# How do I say I do not take bs from anyone **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 14, 2016, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-say-i-do-not-take-bs-from-anyone/743164 "2016-01-14T20:27:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2016, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-say-i-do-not-take-bs-from-anyone/743164/41 "2016-01-15T00:01:09Z")
Is that for me, Bone? If so, I’m a Human Resources manager and I fairly regularly have to meet with employees who are facing some type of disciplinary measure and are trying to establish their side of a story. Oftentimes, I’m well aware of whatever happened long before they come to see me, and while I will listen objectively to a real explanation, I can usually tell when someone is making up or embellishing a story. ---
**Author:** ![wellanuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@wellanuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wellanuff)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2016, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-say-i-do-not-take-bs-from-anyone/743164/42 "2016-01-15T00:03:58Z")
> [@blueslipper](#): > > The usual workplace BS. > I have a new Team leader who is amazingly incompetent. I need to explain to him how I function. Oh, that’s easy, then. Look him straight in the eye and say “I’m difficult to work with.” If you want to really drive the point home, glare at him and say, "I don’t like nobody touching my stuff. So just keep your meat-hooks off. " ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2016, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-say-i-do-not-take-bs-from-anyone/743164/43 "2016-01-15T00:11:56Z")
> [@stillownedbysetters](#): > > Is that for me, Bone? Sorry, that was for the OP. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2016, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-say-i-do-not-take-bs-from-anyone/743164/44 "2016-01-15T00:12:40Z")
> [@blueslipper](#): > > The usual workplace BS. > I have a new Team leader who is amazingly incompetent. I need to explain to him how I function. Yeah…let us know how that goes. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2016, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-say-i-do-not-take-bs-from-anyone/743164/45 "2016-01-15T00:19:11Z")
> [@blueslipper](#): > > The usual workplace BS. > I have a new Team leader who is amazingly incompetent. I need to explain to him how I function. You’re getting a lot of snark in the responses because you haven’t really provided much useful context in detailing the situation. The picture most people have of you is this aggressive, stubborn, short tempered person itching for a fight. Professional workplaces aren’t really the places to come across with that kind of attitude because in reality you _do_ have to take and deal with a lot of BS if you expect to advance and do well. If you are going to present yourself as some oppositional-defiant personality you have better be indispensable at what you do or you will soon be gone. No one wants to work with people who are emotional teenagers. The solution you’re looking for comes in negotiation not confrontation. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2016, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-say-i-do-not-take-bs-from-anyone/743164/46 "2016-01-15T00:29:12Z")
> [@](#): > > How do I say I do not take bs from anyone? The next time you hear a cow-orker say “I had some bs a while ago and now it’s gone - who is responsible for this?” you simply reply, “not me”. mmm ---
**Author:** ![minlokwat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minlokwat/32/2844_2.png) [@minlokwat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minlokwat)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2016, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-say-i-do-not-take-bs-from-anyone/743164/47 "2016-01-15T00:40:29Z")
“I have a real name but everyone calls me blueslipper. Any you guys call me by my real name and I’ll kill you.” Co-worker: “oooooh!” “You just made the list buddy. And I don’t like nobody touching my stuff so just keep your meat hooks off. If I catch any of you guys in my stuff, I’ll kill you. Also I don’t like nobody touching me. Now any of you homos touch me, and I’ll kill you.” ---
**Author:** ![sevenwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@sevenwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sevenwood)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2016, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-say-i-do-not-take-bs-from-anyone/743164/48 "2016-01-15T00:58:10Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > That sounds like something out of a Hungarian-English phrasebook, right up there with “My hovercraft is full of eels” and “I will not buy this tobacconist’s, it is scratched.” It is a modification of a comment [supposedly by Winston Churchill](http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/w/winstonchu122535.htmlhttp://) (but also supposedly one which he never made) “Ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put.” ---
**Author:** ![Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58956e/32.png) [@Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emtar_KronJonDerSohn)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2016, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-say-i-do-not-take-bs-from-anyone/743164/49 "2016-01-15T01:15:42Z")
I received a progressive discipline write up. I mentioned it was complete bullshit. My supervisor said he agreed but rules are rules and I could come back with a steward and file a grievance. Next to the box indicating hire many “points” I had accumulated I drew another box labeled “fucks given” and stared him down while slowly writing “zero” in the box and said “grievances are for bitches” and slid it back to him. Bullshit free since! ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2016, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-say-i-do-not-take-bs-from-anyone/743164/50 "2016-01-15T01:23:59Z")
> [@Robert163](#): > > get right up in their face and give them “the evil eye” > that way, you don’t have to say anything > and if they complain, they wind up looking like a weirdo > because you can claim you didn’t do anything Don’t do this. Don’t follow any of the ‘advice’ of this poster. Ever. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2016, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-say-i-do-not-take-bs-from-anyone/743164/51 "2016-01-15T01:25:48Z")
Be like Olaf, tell them like it is. “Olaf(upon what were once knees) does almost ceaselessly repeat ‘there is some shit I will not eat’” - e.e. cummings ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2016, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-say-i-do-not-take-bs-from-anyone/743164/52 "2016-01-15T07:34:28Z")
Well, I have always found that using a Bogart voice and saying, “Nobody puts one over on Fred C. Dobbs” goes a long way to clearing things up. ---
