avoid offending. So less and less gets done.

Great effort is expended to LOOK busy and to LOOK as if things are getting done.

[sigh]
 
I don’t worry about being “PC” when others bring up a topic in a conversation I’m already involved in. If they brought up the topic, they obviously want to discuss it and if they are not prepared to hear the truth, it is their problem, not mine. Truth hurts.
 
I just had the guy in the cubicle behind me relocate to another office - one of the people that “tries to get me going” when it comes to political and/or religious discussions in the workplace. (he is a former Catholic, now married to a pagan) At the end of it all we agreed to disagreed and actually got along well his last few weeks.

We recently hired some new people who I have to directly mentor. Obviously on the other side of myself when it comes to political views - subjects have come up, for instance I am encouraging my 17 year old to go to the Navy, I was told that they don’t support the war and they would not have their kids enlist. I simply replied that I would be proud to have my son serve in the military and left it at that! It’s amazing that when you make a definite statement how quickly the conversation ends! John Kerry being a Catholic came up - I stated that I don’t consider him a Catholic much like a lot of cafeteria Catholics who pick and choose what they believe. Again, end of discussion!

No more am I drawn into these lengthy political/religious discussions. If I’m asked directly I respond, make a statement and leave it at that! Thanks for everyones advice.
 
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