6 ms·

I am so tired of constantly hearing about politics at my workplace. Politics have already made their way into the tv shows, music, video games, and online forum

I am so tired of constantly hearing about politics at my workplace. Politics have already made their way into the tv shows, music, video games, and online forums that I enjoy. At least let me disconnect from that outrage-fuel at work. It also affects team cohesion. I can easily collaborate with just about anyone when I don’t know their political beliefs. As soon as I find out someone holds opposing views on a topic I feel strongly about, I can’t help but dread my interactions with them. I would strongly prefer to not know what my coworkers think about (most) non-work related topics.

systemvoltage 5y ago
Agree and resonate with my personal observation. I've personally completely and utterly stopped following politics. I do follow local elections and things that affect me and my neighborhood (HOA, municipality decisions, etc.). What we're seeing is an emergence of anti-political movement that is directly in response to the echo-chambered, uncivilized and nauseating social media that's profited from this rage. Twitter and Facebook along with the entire for-profit media machine is going to be historically marked as the dark footnote of human disgrace, greed and exceptional lack of responsibility. I predict that the anti-political movement is going to take off and pick up steam in the intellectual circles. We're exhausted and I can feel it.
- sgift 5y ago
  > I predict that the anti-political movement is going to take off and pick up steam in the intellectual circles. Only in anti-intellectual circles could an anti-political movement take off. Anyone with even a shred of intellect understands how important politics is for everyday life and that being anti-political means "I will have to accept what others decide for me without any recourse." Politics may be an uncomfortable topic, but it's still a very important one.
  - iso1210 5y ago
    I've just received an email asking me for more for a work permit application to work in the netherlands in a few months. More cost, more expense, less agility. This is a direct result of retired people voting to leave the UK. Politics matters, and votes have consequences. Sadly with many votes, the consequences are disproportionately felt by the ones that lose the vote.
    - CodeGlitch 5y ago
      Oh no you have to fill in a form! You must lead a pretty nice life if that's a major concern of yours. Sorry if I come across as an a-hole, but seeing what's been happening in the world in the last year you'd think people would become a little more resilient.
      - iso1210 5y ago
        Imagine if someone in New Jersey had to apply for permission to work in New York
crummy 5y ago
Were your TV shows, video games, etc really lacking in politics before? Or was it just a different kind of politics? (Honest question.)
- foxrider 5y ago
  I think it boils down to lacking in writing. I used to watch shows that had a lot of political statements made through their worldbuilding and character interactions. These were good stories because to find a political message there you had to think about it and draw parallels yourself. More modern shows tent to just outright mention current political movements IRL or just straight up lecture people by characters doing speeches. It's very distracting because it clearly breaks away from the flow of the show. Even if the lecture is something I 100% on board with it may feel even worse because it feels like the show insults my intelligence.
- iso1210 5y ago
  Many modern US "conservatives" complain that Star Trek is political, and when it was Kirk and Picard it wasn't. It's hilarious.
  - goatinaboat 5y ago
    Many modern US "conservatives" complain that Star Trek is political, and when it was Kirk and Picard it wasn't. If you said that you didn't like Kirk, he's an unbelievable badly-written over-the-top Mary Sue character, noone would call you an anti-Semite because Shatner happens to be Jewish. Now do Michael Burnham.
  - christophilus 5y ago
    They complained about Picard. I wasn’t allowed to watch it as a kid because my parents didn’t like the political agenda (my guess, though I’ve never asked them, is they thought it was communist/ anticaptitalist due to the absence of money).
- swilliamsio 5y ago
  The commmon joke goes something like this. Video gamers think there are only: * Two races: white and ""political"" * Two genders: male and ""political"" * Two sexualities: straight and ""political"" * Two body types: normative and ""political""
thrwyoilarticle 5y ago
Making you uncomfortable is the point. An opressed person doesn't get to opt-out of politics about opresssion.
- lordloki 5y ago
  Everyone is oppressed in some way. Unfortunately, everyone loses in the oppression Olympics. If you are oppressing others that you assume aren't oppressed enough, then you are an oppressor and the cycle continues.
  - thrwyoilarticle 5y ago
    If everyone is opressed in some way - I agree - then my conclusion is that we should realise we all benefit from being allowed to opt-into the politics of those opressions. Many of my employment rights were or are political arenas.
lawtalkinghuman 5y ago
I miss all those old video games without politics. Nothing political at all about escaping from Castle Wolfenstein and killing Hitler in the process. No politics in Final Fantasy 7, just some lively ecoterrorists saving the world from an exploitative totalitarian megacorporation that's destroying the environment. Or indeed in BioShock, a game that certainly wasn't a satire of Ayn Rand libertarianism of the sort that enchants many a Valley VC/founder. I miss playing Call of Duty/Rainbow Six/other shooters where you could just grab an assault rifle as a serving member of the US military and shoot a bunch of Bad Guys, which had absolutely no politics in it at all. It sure is a shame the terrible awful SJWs made games political because they let you play as a girl, or put two gay characters kissing for ten seconds in a cutscene. I'm going to stop playing games and instead go and read a book I've just bought called 'Animal Farm'. I'm sure it isn't a metaphor for anything. I bet Star Trek hasn't got any politics in it either.
Aperocky 5y ago
> As soon as I find out someone holds opposing views on a topic I feel strongly about, I can’t help but dread my interactions with them. I'm of the opinion that all views that my colleagues have that are not related to the work at hand does not/should not affect how we work together at all. I've been hearing my colleagues personal political opinion, the spectrum goes to both ends. I personally don't mind at all, I'm more sensitive to code quality and bugs.
- CodeGlitch 5y ago
  So would you be ok with a colleague spouting far right Nazi propaganda?
  - Aperocky 5y ago
    Depend on how you define that. I know for sure some would consider what I was hearing exactly that, but most wouldn't. I've never heard a single personal opinion that I would consider actual Nazi or Confederate though.