**Author:** ![StrangeBird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e480ec/32.png) [@StrangeBird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StrangeBird)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2016, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-say-i-do-not-take-bs-from-anyone/743164/53 "2016-01-15T08:03:22Z")
> [@blueslipper](#): > > The usual workplace BS. > I have a new Team leader who is amazingly incompetent. I need to explain to him how I function. Has he asked you to explain how you function? If so, it might be helpful to say you are no-nonsense and direct and value the same in others. If not, I’d suggest letting your actions speak for themselves. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2016, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-say-i-do-not-take-bs-from-anyone/743164/54 "2016-01-15T12:14:07Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > _\<5 minutes later, in Human Resources office\>_ > “I just had a VERY strange conversation with blueslipper that was kind of disturbing…” HR: “Ah, yes. We’ve had some [previous interaction](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=16465211&postcount=1) with Mr. Blueslipper.” ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2016, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-say-i-do-not-take-bs-from-anyone/743164/55 "2016-01-15T12:25:51Z")
> [@blueslipper](#): > > The usual workplace BS. > I have a new Team leader who is amazingly incompetent. I need to explain to him how I function. Just remember that this person interviewed for the team leader job, the people interviewing listened to this person and thought to themselves “Yes, this is the person we want leading that team.” So rather than requiring that this person meet your expectations of a team leader, you might want to take a step back and see if you meet the expectations of being one of his team members. I’m not saying you’re 100% the person who needs to change, but your posting so far makes it sound like you think he is 100% the person who needs to change. The truth is probably somewhere in between. If you want to have a discussion with him, perhaps a good way to start it is by asking him to explain to you how he prefers to work with his direct reports. Then you can explain to him how you prefer to work with your manager. Then you can see if there’s any common ground there. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2016, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-say-i-do-not-take-bs-from-anyone/743164/56 "2016-01-15T12:33:38Z")
> [@StrangeBird](#): > > If not, I’d suggest letting your actions speak for themselves. This is an excellent point. I know people who don’t put up with BS. None of them have ever told me that they don’t put up with BS. I’ve known people who have said they don’t put up with BS. Nearly every one has been a massive source of BS. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2016, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-say-i-do-not-take-bs-from-anyone/743164/57 "2016-01-15T13:02:43Z")
> [@sandra\_nz](#): > > Just remember that this person interviewed for the team leader job, the people interviewing listened to this person and thought to themselves “Yes, this is the person we want leading that team.” > > So rather than requiring that this person meet your expectations of a team leader, you might want to take a step back and see if you meet the expectations of being one of his team members. > > I’m not saying you’re 100% the person who needs to change, but your posting so far makes it sound like you think he is 100% the person who needs to change. The truth is probably somewhere in between. > > If you want to have a discussion with him, perhaps a good way to start it is by asking him to explain to you how he prefers to work with his direct reports. Then you can explain to him how you prefer to work with your manager. Then you can see if there’s any common ground there. This is generally the way I’ve always handled new-to-me managers/bosses/whatever. It’s much easier, not to mention friendlier, to find common ground than it is to automatically put yourself on the defensive, especially if the manager/boss is new to the job. S/he’s got enough to contend with without you adding to it. ---
**Author:** ![dizzee\_dee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7c8e57/32.png) [@dizzee\_dee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dizzee_dee)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2016, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-say-i-do-not-take-bs-from-anyone/743164/58 "2016-01-15T14:30:05Z")
> [@ethilrist](#): > > i’m interested in fostering an environment of cooperation & communication so as to enhance professionalism and productivity. Part of this plan involves de-emphasizing attempts on other peoples’ part to confuse or obscure business process and practices. iswydt. :d ---
**Author:** ![skdo23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@skdo23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skdo23)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2016, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-say-i-do-not-take-bs-from-anyone/743164/59 "2016-01-15T16:25:49Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > This is an excellent point. I know people who don’t put up with BS. None of them have ever told me that they don’t put up with BS. I’ve known people who have said they don’t put up with BS. Nearly every one has been a massive source of BS. Exactly. Assuming that the OP is in the right, not taking BS is seen as a positive trait and people who simply go around telling others that they have a positive trait tend to give the impression that they are merely overcompensating for the fact that they have no idea how to actually implement it for real. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2016, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-say-i-do-not-take-bs-from-anyone/743164/60 "2016-01-15T18:14:48Z")
> [@Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](#): > > I received a progressive discipline write up. I mentioned it was complete bullshit. My supervisor said he agreed but rules are rules and I could come back with a steward and file a grievance. Next to the box indicating hire many “points” I had accumulated I drew another box labeled “fucks given” and stared him down while slowly writing “zero” in the box and said “grievances are for bitches” and slid it back to him. > > Bullshit free since! A most excellent response in a Union workplace. Such as my own. A less-than-excellent response in a non-Union workplace such as where many other posters evidently work. I wonder if the OP will ever return to tell us more about his situation and expectations? What plays OK for a truck driver and what plays OK for an low-end office worker are two very different things. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-say-i-do-not-take-bs-from-anyone/743164.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-say-i-do-not-take-bs-from-anyone/743164.md?page=4)