Screeds

[msmemory_archive]

How do you respond to a coworker who forwards a political rant full of hate and fear, intended to deter you from voting for a particular candidate? I told him "This is not appropriate for interoffice mail," and I don't want to get dragged into a protracted argument of refuting his points. He and I do not share an outlook at all. I don't want to rat him out to Human Resources, because I suspect he's already in danger of being let go, and other than disagreeing with him politically I have no problem with him as a coworker.

Comments

[baron-steffan.livejournal.com]

Wow. Talk about tripping over a bucketful of Jungian Synchronicity. Guess what I was doing immediately before reading your message?

Completing my training assessment for CVS on "What Supervisors Need to Know About Harassment". I'm not kidding.

CVS's "no-tolerance" policy, of course, would require reporting of any harassment in the workplace. And it appears that harassment regarding political activity or affiliation is covered (at least in RI).

But what would I actually do in this case? I'd confront him, as you did. My next move, I think, would be contingent on his response. If he showed evidence that he "got it", that he realized he'd screwed up and wasn't going to do it again, and didn't do it again, then...yeah, I'd probably leave it at that and consider the matter solved. If not...I'd report him. And that "if not" includes continuing to press his political views during your conversation; he has to understand that that is not the topic you're discussing.