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1661
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How I feel whenever a friend or colleague asks me this question... (i.imgur.com)

submitted ago by carsontl

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[–]TheChosenOne013 48 points49 points ago

I always assumed politics was one of those "stay away" topics with co-workers.

[–]redpoint13 13 points14 points ago

I've told my employees to keep politics off the floor a few times, not that it ever got out of hand. Not worth the risk.

[–]rimo 1 point2 points ago

That sounds so boring.

In the Netherlands someone not having an opinion is inconceivable, and you'll get people pushing you a bit to get you to say what you think...

[–]laphroaig1234 9 points10 points ago

Well when you live in a country the size of a large american metroplex, I'm sure people get less offended about your political opinions.

[–]pedler 6 points7 points ago

it probably has more to do with their culture of work rather than the culture of politics.

[–]donutsalad 2 points3 points ago

I wish it was with my co workers. They piss me off because they always find the most stupid fucking thing to vote over and they always get upset when I say, "You guys are fucking idiots...." Apparently that's not a very socially acceptable thing to say. Oh or they do that stupid, talk over you bullshit.

[–]Penleg 3 points4 points ago

There's only two things I don't talk about with Co-Workers: Politics and Religion.

[–]ZeroGSpaceCow 7 points8 points ago

It's supposed to be. Most people who have even an inkling of social awareness will understand that. But there are some people who just can't get it into their heads that it's not really an appropriate thing to bring up in the office. There are also some offices where talking politics is common (usually small companies).

[–]EndEuphoria 3 points4 points ago

It's sad, we haven't been able to listen to NPR in the mornings recently because it starts a shitstorm.

[–]spatulaboy 1 point2 points ago

I hate that. I mentioned I listened to NPR on the way to work and got a shitstorm from most of my coworkers.

I like hearing about world events and interesting stories, fuck me right?

[–]Fuentidos 1 point2 points ago

This looks like the best place to ask this so here goes. I just got assigned an essay where I have to write about who I'd hypothetically vote for Obama or Romney (no 3rd party candidates). If you don't have to share your actual vote why should I have to share my hypothetical vote? And I know the teacher isn't going to approve of my selection because I know her political affiliation. I'm just not okay with this.

[–]billthelawmaker 0 points1 point ago

GARY JOHNSON 2012 FOR LYFE!

[–]Grymninja -1 points0 points ago

^ lol weed. JOEL HEYMAN 4 PRESIDENT! but in all seriousness, Obama is a much better choice than Romney. Shitt Romney is just a rich guy who can present well, but doesn't even know his own plan. And he's against gay marriage.

[–]Clark-Week 0 points1 point ago

I like this response to the prompt, Because... The man.

[–]Violator99 0 points1 point ago

It's always been my experience that conservatives are the only ones who can't "stay away". I've never once heard a liberal co-worker bring up politics at work. Just my experience though. It usually starts with a topic that is, at best, only marginally related to politics, a conservative person overhears what is said, then says some polorizing statement that bashes on some liberal politician/policy/etc. What was a calm discussion is now been forced in to debate. Wish I never had to experience that at work ever again.

[–]do7com 1 point2 points ago

Hmm, always the exact opposite in my experience. Always a conservative comment and liberal that jumps in.

[–]billthelawmaker 2 points3 points ago

I'd imagine its really geographical. If you live in a primarily Liberal area and are conservative, you will be torn to shreds if you say anything contrasting against the Democrat Platform and vice-versa for a Liberal in a conservative area. I have no proof of the vice-versa because I have never really been in such a place but I imagine everyone is a scumbag everywhere. Lastly Gary Johnson 2012.

[–]Early-Cuyler 2 points3 points ago

Not where I work. Fox News is the only channel we watch in the break room. I work for a major auto parts component manufacturer and it's a majority Romney crowd. Every day I have to weigh the decision of do I start an argument or not. I'm Libertarian for the record and I had a coworker tell me the same old "a vote for Libertarian is a vote for Obama" line.

TLDR, depends on where you work; but if it does come up, it's going to be from the most ignorant people you work with.

[–]Fishstixxx16 0 points1 point ago

I agree... unless they bring up that they like Obama... then I'll talk.

[–]raging_asshole 31 points32 points ago

When I was growing up, my mother made it very clear to me that there were three topics that were to never, ever be brought up in company: politics, religion, and money. She basically explained that very few people could talk about those things without getting mad or personal, so they were topics to be simply avoided.

