# Worker fired for Kerry sticker---sigh. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 13, 2004, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worker-fired-for-kerry-sticker-sigh/264316 "2004-09-13T21:45:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![imthjckaz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/imthjckaz/32/3223_2.png) [@imthjckaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/imthjckaz)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2004, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worker-fired-for-kerry-sticker-sigh/264316/81 "2004-09-19T21:00:37Z")
I should learn to read all the posts. Then I wouldn’t be redundant. Or repeat stuff. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![JonScribe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3be4f8/32.png) [@JonScribe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JonScribe)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2004, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worker-fired-for-kerry-sticker-sigh/264316/82 "2004-09-19T22:45:59Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > Let’s see. Her boss includes a pro-Bush letter in with her paycheck. She, knowing full well that her boss is a Bush supporter, drives to work with a pro-Kerry sticker on her car. > > Yup, that makes them both assholes. … I also hate people who wear their politics on their sleeves and then act all indignant when confronted with equally passionate people on the opposing side. Is she an asshole because she put a bumpersticker on her car? Or because she put a bumpersticker on her car, knowing that her boss supports Bush? So, expressing an opinion, especially one that goes against that of one’s boss, whether it be on one’s sleeve, bumper or a message board, makes one an asshole. I wasn’t aware that one has to check with one’s boss before forming and expressing an opinion. Just who do you work for? And have you run your above post by them first? ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2004, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worker-fired-for-kerry-sticker-sigh/264316/83 "2004-09-20T10:16:02Z")
> [@Homebrew](#): > > If I invite you to my house, then I’m not going to demand that you remove a bumper sticker from your car. Because, yes, your right to your own bumper sticker is more important than my right for you not to sully my driveway. Libertopia is nothing but petty fiefdoms and this thread demonstrates the absolute inanity of it. Really? So, her getting a new job and Kerry getting some PR (although he squandered it) is inane? > [@](#): > > A work contract is an agreement between parties for specific functions. What car I drive or what bumper stickers I have on it are unrelated to the job unless it’s specified in the employment agreement. Nowhere I have ever worked has tried to impose on my bumper sticker choice, and I suspect this asshole hadn’t previously stipulated in the employee handbook that he could arbitrarily tell you to remove one. It’s not arbitrary, dispshit. He owns the parking lot. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2004, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worker-fired-for-kerry-sticker-sigh/264316/84 "2004-09-20T10:19:29Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > So because there are weak points in the liberty protections of a democracy, we should just throw them entirely out? If you were a soldier wearing ineffective armor with weak points in its protection, you wouldn’t be asking that question. In a democracy, the citizens’ sole protection is their own vigilance. If they’ve been stripped of its ownership, they are thoroughly vulnerable. ---
**Author:** ![Voodoochile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/898d66/32.png) [@Voodoochile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voodoochile)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2004, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worker-fired-for-kerry-sticker-sigh/264316/85 "2004-09-20T11:28:27Z")
> [@Homebrew](#): > > A work contract is an agreement between parties for specific functions. What car I drive or what bumper stickers I have on it are unrelated to the job unless it’s specified in the employment agreement. Nowhere I have ever worked has tried to impose on my bumper sticker choice, and I suspect this asshole hadn’t previously stipulated in the employee handbook that he could arbitrarily tell you to remove one. Well, did you miss the part in work contracts where it usually states either party may cancel the agreement and part ways at any time? Yes, you can be fired for pretty much any reason at any time. This can happen because you are free to quit for any reason, at any time. If you want to place restrictions on when or how you can be fired, then that means you also want to place restrictions on when or how you can quit. Now, myself, if I ever had a boss who drove up with a KKK bumper sticker, I would quit instantly. That is my right. And because it is my right, it is also my bosses right to do the same to me. If I didnt want the right to quit for any reason at any time, then I would be in favor of restricting when I could be fired. But I do, and so Im not. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2004, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worker-fired-for-kerry-sticker-sigh/264316/86 "2004-09-20T14:16:04Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > If you were a soldier wearing ineffective armor with weak points in its protection, you wouldn’t be asking that question. Exactly right. I would wear the armor until I found something with better protection. I certainly wouldn’t strip it off and trust to good fortune and the kindness of strangers. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2004, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worker-fired-for-kerry-sticker-sigh/264316/87 "2004-09-20T23:14:48Z")
> [@](#): > > Is she an asshole because she put a bumpersticker on her car? Or because she put a bumper sticker on her car, knowing that her boss supports Bush? More so the latter, though an argument could be made that displaying bumper stickers at all is acting provacatively for the reasons Eve pointed out above. > [@](#): > > So, expressing an opinion, especially one that goes against that of one’s boss, whether it be on one’s sleeve, bumper or a message board, makes one an asshole. If you’re on his property accepting his money, then yes, openly disagreeing with him makes you an asshole as well as an unprincipled hypocrite. The fact that he brought up politics in the first place makes him an asshole as well, but that doesn’t give you a free pass to act in kind. You don’t like his politics? Then, by all means, don’t work for him. > [@](#): > > I wasn’t aware that one has to check with one’s boss before forming and expressing an opinion. You don’t. But you might want to consider how much you value your job if you decide to deliberately antagonize the dude whose signature is on the bottom right of your paycheck. > [@](#): > > Just who do you work for? And have you run your above post by them first? I work for a Fortune 50 company. I didn’t run the above post by them because: 1. I don’t mix personal business with work-related business. Crazy as it sounds, I totally respect the fact that they are paying me to _work_ and not to opine on message boards. 2. Company policy prohibits us from displaying any overt religious or political signage in our offices. After 9/11 we were even advised to not go overboard on the pro-America thang lest our nationalism cause our international transferees feel uncomfortable. You are free to campaign for whatever cause you’d like or for whomever you choose on your own time. However, the second you act as a representative of the company you are expected to act respectfully towards each other or keep your mouth shut. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2004, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worker-fired-for-kerry-sticker-sigh/264316/88 "2004-09-21T01:06:58Z")
