[bjourne]

> You dont want to talk about that stuff in the office, because there is not going to be any just solution.

There are going to be asshats in the office that can't handle being wrong or the fact that not everyone is sharing their views. Political discussions aren't toxic - immature people who can't handle disagreement are.

It is not great that we are letting those people ruin the workplace for the rest of us. I'm pretty sure that's one of the main drivers behind the alt-right movement. People aren't discussing and sharing views because doing so is taboo and they risk losing their jobs. Instead, people just sit at home and read wildly spun news stories which they soak up because their critical thinking ability has been impaired due to lack of training.

[erikpukinskis]

It seems clear alt-right is being deliberately made to look bigger than it is. Same various “extreme leftists”.

I fear you’re making a grave mistake by thinking the volume level is correlated with actual humans.

[notzuck]

Utter nonsense - the lack of politcal discourse at work does not result in worse politics generally.

Politics at work has long been a no no at most companies and there's no evidence to show this has caused the rise of any extremism.

Work is where you get your work done. There is no room for you opinions on Trump etc, whether positive or negative. Your political views can very easily marginalise others especially when you hold a majority view.

You're asking why people that can't handle politics at work are 'ruining it for the rest of us'. May I turn the question around and why people that want to discuss politics at work are ruining it for the rest of us that don't?

[KSteffensen]

Lack of respectful political discourse in general results in worse politics.

It should be possible to talk (and disagree) about politics without it affecting work cooperation. I'm not sure whether the fact that it's not, is a cause or a symptom of the current political climate.

[notzuck]

I don't think that's true at all. The best teams I've ever worked on had zero political discourse.

[KSteffensen]

Are you saying you wouldn't be able to work with someone you disagreed with politically if you were aware if the disagreement?

[notzuck]

No, I am not saying that. This is exactly what politcal people at work do - they are so high on their own opinions that they start to plant opinions in other peoples mouths if they don't agree with you, you just did that to me.

I very very rarely engage in any politics talk at work unless I'm totally cornered. I couldn't care less what you think about anything beyond the scope of our work. Chances are, your opinions are nauseating. I will be polite but I won't engage.

I rarely see any political type at work that doesn't somehow create drama. Your politics and your religion are of no interest to me. No I won't join your womens march, no I don't believe in equal pay (regardless of gender etc) and yes I'm a liberal / labour voter that favours unions. These are all distractions to what I am here to do though.

Maybe it's a cultural thing, me and my work friends never discussed politics, maybe that's just the apathy of my generation? Don't know, don't care. Politics is not for work. It's divise and the people pushing their political opinions are usally toxic and they don't even know it.

[KSteffensen]

My apologies, I didn't mean to put words in your mouth.

[bjourne]

Impaired critical thinking ability leads to shitty politics. Impaired critical thinking ability is caused by people's lack of experience which is caused by political arguments being seen as taboo. You become fat if you never exercise and you become dumb if you never think critically.

Work is where we spend a major part of our lives 8-9 hours per day five days per week. The idea that freedom of speech should be suspended for the duration is dumb. People aren't automatons and shouldn't be treated as such. It leads to the bizarre situation that you neither care for nor have anything in common with the people you spend the majority of your time with. The most interesting conversations you have is "I see it is raining outside." "Yes, it is raining." because people are so afraid of breaking the workplace decorum.

[notzuck]

I respectfuly disagree with most of your points.

Being respectful of other people not being interested in your BS opinions is not stopping your freedom of speech. You're at work to get work done, not to espouse your opinions on the middle east.

Politics isn't the only way to keep your critical thining sharp. We're knowledge workers after all.