Dear Dem Dad

An old liberal’s advice for dealing with the annoying MAGA people in your life.

Feel free to reach out to Dem Dad with your concerns at OregonDemDad@gmail.com.

Dear Dem Dad:

I work in construction and my supervisor cannot, and will not, stop talking about politics. Not just at break time, but whenever things are slow in the trailer, he’ll come out with a cup of coffee in his hand wanting to jabber on about whatever BS he just got off of some right-wing podcast. I need this job, and violence is not an option. Help!

Hard Hat Guy

Dear Hard Hat Guy:  I feel you, man.

I especially cue in on the part where he comes out of the trailer with a coffee cup in his hand… but hasn’t a cup to offer anybody else. And yes, I’ve had bosses like this too. The funny thing is, when you corner a jerk like this, you’ll often learn that they are so utterly clueless about people, they cannot see that what they are doing constitutes workplace harassment. Instead, you get a response like; “Hey, why are YOU so sensitive?”, “Can’t YOU take a joke?” or the creme-de-la-creme, “I guess YOU libs just can’t handle the truth!”

And what this blowhard fails to realize—or admit to—is that he is your boss! You know if you were to argue with him as forcefully as he argues with you, he can (and likely will) take that as disrespect. Or he may pretend that it doesn’t bother him at the time, and then when something goes wrong at work, he’d point you out to management as the guy with the “poor attitude” and out on your butt you go. And like you said, you need this job.

And you’re right, violence is not the answer, because, let’s face it, jail sucks.

So, let’s talk real solutions. My first question is, how big is this construction company? If you can transfer to another jobsite, that could solve the whole problem. If there are reasons why you’d rather not transfer, cool; have a man-to-man with this boss. Don’t put him on the spot, just find a quiet place to tell him politely that you are here to make a living, not get into stupid arguments. In this man-to-man chat, I don’t recommend you threaten him with HR or anything like that, just tell him you’re done with his jazz and do not expect any more of his political opinions from here on out. He will undoubtedly do some face-saving gestures and maybe try to laugh it off as a misunderstanding… let him. Because, in the end, what you need is for this harassment to stop. If he responds to the man-to-man as an adult should, there should be no further problems. But if he doesn’t, then you can go to HR and report his butt with a clear conscience and the moral high ground to boot.