Reagan - worship at work

[dad]

How many of you have to deal with crap like this?
I was at work yesterday sitting thru a boring meeting and the
topic was "leadership".  The manager leading this
discussion decided to take some time to talk about a
"great leader who passed away", and started going on
about all these reasons why Reagan was supposedly such a great
leader.
Although this political talk is totally inappropriate for a
work environment, I tried to sit thru this nonsense.  But it
went on and on, and at the point where the slide talking about
his INTEGRITY came up, I had enough. I had to walk out of the
meeting, because if I had stayed I would have either barfed or
felt compelled to stand up and give everyone MY opinion of
Reagan.

[Don_G]

1. It's Worship In California Too

The news just mentioned the line is 3 miles long and a ten-hour wait to see a dead piece of evil meat.

It will pass fairly shortly.

[Justice]

5. That Is Just Silly

3 miles long and a ten-hour wait?

I am sorry, it is shocking that any person would want that (reagan wanted to allow people to view his casket) - I saw people with children on C-SPAN last night - I hope they are not making their young children wait in that line. Seriously, it is not as if the casket is even open to see Reagan!

[devinsgram]

8. I don't think they really care about paying their respects

I think they just want to be able to say they did it. You know, bragging rights, they can brag about how they saw his coffin.

[mopaul]

2. frightening

i sympathize. it must feel very oppressive to have to hold your tongue while the boss lies about reagan. i'd have left the room too. i hope your simple act of leaving the room doesn't make that eulogizer mess with your job. you did the right thing.

your job comes first, but if the guy leans on you about it, that's a tricky area. i couldn't be in the same room with lies like that.

[prodigal_green]

3. Actually, I'm pretty lucky

my boss is nearly as progressive as I am.

He came in my office (knowing I would agree with him) and asked how long it would take before Reagan would be considered one of the most overrated presidents of all time.

His comment re: Reagan defeated Communism was pretty funny..."the guy was standing at a bus stop when the bus pulled up. He gets on and claims credit for driving the bus."

We chatted for almost an hour about the misperceptions people still held about Reagan and the size of government, his capitulations to terrorism, not to mention penchant for negotiating with and funding terrorist organizations, etc.

[lectrobyte]

4. after a while, you get really good at gritting your teeth and faking a

half interested smile. Or find another place to work.

[Justice]

6. Or Find a Way to Say Something that Can Be Read in More Than One Way

I do this with people - usually I single out an issue that is important to them, that reagan had the opposite view on, and then say something like - no matter what you think about so and so, it is amazing that they did this.... (and then discuss the issue that Reagan resolved). People are surprised.

For example taxes - reagan actually increased taxes twice. or use paul krugman's article, which highlights the fact that reagan was able to admit errors and make corrections, unlike bush*

[DaveSZ]

7. Here's what he did for N. Carolina.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/remember/jan-june04/historians_reagan_6...


ROGER WILKINS: Well, Reagan was an incredible combination of a person who was very optimistic, upbeat, but underneath there were some really ugly parts of his politics.

He was, I said once before on this program, he capitalized on anti-black populism by going to Philadelphia and Mississippi , for example, in the beginning of his campaign in 1980.

Nobody had ever heard of Philadelphia and Mississippi outside of Mississippi , except as the place where three civil rights workers had been lynched – in 1964 – he said I believe in states rights.

Everybody knew what that meant. He went to Stone Mountain , Georgia , where the Ku Klux Klan used to burn its crosses, and he said Jefferson Davis is a hero of mine.

He was rebuked by the Atlanta newspapers – they said we don't need that any more here. He went to Charlotte, North Carolina one of the most successful busing for integration programs in the country and he said I'm against busing and again the Charlotte papers rebuked him. And the impact of that plus his attacks on welfare women, welfare queens in Cadillacs, for example. And his call for cutting the government. He didn't cut the government; the military bloomed in his time. But programs for poor people day diminished entirely and America became a less civilized less decent place.

[dad]

11. --

"Charlotte, North Carolina one of the most successful busing for integration programs in the country.."

True, but Reagan would be proud, because we've since scrapped that plan and re-segregated our schools here in CLT...

[dusty64]

9. That sucks.

In my workplace and everywhere I've been the last few days not a single word about this. This seems like the biggest media nonevent in recent history, NO one really cares.

[LWolf]

10. Only at lunch.

Yesterday passed with no official mention of Reagan. Our flags were at half-staff, of course. But nothing else, except at lunch. The subject was tv viewing habits; I said my tv had been on for an hour over the weekend, for the first time in a few weeks. To watch the Belmont. A colleague said she watched Reagan coverage all weekend because it made her so sad. Not a suprise, if you can leave the illogic of staying glued to the tube in order to make yourself sad behind. Reagan was very popular in this area, where our main source of employment has historically been defense-related. We built the B-1, the B-2, and the Space Shuttles. I took one of my sons to see RR when he visited to celebrate the rollout of the first B1; he was only 5 or 6, but I wanted him to see a living president. I never voted for Reagan. I was, and am not, a fan. But he's the only president I've ever seen anywhere but on a screen. Still, I haven't seen any tv coverage. I just don't do tv news.