In honor of Earth Day… I have to share the most exasperating event with a co-worker today.
Let me preface this by saying that she is a self proclaimed “gun carrying Republican” and I am…well….NOT.
On more than one occasion, politics has come up around the lunch table and I have done my best to make a point when it was worth making or bite my tongue if the atmosphere just wasn’t right. She is entitled to her opinion (even if it makes my blood boil) But I’m continually shocked by the blind spot she has for the current administration and the rest of the Republican party.
Close minded is probably the nicest thing I can say about her….without launching into vulgarities.
Not long ago, someone started a conversation about documentaries. And in the midst of it I asked someone at the table if they had seen Sicko. Many people at the table had and offered their (mostly) positive comments about it. Well SHE chimes in (with disgust) with “Yea, well Michael Moore isn’t exactly known for truthful reporting” Ummm. excuse me? Had she seen it? NO. Had she seen Fahrenheit 9/11? No. How about Bowling for Columbine? Certainly not.
Dead silence at the table.
So, with the urge to bite my tongue notwithstanding… I said, “well, I think most people would agree that his films are thought provoking so whether you believe everything he says word for word…if his films make people think and then go out and look into the issues themselves…well, then I think he’s done his job.”
More silence as 8 people at the table stare intently at their plates.
No one talked much about politics at the table for a long time after that. Occasionally there’s discussion of the primaries. We all know who she is voting for…and the rest of us chime in on the Barack vs. Hillary debate in a very friendly respectful way.
Today I didn’t know whether to ring her neck or pity her stupidity.
It’s Earth week at my company and as part of a series of events going on to show how environmentally conscious we are, each day in the cafeteria, they are showing a different documentary on this theme. I didn’t catch the name of today’s film but when we all sat down and got settled into our meal, the film was discussing the survival of polar bears. And while we are making chit chat about the film and the polar bears; and after she says, “why can’t they show us something uplifting about the environment” ..and to keep from biting my tongue clear off, I say (to no one in particular)… “Tomorrow they are showing An Inconvenient Truth which does a great job on this topic, too.
Are you ready for her response?
Are you sure?
She says “What is An Inconvenient Truth?”
I swear to you that my blood pressure went up 10 points.
I had to look at her face to see if she was joking. She was not.
OK, so I get that not everyone has seen it. But the fact that she didn’t even know what it was terrified me. I told her it was the documentary that Al Gore did on global warming. The one that had won an Oscar. (thinking perhaps THAT would ring a bell).
I mean I would have EXPECTED that she might have discounted it because, well, if it was made by Al Gore then it must be a lie (in her twisted little mind). But to not have even HEARD of it. This is not a NEW film. It’s been out for TWO YEARS.
To say that I was floored by her ignorance is an understatement.
What rock is she living under?
Am I delusional? Am I a liberal snob? Am I out of touch?
Please set me straight or share in my misery.
2 Comments
April 25, 2008 at 10:11 pm
It recently came to my awareness that right wing media turds often downplay global warming. As inconceivable as that is. I guess it depends on where she is (or isn’t) getting her info.
Yeah, it’s weird.
April 26, 2008 at 9:53 am
My guess is that she and her kind have been watching FOX news.