We should not take X as client, they are bad -> political
We should not take X as client, my ex work there -> political
We should not take X as client, they are unreliable with payments -> not political
We should not take X as client, clients W, Y, and Z will drop us -> not political
I use they/them pronouns, and I ask politely for others to use them... Political?
Cause I've been told that being a queer person is political. I don't think it is, it's just... Who I am.
People who say no politics at work generally have never had to think about how some identities are perceived as innately political.
Yes, don't use the bathroom at office.
>I use they/them pronouns, and I ask politely for others to use them... Political?
Absolutely, it is the very visible agenda of a very loud political machine. It's nothing but political. It can be an example of "political, n." in a dictionary.
That said, you don't need to be fired over everything political you do, just like discussing a little politics with your office colleagues once in a while is not necessarily an offence. Just as long as you stay respectful and polite when someone says no, they won't use your nonsense pronouns, very fine.
>Cause I've been told that being a queer person is political.
I doubt someone actually said that unironically, you're very likely deleting tons of context.
But the long and short of it is that no identity is political unless you make it, given the stereotypical "queer" person, I absolutely empathize with whoever said that statement to you, but "queerness", whatever that may be, itself is not necessarily making you political at work, it's just the kinds of people attracted to it. In theory, every ideology of every shape and color and identity can coexist under temporary and concrete banners like "make money".
> 'using they/them pronouns' is political
is the implication here that normative is non-political and non-normative is political? another example, would it be political to bring your non-heterosexual spouse to a company function where other employees may bring their spouses?
*fixed formatting
>would it be political to bring your non-heterosexual spouse to a company function where other employees may bring their spouses?
Depends on you and your coworker attitudes, but generally no. A function like this would probably be very laid back and casual, it's not even "work" by a strict definition, so I can't think of a way your non hetero spouse would be a problem. Company asked for people to bring spouses, company got people who brought spouses. If they wanted Man/w/Woman only, they should have asked for it, subtly or explicitly.
Of course, the kind of people I have in mind can still ruin this, just like they ruin everything. They can always come dressed in a pride flag and act insufferable. And that's exactly my point, being political is, as I think of it, a personality. You can be the most boring normative person in existence and still be political, you can be the most radical and norms-challenging person in existence and still shut up and fix the damn bug because nobody got the time and patience to fight your moral crusades.
Even a few "slips" here and there could be forgiven, we all get political if somebody pushes our buttons enough after all. But repeated, deliberate attempts to be pushy and transgressive and an oppressed victim? That's just something else. It can always be recognized.
It was in a way to show that banning politics at work could produce paradoxical results.
I personally see only 4 answers:
- nothing is political
- everything is political
- it is political if I say that it is political
- we submit to someone else opinion to answer this question
And you might notice that answer 4 is just 3 in disguise.
My conclusion is that political / non-political is not a useful dichotomy
Like, sports, long considered the go to water cooler talk, have LOADS of politics. From how the players are treated, to who can afford to see a game, to how we treat uninterested or rival fans.
"Why would they drop us?"
"I'm sorry Dave, corporate code forbids me from discussing that"
Is a man talking about his husband political?
Is a person transitioning political?
I don't think it is a good idea but it is a solution to the question of who get to decide what is political and what it not: everything not job related is political.
I would be perfectly content to never hearing about any co-workers personal lives, wives, husbands, what ball game they went to, how their kids are the best thing every, etc etc etc