I thought that was kind of old-fashioned common courtesy, but maybe it was just my house.

[–]nadaredditur 11 points12 points ago

but maybe it was just my house

Nope. I remember a time when people didn't wear their political affiliations on their sleeve (as much).

[–]racast5 10 points11 points ago

It's because political affiliations have become like a sports team. People just want to root for someone. And the nice thing about rooting for a sports team is you don't have to know anything about it other than you hate their opponents.

[–]JDNelson13 0 points1 point ago

This comment was oddly insightful and totally sums up the way I feel about how most people I know view politics.

[–]smart_robot 3 points4 points ago

I always heard it with politics and religion coupled together, not with money. But not bringing up money was common sense anyway.

[–]temp9876 2 points3 points ago

Not just your house, that's standard good manners where I grew up. But I have always thought that this is probably one of the biggest reasons why people are so clueless about finances.

[–]Underscore_Talagan 0 points1 point ago

The common convention is of course to not talk about politics or money. My house was this way too.

However I find that to be malarky. Particularly on the internet.

But the internet is the greatest free-exchange of ideas and communication in the world. What point is there in talking if we can't see other peoples views and understand why they would believe that. If you talk about one of those things and cannot avoid getting upset or personal, it is time to examine why that is. Why does a challenge make you feel so defensive. I use that exact line to people when they tell me not to talk about such things, to pretty good effect.

[–]Zorbick 63 points64 points ago

I always say Gary Johnson, even though he's not on the ballot. Then they don't have any premeditated arguments to use.

eta: I would vote for Obama anyway, I just don't like having to defend my personal beliefs to people.

[–]friedrice5005 71 points72 points ago

I prefer Cave Johnson. We need a leader who isn't afraid to throw hordes of homeless people at a scientific problem.

[–]indyK1ng 8 points9 points ago

We cannot allow a combustible lemon gap!

[–]darthmunkeys 7 points8 points ago

They will have jobs then, this is the perfect solution.

[–]donutsalad 5 points6 points ago

with positions strangely opening every day....

[–]mishugashu 7 points8 points ago

If only...

[–]danintexas 5 points6 points ago

He is on ours - and I am going to smile as I vote for him.

[–]Shagoosty 3 points4 points ago

Where do you live that he's not on the ballot?

[–]Pineappable 1 point2 points ago

He's a write-in in Michigan and not on the ballot in Oklahoma. He wasn't on the ballot either for Pennsylvania, but as of October 10th, he got on.

[–]Shagoosty 0 points1 point ago

Interesting. I guess California is more open to the idea of other parties other than the two that fucked up this country.

[–]billthelawmaker 0 points1 point ago

Explain how that is related

[–]Shagoosty 0 points1 point ago

Because if a state doesn't put the third biggest party on their ballet then they are continuing the problem.

[–]Zorbick 0 points1 point ago

Michigan.

[–]nykzero 5 points6 points ago

I want to vote Jill Stein, but sadly, she is now in jail for trying to enter the debates. I wish she at least received media coverage for that, but nope.

[–]bhig3 1 point2 points ago

I already voted for her by mail. I had no idea that she went to jail though, so even if it was an attempt to get more coverage, I hadn't heard about it :-/

[–]mishugashu 7 points8 points ago

I'm also voting for Gary Johnson. Romney will wreck the economy even worse. Obama won't get shit done because everyone in the Legislature hates him. We need a 3rd option. #garyjohnson2012

[–]comrade_leviathan 17 points18 points ago

I guarantee more people in Congress hate Gary Johnson simply by virtue of the fact that he's a third party candidate.

[–]SirTheBob 0 points1 point ago

Just imagine the hatred that would be spawned if a third party came in out of nowhere and made things awesome, making both the Dems and the Reps look irresponsible and powerless.

[–]Ragnalypse 2 points3 points ago

There's always that "throwing away your vote" bullshit even though your vote doesn't count no matter what.

[–]waffleninja 17 points18 points ago

WRONG. If a third party gets 5% of the presidential popular vote, they get federal funding in the next election. Take your "throwing away your vote" nonsense and get learnt!

[–]Ragnalypse -2 points-1 points ago

"that throwing away your vote bullshit"

It's like you stopped reading after seven words.

[–]waffleninja 1 point2 points ago

You are correct sir.

[–]rossryan 7 points8 points ago

I love that logic.

