CSsmrfk
10mo ago
Being a communist will upset some customers too; however, it shouldn't get you fired. OP stated that employees' political expression should be protected as long as it doesn't "affect your ability to do your actual job":
I think not only should it not get you fired, but it should be protected with the same sort of rules that religion gets — you shouldn’t be able to fire liberals or conservatives for simply stating something you disagree with...
I do not think that the Home Depot lady's opinions affected her job performance. If, instead of saying that the shooter shouldn't have missed, she had expressed literally any other political opinion, I assume OP would have defended her.
But OP's standards for who to fire suddenly change here. This political expression is out of bounds. But why?
Politics will inevitably make some customers uncomfortable. If you decide that employees have the right to express their political opinions, then you, as an employer and business owner, will have to just suck it up and deal with the uncomfortable customers.
Yeah. Saying, "too bad the shooter missed" isn't incitement, so the employee shouldn't be fired.
CSsmrfk
10mo ago
Having said all that “too bad the shooter missed” isn’t political, it’s condoning violence.
I disagree. Wanting Trump dead is political. But a line has to be drawn somewhere, and you draw it here. I feel it's arbitrary.
If political expressions of employees should be defended, then even the wackiest of nutjobs should be safe from getting fired.
What is uniquely bad about violence? Would you say that violence is an assault on the system that protects freedom of expression and freedom of political affiliation? That because the employee rejects this system, he no longer deserves its protection?
But what if the employee is a rabid monarchist, a communist, or Nazi? The explicit aim of these ideologies is to dismantle the current democratic system, to overthrow the government, and to impose authoritarian rule. Fired?
CSsmrfk
11mo ago
both my kids knew lion, camel, rhino, elephant, dinosaur etc. well before their second birthdays
And similarly, people learn the names of women. But when suddenly approached on the street, they struggle to name one! While a cognitive test setting is different from a guy asking you questions while waving a dollar in your face, I would be afraid of forgetting "rhino" under pressure.
There was no actual violence or even incitement of violence in what the Home Depot lady said. You implicitly acknowledged this by making your hypothetical non-political since wishing a politician's death is just another political opinion.
Trump is not just any person. This comparison doesn't make sense because Trump is literally the presidential nominee. The opinion expressed about Trump's shooting is a political one.
You specifically stated that political expression should be tolerated. If you were to adhere to monarchist, communist, or Nazi beliefs, you would be advocating for even more violence. And this would be actual violence, not just wishing someone be dead.
To make the equivocation you want to make, this "drunk uncle" would have to be himself at fault for getting robbed. The uncle, after getting drunk at the local pub, looking for a fight, approached some guy on the street. But he messed with the wrong guy and got himself robbed at gunpoint.
What your hypothetical person would say is, "fuck around and find out." Because this is what many liberals believe.
The Home Depot lady, like many liberals, likely believes that Trump is a threat to democracy and that he is responsible for the current state of political affairs. Trump is at fault for destabilizing politics and, consequently, almost getting himself assassinated.
From this point of view then, it makes sense to wish that the sniper had not missed. Trump fucked around and found out (almost). It would have only been fair.
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