A strange incident at my daughter's job

[mapster]

My daughter stopped by on her way home from work today and told me about something that happened at work. Their company picnic was on Saturday and since she was an organizer they had sort of a post mortem today. While she was discussing it with one of her co-workers and her husband, about something that happened, the guy sort of leaned over and said "I think the problem with so-and-so is that she's a Democrat." My daughter (I'll call her "C") was a little stunned and then the guy's wife said, "Actually, I think "C" is a Democrat." The guy said, "Are you a Democrat?" "C" said "Yes, I am". "Are you a Liberal?" "Yes, I am." The guy then said something to the effect of, "Well, you must not have any relatives who were in the military then." I believe he is retired military himself. Where the hell do they get off saying something like that? She launched right in and told the guy that her brother is a disabled veteran (peacetime injury), her father was in the Air Force during Viet Nam (stateside, thank God), her grandfather (my father) served in the Pacific in WWII, her other grandfather was an Army doctor in the same war. She was so mad she forgot that her great grandfather was gassed in WWI and that she has a cousin in the Navy right now. The guy kind of backed up and said, "well, your husband isn't a Democrat, is he?" She told him yes, and so were her parents, and a friend of hers who recently retired from the Air Force. At that point all he had to say was that they would have to talk it over sometime and left it at that.

At first I thought it was funny -- the part about somebody's problem being that she was a Democrat, but I really got pissed about the military part. I wish I had been there myself -- I would have given him a piece of my mind about hardly any Republicans having served in any capacity while a LOT of Democrats have. I have military people in my background all the way to the Revolution.

We live in a pretty red state but geesh, does the guy think that he has the corner on patriotism?

[Whoa_Nelly]

1. Kudos to your daughter...you must be proud

I hope she initiates that "sometime" talk

[mapster]

7. You have no idea

how proud of her we are. She is by far one of the best people I have ever known. (I guess I might be a little biased). One of the reasons she is so well rounded is that we lived in Scotland when she was little (this was during the Reagan administration) and she ran into a lot of flak about politics and being an American at the ripe old age of seven. She really felt what it was like to be on the wrong end of discrimination (after a fashion) and it made her a lot more empathetic to the underdog than most people of her age or any other. She has always been a magnet for people who have not been treated well by their peers (she has more gay friends than any straight person I have ever known) and is just a really nice person. I imagine she will be having a little talk with this guy at some point in the future.

[KT2000]

2. That is pretty horrible

I am beginning to think that the RW political training is really an exercise in bigotry. So many people are believing the lies now - it has been a brainwash that tells them that people who think differently are inferior and soon to become dehumanized.

That person's boorish behavior could be a factor in a hostile work environment.

[gardenista]

3. Look on the bright side. They guy probably thinks Bush is a Dem, too. nt

[Nostradammit]

4. - "does the guy think that he has the corner on patriotism?"

Yes.

Sadly.

[walldude]

5. Yes they do... I've taken to keeping this handy:

[Carolab]

6. Really galls me. All of my family's ancestors served.

On my mother's side--New England settlers, escaped to Plymouth as "political prisoners" from England, fought in the Revolutionary War, Civil War, Korea and both World Wars. Father fought in WWII--was at Omaha Beach. Brothers objected to Vietnam because they knew it was immoral.

Democrats all.

[I_Make_Mistakes]

8. That's why the Dem's have to speak up

The RW Wackos get away with this, they are the ones doing the right thing!

the DU has had listings of Congress Peoples family involvement in the military period. The list shows the truth, so when are the Dem's gonna publish this. I am of the view that 2004, was LIHOP, because how the Heck can we have anything positive to say about the foreign, domestic, fiscal, etc situation in our country now?

[bribri16]

9. First chance go remind him of the chickenhawks running the government.

[bliss_eternal]

10. I really resent that our party and our beliefs have been painted

the way they have. Several men in my family have served in the military. I have a relative that was in Iraq. I get really irked by this portrait that we 'hate military' or don't support it and the men and women that serve.

:grr:

[Name removed]

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[BikeWriter]

12. She did good! They try to exclude us from patriotism...

That's why I'm a member of the Veterans of Foriegn Wars, the American Legion, and the VietNam Veterans of America.

[beltanefauve]

13. "Are you now,

or have you ever been a Communist?"
Just substitute the words. Its today's witch hunt.

[Bunny]

14. I remember about twelve years ago, I had hired a couple of

brand spanking new college grads to be managers at my company. It came out very quickly that they were the go-go Young Republican types, and that was okay with me because they were both nice people and I liked them.

But I have always remembered the utter bewilderment that one of them experience when he found out I was a Democrat. He was surprised and genuinely confused about it - as if it wasn't possible, in his world view, to associate with a known Democrat and actually like them! I still chuckle about it to this day. :)