"If you don't vote for one of the two candidates from the biggest parties, then you're throwing your vote away!" -> "Yes, but it's MY vote, to spend it as I please."

"Well, it doesn't matter anyways, since the next president will come from one of those two parties. You can't change that!" -> "If my vote can't change anything, why are you so desperate to secure it for your candidate?"

My ego does not require me to be 'on the winning side.' I do not need to feel a a part of a larger group, or any group for that matter, to feel that I have done my part.

What more, having performed a careful, but admittedly far from complete (it could take me centuries) analysis of how things are running, I can truthfully say that neither of the candidates from the larger parties inspire anything approaching confidence in their understanding, let alone their handling, of the seemingly dangerous situation we have found ourselves in. If they were two large corporations, I'd be shorting them both.

[–]angelofdeathofdoom 1 point2 points ago

[its not about winning..}(http://imgur.com/wNkHV)

[–]complex_reduction 0 points1 point ago

I just don't like having to defend my personal beliefs to people.

This is how dictatorships begin.

[–]nadaredditur 1 point2 points ago

Then they don't have any premeditated arguments to use.

"You just want to smoke dope, Hippie!"

It's the easiest way for a conservative to marginalize you and not have to give any consideration to your opinions. You must work with a lot of liberals if you haven't heard that one before.

[–]cleverrgirl 10 points11 points ago

Still miss the days when people didn't tell who they were voting for. Now everyone has to blast it all over Facebook.

[–]dont_press_ctrl-W 18 points19 points ago

That's always existed.

I think you have a false image of the past if you think that. You are probably interpreting as a typicality of the past what is in fact a typicality of you childhood. It's not a fact of American from N years ago that they didn't talk about who they voted for, it's a fact about the people you ground up around when you were N years younger.

[–]KingGorilla 1 point2 points ago

Yeah, who tells children who they're voting for anyways

[–]JustHereForThePizza 2 points3 points ago

there was a time when this happened?

[–]ZeroGSpaceCow 2 points3 points ago

I just tell them I don't follow politics. Which is partially true.

The problem is that then they want to teach me the politics, which I don't want to hear about.

[–]iridesce 3 points4 points ago

I always say Jill Stein - she is on the ballot.

Then I ask them if they know why we are killing innocent kids in the Mideast and why the Dems and Reps want to continue doing so.

[–]hablomuchoingles 0 points1 point ago

Flame war on

[–]Spyhop 1 point2 points ago

relevant

[–]nooknstuff 0 points1 point ago

This is too true.

[–]micahshell -1 points0 points ago

Ya my brother does this every time I see him. Then he goes on about how the Muslim Brotherhood controls the world and is going to end.

[–]WileEWeeble 0 points1 point ago

Do people really ask that in real life? I wouldn't know about IRL, I use reddit.

[–]letTHATmarinate 1 point2 points ago

I guess we also shouldn't talk about our wages with co workers...that would be against policy.

[–]thecodejunkie 0 points1 point ago

Your ms paint skills are off the charts

[–]waffleninja 1 point2 points ago

Me: Gary "Mother Fucking" Johnson

Coworker: Who?

[–]billthelawmaker 0 points1 point ago

sums up my experiences. The Great thing though is that in my town he is actually fairly well known

[–]Mitz510 0 points1 point ago

How does this cause an argument.

Just say who you are voting for and that's the end of it.

[–]bcm1911 0 points1 point ago

Let me find Boromir and he'll answer this question for you....

[–]Pineappable 0 points1 point ago

or Gary Johnson, or Jill Stein, or Virgil Goode, or Rocky Anderson, or Peta Lindsay, or Roseanne Barr...

[–]C_K_B 0 points1 point ago

My friends are for Obama and my family is for Romney. Of course the way I argue with my family about everything else it makes sense why they favor Romney. But ugh, I will be happy if I could just avoid useless arguments that aren't going to sway anyone's opinion. (I'm voting for Ron Paul Damn it!)

[–]Raseth84 0 points1 point ago

What ever happened to Ron Paul?

[–]aubmjohnson 1 point2 points ago

haha he actually came to our campus today to talk about voting http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/185056_4791680233943_1305834465_n.jpg http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/580815_4791681153966_731655766_n.jpg

[–]verybland 0 points1 point ago

He doesn't want us voting for Robocop, that's for damn sure.