systemvoltage 5y ago

Agree and resonate with my personal observation. I've personally completely and utterly stopped following politics. I do follow local elections and things that affect me and my neighborhood (HOA, municipality decisions, etc.). What we're seeing is an emergence of anti-political movement that is directly in response to the echo-chambered, uncivilized and nauseating social media that's profited from this rage. Twitter and Facebook along with the entire for-profit media machine is going to be historically marked as the dark footnote of human disgrace, greed and exceptional lack of responsibility. I predict that the anti-political movement is going to take off and pick up steam in the intellectual circles. We're exhausted and I can feel it.

sgift 5y ago
> I predict that the anti-political movement is going to take off and pick up steam in the intellectual circles. Only in anti-intellectual circles could an anti-political movement take off. Anyone with even a shred of intellect understands how important politics is for everyday life and that being anti-political means "I will have to accept what others decide for me without any recourse." Politics may be an uncomfortable topic, but it's still a very important one.
- iso1210 5y ago
  I've just received an email asking me for more for a work permit application to work in the netherlands in a few months. More cost, more expense, less agility. This is a direct result of retired people voting to leave the UK. Politics matters, and votes have consequences. Sadly with many votes, the consequences are disproportionately felt by the ones that lose the vote.
  - CodeGlitch 5y ago
    Oh no you have to fill in a form! You must lead a pretty nice life if that's a major concern of yours. Sorry if I come across as an a-hole, but seeing what's been happening in the world in the last year you'd think people would become a little more resilient.
    - iso1210 5y ago
      Imagine if someone in New Jersey had to apply for permission to work in New York

crummy 5y ago

Were your TV shows, video games, etc really lacking in politics before? Or was it just a different kind of politics? (Honest question.)

foxrider 5y ago
I think it boils down to lacking in writing. I used to watch shows that had a lot of political statements made through their worldbuilding and character interactions. These were good stories because to find a political message there you had to think about it and draw parallels yourself. More modern shows tent to just outright mention current political movements IRL or just straight up lecture people by characters doing speeches. It's very distracting because it clearly breaks away from the flow of the show. Even if the lecture is something I 100% on board with it may feel even worse because it feels like the show insults my intelligence.
iso1210 5y ago
Many modern US "conservatives" complain that Star Trek is political, and when it was Kirk and Picard it wasn't. It's hilarious.
- goatinaboat 5y ago
  Many modern US "conservatives" complain that Star Trek is political, and when it was Kirk and Picard it wasn't. If you said that you didn't like Kirk, he's an unbelievable badly-written over-the-top Mary Sue character, noone would call you an anti-Semite because Shatner happens to be Jewish. Now do Michael Burnham.
- christophilus 5y ago
  They complained about Picard. I wasn’t allowed to watch it as a kid because my parents didn’t like the political agenda (my guess, though I’ve never asked them, is they thought it was communist/ anticaptitalist due to the absence of money).
swilliamsio 5y ago
The commmon joke goes something like this. Video gamers think there are only: * Two races: white and ""political"" * Two genders: male and ""political"" * Two sexualities: straight and ""political"" * Two body types: normative and ""political""

thrwyoilarticle 5y ago

Making you uncomfortable is the point. An opressed person doesn't get to opt-out of politics about opresssion.

lordloki 5y ago
Everyone is oppressed in some way. Unfortunately, everyone loses in the oppression Olympics. If you are oppressing others that you assume aren't oppressed enough, then you are an oppressor and the cycle continues.
- thrwyoilarticle 5y ago
  If everyone is opressed in some way - I agree - then my conclusion is that we should realise we all benefit from being allowed to opt-into the politics of those opressions. Many of my employment rights were or are political arenas.

lawtalkinghuman 5y ago

I miss all those old video games without politics. Nothing political at all about escaping from Castle Wolfenstein and killing Hitler in the process. No politics in Final Fantasy 7, just some lively ecoterrorists saving the world from an exploitative totalitarian megacorporation that's destroying the environment. Or indeed in BioShock, a game that certainly wasn't a satire of Ayn Rand libertarianism of the sort that enchants many a Valley VC/founder. I miss playing Call of Duty/Rainbow Six/other shooters where you could just grab an assault rifle as a serving member of the US military and shoot a bunch of Bad Guys, which had absolutely no politics in it at all. It sure is a shame the terrible awful SJWs made games political because they let you play as a girl, or put two gay characters kissing for ten seconds in a cutscene. I'm going to stop playing games and instead go and read a book I've just bought called 'Animal Farm'. I'm sure it isn't a metaphor for anything. I bet Star Trek hasn't got any politics in it either.

Aperocky 5y ago

> As soon as I find out someone holds opposing views on a topic I feel strongly about, I can’t help but dread my interactions with them. I'm of the opinion that all views that my colleagues have that are not related to the work at hand does not/should not affect how we work together at all. I've been hearing my colleagues personal political opinion, the spectrum goes to both ends. I personally don't mind at all, I'm more sensitive to code quality and bugs.

CodeGlitch 5y ago
So would you be ok with a colleague spouting far right Nazi propaganda?
- Aperocky 5y ago
  Depend on how you define that. I know for sure some would consider what I was hearing exactly that, but most wouldn't. I've never heard a single personal opinion that I would consider actual Nazi or Confederate though.