> [@Voodoochile](#): > > Yes, you can be fired for pretty much any reason at any time. This can happen because you are free to quit for any reason, at any time. If you want to place restrictions on when or how you can be fired, then that means you also want to place restrictions on when or how you can quit. You make the assumption of an equal power relationship which simply doesn’t exist. A worker who chooses to speak his mind at the risk of losing his job, especially in a Republican ecnomy, is risking one HELL of a lot more than an employer who risks losing one of many employees. Your failure to take this into account renders your point very nearly pointless. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2004, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worker-fired-for-kerry-sticker-sigh/264316/89 "2004-09-21T01:11:54Z")
[QUOTE=PunditLisa] If you’re on his property accepting his money, then yes, openly disagreeing with him makes you an asshole as well as an unprincipled hypocrite. The fact that he brought up politics in the first place makes him an asshole as well, but that doesn’t give you a free pass to act in kind. You don’t like his politics? Then, by all means, don’t work for him. Got that? Buss gets to be an asshole, you don’t. PunditLisa also appears to be entirely oblivious to the fact that in a tight job market people may not be practically free to quit their jobs, whatever the legalities might be. She appears to inhabit the same rarefied place that VoodooChile does, where the job market and so forth mean nothing. Must be nice. > [@](#): > > You are free to campaign for whatever cause you’d like or for whomever you choose on your own time. However, the second you act as a representative of the company you are expected to act respectfully towards each other or keep your mouth shut. Got it, slave? 'Cause that’s what PunditLisa thinks you are. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2004, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worker-fired-for-kerry-sticker-sigh/264316/90 "2004-09-21T01:14:14Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Really? So, her getting a new job and Kerry getting some PR (although he squandered it) is inane? > > It’s not arbitrary, dispshit. He owns the parking lot. Because ownership is everything. Used to be “might is right” now apparently “property is right.” ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2004, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worker-fired-for-kerry-sticker-sigh/264316/91 "2004-09-21T05:44:21Z")
> [@Evil Captor](#): > > Because ownership is everything. Used to be “might is right” now apparently “property is right.” It seems to me that you’ve been around here long enough to recognize that the above is precisely **Liberal** ’s viewpoint. This is a wheel he is willing to re-invent in every thread he enters, until the day we all roll along on it. The perseverance alone is certainly worthy of some form of admiration. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2004, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worker-fired-for-kerry-sticker-sigh/264316/92 "2004-09-21T12:08:27Z")
> [@](#): > > Got that? Boss gets to be an asshole, you don’t. Yup. When you are an employee, an imbalance of power exists based on the fact that the one guy (not you) controls the money you would like to be in your pocket. Money = power no matter how fervently you wish it weren’t true. Honestly, I’m amazed that this is a novel concept to you. > [@](#): > > PunditLisa also appears to be entirely oblivious to the fact that in a tight job market people may not be practically free to quit their jobs, whatever the legalities might be. All the more reason that you should not try to deliberately piss off the guy who is employing you. It’s called sucking it up and people do it every single day. > [@](#): > > Got it, slave? 'Cause that’s what PunditLisa thinks you are. Yes, let’s equate this situation with poor bastards who were forcibly removed from their villages and dragged off to perform manual labor for no pay under threat of death. Good analogy. ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2004, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worker-fired-for-kerry-sticker-sigh/264316/93 "2004-09-21T13:19:54Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > The perseverance alone is certainly worthy of some form of admiration. The word you’re looking for isn’t “perseverance”. It’s “[perseveration](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=perseveration)”: > [@](#): > > 1. Uncontrollable repetition of a particular response, such as a word, phrase, or gesture, despite the absence or cessation of a stimulus, usually caused by brain injury or other organic disorder. > > 2. The tendency to continue or repeat an act or activity after the cessation of the original stimulus. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2004, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worker-fired-for-kerry-sticker-sigh/264316/94 "2004-09-21T13:41:42Z")
The boss is an control freak asshole. He was paying this lady to do work. Period. It is none of his business who she votes for, or whose bumper sticker is on her car. If she was making 9 dollars an hour (or less?) I highly doubt she was a company representative - they get paid a lot more. Some bosses think they have the right to control what their employees do, even away from work. Live in the right neighborhood. Marry the right class of person. Travel in the righ social circles. Drive the right car. Don’t smoke or drink, it may cause you to use health insurance. Go to the right church. Hold the right opinions. A boss should be paying you for the work you do - a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work. At the end of the work day, anything else is none of his damn business. Again, the boss is a major asshole. I’ve interviewed with bosses like that, and then turned down the offer, or cut the interview short. My reason when asked why was “You don’t own me, when I’m off work you’re on MY time”. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2004, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worker-fired-for-kerry-sticker-sigh/264316/95 "2004-09-21T16:31:51Z")
> [@Desmostylus](#): > > The word you’re looking for isn’t “perseverance”. It’s “[perseveration](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=perseveration)”: > > > [@](#): > > > > 1. Uncontrollable repetition of a particular response, such as a word, phrase, or gesture, despite the absence or cessation of a stimulus, usually caused by brain injury or other organic disorder. > > > > 2. The tendency to continue or repeat an act or activity after the cessation of the original stimulus. I’d think that term presupposes the absence of a stimulus. A thread that contains an implication that a certain person ought to behave in a manner prescribed by another is stimulus enough for **Liberal**. I’ll stick with “perseverance.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worker-fired-for-kerry-sticker-sigh/264316.md?page=4)