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I spent a summer working for some very conservative business owners. They asked me what I felt about the great society program during Johnson. I said that I tho

I spent a summer working for some very conservative business owners. They asked me what I felt about the great society program during Johnson. I said that I thought it was a fine program that lifted a lot of people out of poverty. The following day they presented me a framed photo of Joseph Stalin. It's not just liberals that can be closed minded.

splintercell 10y ago
That's kinda hilarious. If I talked about virtues of small govt, and the guy next day hands me a one way ticket to Somalia (or some stuff like that), I would find it extremely hilarious. Keep in mind, giving a framed photo of Stalin is totally different than screaming "You're effing Stalin!" (which he didn't do).
- Bartweiss 10y ago
  Done kindly, this sort of thing isn't just funny but an insulator against actual silencing. (I can't speak to how the Stalin photo was meant, but it sure could be funny.) If someone is outraged by your support for social programs and calls you a Stalinist, it's way harder to feel threatened when you're looking at a framed photo of Stalin your boss gave to you. Similarly libertarianism/Somalia or whatever other over-the-top pairing applies. It's part of why I tend to defend this sort of humor as not inherently wrong - when it's well-meant it helps ensure that people don't feel threatened or ostracized. The sting has been taken out of the attack, so there's more room to get along.
SmellTheGlove 10y ago
1. That's really funny, actually, as long as it didn't lead to you being fired or marginalized at work. You can give each other a hard time while still getting along. 2. Was the picture frame any good? Worst case, free frame! 3. OK, serious this time, who brought up politics at work - you or the bosses? I work at a big company and people generally avoid politics and religion, and people do seem to actively pretend they don't hear it when someone tries to go there. At a smaller shop, who went there?
- ComradeTaco 10y ago
  1. I thought it was funny too. But they also legitimately believed and expressed that anyone who believed in social welfare was a communist. 2. They took the frame back. 3. They did. I was working at the store as an hourly employee. The customers were generally middle to upper middle class.
  - SmellTheGlove 10y ago
    1. Shoulda taught them a lesson about self-fulfilling prophecy and commandeered the means of production. By that I mean taking the cash register and feeding the homeless out front. 2. That's the real crime here. That frame was a gift. 3. OK, seriously again, that's very lame. If management brings up politics, they damn well better be receptive to the response. I know small businesses can be "different" but it has little bearing on you working in their store.
deleted 10y ago
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antisthenes 10y ago
I'm now thinking of multiple ways the Stalin photo could have been interpreted. What meaning did it have to you or them?

splintercell 10y ago

That's kinda hilarious. If I talked about virtues of small govt, and the guy next day hands me a one way ticket to Somalia (or some stuff like that), I would find it extremely hilarious. Keep in mind, giving a framed photo of Stalin is totally different than screaming "You're effing Stalin!" (which he didn't do).

Bartweiss 10y ago
Done kindly, this sort of thing isn't just funny but an insulator against actual silencing. (I can't speak to how the Stalin photo was meant, but it sure could be funny.) If someone is outraged by your support for social programs and calls you a Stalinist, it's way harder to feel threatened when you're looking at a framed photo of Stalin your boss gave to you. Similarly libertarianism/Somalia or whatever other over-the-top pairing applies. It's part of why I tend to defend this sort of humor as not inherently wrong - when it's well-meant it helps ensure that people don't feel threatened or ostracized. The sting has been taken out of the attack, so there's more room to get along.

SmellTheGlove 10y ago

1. That's really funny, actually, as long as it didn't lead to you being fired or marginalized at work. You can give each other a hard time while still getting along. 2. Was the picture frame any good? Worst case, free frame! 3. OK, serious this time, who brought up politics at work - you or the bosses? I work at a big company and people generally avoid politics and religion, and people do seem to actively pretend they don't hear it when someone tries to go there. At a smaller shop, who went there?

ComradeTaco 10y ago
1. I thought it was funny too. But they also legitimately believed and expressed that anyone who believed in social welfare was a communist. 2. They took the frame back. 3. They did. I was working at the store as an hourly employee. The customers were generally middle to upper middle class.
- SmellTheGlove 10y ago
  1. Shoulda taught them a lesson about self-fulfilling prophecy and commandeered the means of production. By that I mean taking the cash register and feeding the homeless out front. 2. That's the real crime here. That frame was a gift. 3. OK, seriously again, that's very lame. If management brings up politics, they damn well better be receptive to the response. I know small businesses can be "different" but it has little bearing on you working in their store.

deleted 10y ago

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antisthenes 10y ago

I'm now thinking of multiple ways the Stalin photo could have been interpreted. What meaning did it have to you or them?