I sometimes hate people. I really hate small minded idiotic back-assward, redneck, hillbilly, chauvinistic......you really don't need to hear the rest of this description. I recently was sitting in an office of a gentleman (and I use this term incorrectly b/c he was anything but) and having been kept waiting I surveyed his office. He had some pro-military posters, photos of guns, some prayer in needlepoint. None of those things really made me raise an eyebrow. I already had a pretty good idea of who I was dealing with and his office decor only reinforced my perception of him.
What torqued me off was his newest addition to his artistic collection. It depicted in a line, Hitler, Stalin and Obama (the latter sporting a new moustache to round out the trio). Now, I am all about the right to express yourself and your opinions. I understand that some really do not like the current President of the United States. That is their right as American citizens. Even so, this struck me as in terrible taste, especially in your office.
I sat in this man's office and couldn't concentrate because the poster distracted me. I couldn't get around it. It made me sick. I tried to keep my mouth shut. I tried to be professional. I tried to simply ignore it. I failed. Finally, I asked him how he could hang something like that in his office. He got this grin on his face and an evil look in his eye. "I knew you were one of those bleeding hearts" Okay, now I am pissed. "My political views and whether I am a fan of our current president or not has little bearing on why that is distasteful. You are comparing Obama to two of the most terrible men in modern history."
His response--what that man is doing to this country is terrible, a desecration, he is as bad as the other two, yadayadayada (I would try to recount more of his position except my blood pressure had skyrocketed so high I couldn't hear anything but the pounding in my ears).
"Quite frankly that poster makes me sick and so does your justification for displaying it. How dare you trivialize the atrocities those men committed by even suggesting that Obama's politics are on the same level! How can you disrespect the memory of so many innocents that were tortured and slaughtered? Do you understand what that poster actually does? You mean it as a dig at Obama but by suggesting that what the President has done during his service to the USA is even comparable to the other men you make what Hitler and Stalin did less horrible. You spit on the experiences of the survivors and desecrate the memory of the dead. You really should think about statements like that and the power behind them."
Him--"You could have just said you were Jewish."
WTF?!? Yeah because the only way I would be sensitive to the message that poster is sending is because I'm Jewish? "I'm not Jewish".
A look at confusion came across his face and he just shrugged at me like it was some sort of crazy mystical reason why I'm reacting the way I am.
I don't think I'm one of those overly-sensitive (I'm trying to think of the way a friend describes it), hyper-politically correct social crusader. That poster just made me sick and I think it is necessary to confront that sort of callousness.
I would really appreciate some thoughts on this. Am I a hypocrite b/c I criticized his choice of expression? Did I do the right or wrong thing?
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
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Frankly, I'm proud of you for saying something.
ReplyDeleteYou are not a hypocrite. You were simply stating your opinion.
And someone that hangs such an emotionally charged poster has got to fully expect some backlash. That's just the way the world works.