[–]boughtitout 0 points1 point ago

"How I feel about commenting about who I'm voting for on reddit" should be the title for me. In person, nobody from the left will talk with me about fiscal policies :( . Apparently, the age-old concept of not spending what you don't have is hard to refute.

[–]sirius_star 0 points1 point ago

Everyone is too much of a pussy to discuss politics and that's why we keep getting shitty politicians. We need to discuss politics and not get butt hurt over it.

[–]steampunkjesus 0 points1 point ago

I usually go with my old standby of "Rue Paul" then make a joke about "Rue Paul's Drag Race to the White House."

[–]knomz -1 points0 points ago

Calling bullshit on anyone here including OP, talking about politics is not inappropriate. first of all why? Is it so hard to have an intelligent conversation? Because personally I like talking about politics and religion and any fucking topic whether controversial or not, you should be able to have a dam conversation about it. Doesn't matter if it lasts ten seconds or is a whole hours worth of discussion. Simply saying it is inappropriate because it can become a heated subject is no means to make it taboo to talk about, fuck, you have an opinion on what your favorite coffee is right?, so then why the fuck are you willing to say that and not be thinking it is inappropriate because someone might be offended by what you like. That is what you are doing with politics, and it makes no sense. Sure if you want to keep your political views private fine, how are social issues that involve politics going to be taken care of if everyone keeps their views to themselves and no discussion occurs? I wonder.

[–]AdaroTeiji 2 points3 points ago

I think the main problem is that most people have a very dichotomous view of life. This or that, black or white, good or bad, us vs them.

When people support different candidates, it's typically not enough to say "my candidate supports the things I care about in the ways I want him too." They want their candidate to be the best at everything, and want the other one to be the devil.

In a reasonable world, when people discuss politics, they would explain why they support a candidate, hear out other people too, see that sometimes people with differing priorities may support another candidate, see that their candidate isn't perfect, and be willing to give and hear arguments for why somebody else may be a better choice for the issues they prioritize. But people would rather be "right" than accept differences, so they end up talking out of their asses about subjects they don't know or care about in an effort to "prove" their candidate is best.

I could go on but I've suddenly gotten lazy, you get the idea. Right vs. wrong, black and white dichotomous thinking is very deeply ingrained into our culture and inhibits critical discussion and thinking, and causes people to get irrationally angry and defensive in some situations to be enough of a deterrent for people to avoid conversations like this. Sadly.

[–]youstolemyname 1 point2 points ago

Is it so hard to have an intelligent conversation?

When you're speaking to people without intelligence, yes. So why bother?

[–]AdaroTeiji 0 points1 point ago

Whenever the topic comes up I say I'm voting for obama because I want to be able to get married faster (I'm gay). Pretty much everyone in my age group supports gay marriage so even the Romney voters accept it as a difference in priorities rather than disagreeing on any policies, so I don't really have to talk about it anymore.

tl;dr you all need to start pretending to be gay around election season

[–]dragoncore74 0 points1 point ago

me and my friends laugh at how pathetic both candidates sound then have a moment of silence for the future...

[–]mikredditor 0 points1 point ago

I'm just like fuck it, VOTE FOR PEDRO!!!

[–]lil_lamb 0 points1 point ago

I got my nails done today and the girl doing them (that I had just met) asked me this.....the nail tech!!!!! Seriously?

[–]harf56 0 points1 point ago

Maybe you shouldn't vote for Romney...

[–]King-of-Spades42 0 points1 point ago

"three things never to discuss with people: Religion, Politics, and The Great Pumpkin"--Linus

[–]massaikosis -3 points-2 points ago

"Oh, is that what we're gonna do today? We're gonna pretend like there are only two people to vote for?" Fixed 'er for ya.

[–]1Ra 4 points5 points ago

bad joke is bad.

[–]massaikosis -3 points-2 points ago

I apologize. I will make sure to run all my comments by you before posting in the future, that way, you wont risk stumbling across something that doesn't make you hysterical with laughter. thank you so much for bringing this to my attention. I exist for your entertainment.

[–]1Ra 0 points1 point ago

Was that sarcasm?

[–]massaikosis 0 points1 point ago

no. I thank you sincerely for dropping by and being a nonconstructive cuntwipe. too bad you must go, I shall miss our little chats

[–][deleted] ago

[deleted]

[–]qwerty3656 0 points1 point ago

He said a colleague not a fellow redditor.

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