I stink at appearing to find things funny at work when they touch on my sensitive spots. Er. Um. By "things", I mean "concepts" and by "touch", I mean, "relate to my *figurative* sensitive spots".
Things that physically touch on my sensitive spots are, of course, really funny.
Today on CNN, the closed-captioning mis-typed "whose parents are death". Since it was a story about a someone who had, in fact, died, it was doubly ironic.
(p.s. - the second conversation was you, wasn't it?)
Unfortunately all the uncomfortable "jokes" and comments at work come from customers, and I am always in a pickle as to how to respond. I never agree, but I am to much of a wimp to tell these regulars my true opinion of their statements.
When I was walking Nathan out of preschool the other day, he leaned way over towards his buddy and said, "Hey! Hey Max! Hey Max...POOP! Poop underpants!" Both boys dissolved in giggles while both moms administered stern looks.
That's the extent of my inappropriate workplace humor.
It was quite a culture shock for me to move to West Virginia (and at first, work in rural WV) from DALLAS and work in customer service where we got calls from across the country and hear people's reactions to certain accents and names that had never MET anyone with an accent other than their own before. Had to bite my tongue quite a bit at first, and still couldn't prevent the label of "outsider" flashing over my head at that place. *sigh*
p.s. Don't get me wrong - I don't want to make it sound like everyone here fits a stereotype. There are quite a few who don't. Just some of those that did (and their reactions) hit me quite abruptly at the time.
I've had a similar reaction to parts of southern Indiana. I'm not down on southern Indiana, but I do wish there was a little more cultural sensitivity. And I wish the phrase "cultural sensitivity" didn't sound so wussy.
The blase way people joke about OCD/mental illness sends me over, around and through the bend. I snapped at a co-worker, an amazing woman in her own way, about how she refers to things as "retarded". And I hate when people use the term "gay" in a derogatory way. While I realize I cannot be on a crusade to censor folks based on what I am sensitive to--At least in my near environment I wish peope could be a tad more aware of one another.
I don't always have a huge problem with jokes about OCD, since I have some obsessive-compulsive issues myself; I just kind of roll with it if people say they have it (you know, like, "Oh, I'm totally OCD about my pens" or something like that). I understand what they mean.
What pisses me off is when someone gets upset with someone else and mutters, "Jeez. Could you BE more OCD?" with the direct implication that it's a choice or a fault as opposed to an actual condition.
I personally think that using the terms "gay" and "retarded" should be like using the "N-word". If you qualify, you get a pass.
Yes-The way having a mental DX can be used as an insult or an excuse. As for if you qualify you get a pass-Funny thing that. I used to be a career counselor for Noble of Indiana. It would really catch me off guard when the consumers would call one another retarded. never quite sure how to re-direct that one at all.
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Things that physically touch on my sensitive spots are, of course, really funny.
Today on CNN, the closed-captioning mis-typed "whose parents are death". Since it was a story about a someone who had, in fact, died, it was doubly ironic.
(p.s. - the second conversation was you, wasn't it?)
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That's the extent of my inappropriate workplace humor.
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p.s. Don't get me wrong - I don't want to make it sound like everyone here fits a stereotype. There are quite a few who don't. Just some of those that did (and their reactions) hit me quite abruptly at the time.
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What pisses me off is when someone gets upset with someone else and mutters, "Jeez. Could you BE more OCD?" with the direct implication that it's a choice or a fault as opposed to an actual condition.
I personally think that using the terms "gay" and "retarded" should be like using the "N-word". If you qualify, you get a pass.
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