Where the Kids Come to Mouth Off

Originally posted by Replaced_Texan
I went to the Greek Festival last night, and I'm remarkably un-hungover.

Your first over-indulgence?

I didn't realize the Greek Festival was this week. Uzo for everyone! I have to go downtown tomorrow anyway, maybe we'll go.

My parents gave me wine at age 2 to get me to sleep. It did not have its intended consequence.

I didn't get intentionally drunk until my freshmen year at college. Several days in Mexico and I had pretty much made up for the prior 17yrs of sobriety.

[TalkSock]

Originally posted by pony_trekker
Well, that happens here every Friday at sundown so . . .

Christ, it was 911, live with it.

Exactly, so why would the Catholics assume that the non-Catholics would not want to go to a memorial service that was open to the public? And on top of it, a couple of them got all "we're more religious than you" about it and "we just assumed you wouldn't want to go."
Ass u me, whatever.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by sebastian_dangerfield
Why must the bitter always be hateful and friendless? I'd be what can be called bitter, but I'm neither hateful nor friendless. Quite to the contrary, I have a well stuffed social calendar and the only thing I really hate is Bruce Soringsteen.

If I had a chocolate lab that blew me, I'd never leave the house, but I wouldn't be bitter.

Originally posted by Bad_Rich_Chic
I understand the "mortgage" problem in confronting bigots, and maybe I am lucky in my employer in that I am confident I would NEVER be fired for calling a client or anyone else on an inappropriate comment (and lucky that I only very, very rarely hear anything of this nature about anyone - maybe I just look prissy and put people on good behavior). However, any job I would loose because I objected to a biggoted comment I really don't fucking want. You can buy my time, buy my effort, buy my brains but you can't buy that. (Easy to say given that I've never been in a position where my basic livelihood was threatened, I admit, but I have called boyfriends parents, large men on the subway, etc., on shit like that.)

Thoughts?

I'm a solo, the clients are my job, so the problem is on a whole different scale. This client is ~1/4 of my income - and it's only a couple board members that are the problem. I have other reasons, but they are just as boring, so I won't go into it.

[Flinty_McFlint]

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
I call bullshit, unless you meant 9/11/1640. No "financial giant" is run by Catholics.

Yo AG, been to Whole Foods in San Mateo lately? It's on Franklin Templeton plaza.

[Flinty_McFlint]

Originally posted by soup sandwich
Coltrane's right. Watch this:

Rocky (addressing the Soviet audience): I guess what I'm trying to say is, if I can change, and you can change, everybody can change!

Oooooh, my turn. "My prediction? Pain."

[Sidd Finch]

Originally posted by Replaced_Texan
As an adult, I have been known to readily agree to the suggestion of going to bed after a few drinks.

We have so much in common. Let's date.

[Did you just call me Coltrane?]

[Bad_Rich_Chic]

Originally posted by TexLex
I'm a solo, the clients are my job, so the problem is on a whole different scale. This client is ~1/4 of my income - and it's only a couple board members that are the problem. I have other reasons, but they are just as boring, so I won't go into it.

I agree, it's on a different scale - like I said, easy for me to say. And I'm a bit of a hypocrite, because I work for sexists with some regularity, and actually get along really well with them (old chauvanists just love me, for some reason, I guess I match their idea of what women should be like sufficiently that they don't remember to mind that I'm a "career girl" and am better educated and probably earn more than them). Maybe being a member of the target group I think it's my perogative to blow it off, but otherwise I must satisfy my middle-class white guilt? Anyhow, I usually just find them hilarious.

BR(and they give the best "end of deal" trinkets - scarves, perfume, handbags, who needs lucite? You find a chauvanist client who thinks women should have deal toys from Hermes and Dior and you've got a keeper)C

[Shape Shifter]

Originally posted by robustpuppy
I'm curious. When people say offensive things in your presence, do you have any reaction? Or when it comes to indicating whether you think their views are legitimate, have you concluded that it's "a tough call to make, but that she should do whatever she thought was right."

You know, bullet dodged and all.

I usually just ignore her.

Originally posted by Bad_Rich_Chic
You find a chauvanist client who thinks women should have deal toys from Hermes and Dior and you've got a keeper.

At my old firm I got Waterford and a pat on the ass, does that count?

[Shape Shifter]

Originally posted by mmm3587
It's early, but I have no idea what you're talking about with the "a tough call to make, but that she should do whatever she thought was right" quote.

Anyway, it depends whether or not the speaker is someone I can really tell to fuck off or face-throw the contents of a drink or something like that. I often find that kind of response, if not useful or productive, enjoyable.

When that's not an option (girlfriend's parents, situation where causing a scene is wholly inappropriate), I am more likely to make a remark or simply tell someone that their views are prejudiced and offensive to me.

The only times I haven't said anything were when I just wasn't sure if the intent was offensive or if it would be worth it to get into an argument with someone. One time I was with someone in a group and, as we talked about a (not present) colleague's ex-girlfriend, he said "Isn't she a Jew?" Someone else said, "Yes, so what if she is?", and he said that he wass just curious about their relationship and the reasons it ended, since the guy is Catholic. In that situation, I chose not to say anything because I wasn't sure he had ill will. Either way, the guy was an ass who said inappropriate shit.

Finally, the saddest thing to me is hearing minority groups speak poorly of other minority groups. I won't get into examples, but hearing one often discriminated-against group try to rationalize and justify their prejudice towards another group is just pathetic. My comment in those situations is always, "Wow, you're lucky that you've never experienced racial or cultural prejudice!" When the person responds that he or she has, it usually doesn't even take an additional comment for that person to get it.

You have a girlfriend?

[Sidd Finch]

Originally posted by Shape Shifter
You have a girlfriend?

Of course he does -- it's Arpy. Can't you tell from the tension?

[Shape Shifter]

Originally posted by Pretty Little Flower
Agreed! The PCification of our culture has turned a once colorful language into a flaccid and boring means of communication, entirely lacking in spark or creativity. I'm sorry, but I refuse to use the word "waitron." And it is cute and everything that the word "history" can be seen as a contraction of "his story" but I am not going to try to come up with some other word for that so I do not accidently offend the uptight feminist cunt-bitches around me. And if one of my African-American colleagues is not working hard, I am going to call him or her a lazy shiftless nigger - I am not going to let the PC nazis tell me that this is "not correct speak" or something. Nor am I going to stop using the word "nazi" as a shorthand for totalitarians just because some kike is all sensitive about WWII.

Don't you mean "mockie"?

[robustpuppy]

Originally posted by Shape Shifter
I usually just ignore her.

As the tradition of loudly proclaiming that someone has been put on one's ignore list demonstrates, that is only effective if the person knows she is being ignored.