[Upvoter33]

Honestly, why don't people keep their politics out of the workplace entirely? Unless you are working at a lobbying firm or whatever, work should be about work, not about being a place to discuss gun rights, abortion, or immigration.

[lj3]

> Honestly, why don't people keep their politics out of the workplace entirely?

Because the US is in the middle of a cold civil war that's heating up fast. Denying your enemy employment and therefore bankrupting them is remarkably effective.

[leereeves]

> Denying your enemy employment and therefore bankrupting them is remarkably effective.

Bankrupting your enemy is mostly effective at further radicalizing them and inspiring violence.

That attitude would make this "cold civil war" a hot war.

[lj3]

I completely agree, which is why I said it's heating up fast and also why I believe violence is unavoidable now. "That attitude" has been prevalent on both sides since Trump was elected and it continues to spread.

[leereeves]

That attitude became prevalent long before the Presidential election. SJWs were calling for people to be fired back in 2013, perhaps earlier. I might also argue that that attitude has been prevalent in some circles - particularly academia - for decades, and spread from academics to their students (the SJWs) to Republican backlash against the SJWs to widespread Democratic backlash against the Republican backlash.

Still, I'm optimistic, because I have seen softening after the recent incidents of violence, and some mainstream rejection of leftist extremism.

For example, this CNN article treating the plight of their ideological opponents with sympathy rather than gloating.

[AlexandrB]

> Because the US is in the middle of a cold civil war that's heating up fast. Denying your enemy employment and therefore bankrupting them is remarkably effective.

Dan Carlin is right [1]. People have completely lost their minds. Whether or not someone has the same political beliefs as you is not an indicator of whether he/she is a good or bad person. This kind of thinking is reductive and scary.

Trump may be a monster, but whatever happened to treating fellow human beings with dignity and respect? Everyone is the end result of a specific upbringing and a specific environment. People don't necessarily vote one way or another out of malice or hate.

[1] http://www.dancarlin.com/product/common-sense-317-shades-of-...

[lj3]

This has nothing to do with whether people vote republican or democrat, or who voted for Trump and who didn't. If that's your entire understanding of the situation, then none of this makes any sense and it looks like everybody involved is crazy. If you want to have any hope of understanding the situation (WHY people are acting the way that they are and WHY Trump was elected in the first place), then you're going to have to dig deeper.

[Balgair]

> cold civil war

1st International Cyber War

[simonsarris]

Or last night's football game, which just got political?

What are colleagues allowed to talk about, exactly? If we "just don't talk about politics" the end result will be everyone talking and engaging less on any mildly controversial topic (which now includes "the game last night"), and since this cannot be avoided, they will simply talk and engage less altogether.

I don't think that's acceptable, so I don't think "keep politics out of the workplace" is acceptable.

(And what if you are a journalist, coal miner, wind turbine installer, or any number of professions that is in some way involved with the government or politics, which a non-trivial number of jobs?)

[quotemstr]

Ideally, we'd be able to talk about any topic. But right now, the country is divided into two equal halves, each of which thinks the other is the ultimate evil, the enemy beyond reason, the Other which must be excised from the tribe for the safety of all.

Given this political climate, which isn't changing soon, and given the business need to work together toward common goals, then no, we can't let politics into the workplace. At all. Even if it means that we need to skip talking about the political aspect of last night's game.

Extreme ideologues have ruined it for everyone. This is why we can't have nice things.

[simonsarris]

I agree with your diagnosis but not with your cure.

We should not fear politics and people discussing politics. We should be fearing those extreme ideologues.

Don't ostracize political discussion. Ostracize acting like an extreme ideologue.

[johngalt]

You are envisioning employees loudly inserting their politics into the workplace. When in reality it is more like litmus tests that if you don't give the right answer you are ostracized.

[munk-a]

Side note, if you work for a lobbying firm can you also not discuss gun rights, abortion, or immigration in the work place... or anything... In fact, can you just find a new job and stop trying to make your voice heard louder than others.

[jdavis703]

One of the tough pieces of democracies is ensuring that any group outside of the majority gets equal treatment. For example, the majority of Americans don't know much about agronomics and agriculture policy, so it helps if farmers can ensure that politicians and regulators also hear their voices. The problem arises when you have super-lobbyists like the Jack Abramoffs and Paul Manaforts of the world manipulating politicians on issues that are clearly detrimental to society, but don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.