Keep my rights or keep my job

[hopnpop]

Get a life, C&L. I'm baiting you...why, I don't know...just a brief respite from being EMPLOYED, I guess.

Some personal history: I'm 56 years old, have raised a familly, paid for a home, been married for 30 years, yada yada. I know all about work as I've done it since I was 10 years old. And yeah, I know what it's llike to have to keep my mouth shut to appease some idiot boss. But, it only goes so far. My Dad raised me to have dignity and self-respect and no employer is entitiled to take those from me, for ANY amount of money.

The OP opened with "keep my job or lose my rights". My response hinged on the fact he seemed rather upset (as I would have been) and my feeling is that if your job situation was gonna cause you such grief, then...I don't know...start looking for another position. I have done just that in the past.

I fully realize what an "at will" employment relationship is and in no way do I condone someone telling 'the man' where to stick it if you have the burden of supporting a family. Again, however, if the work environment is truly causing you considerable angst, then for your health and your family's sake, I think you need to find something else to do.

Ok, C&L, I can't play, anymore. Gotta go back to work.

I, however, am 33 yrs old and have 3 kids and a wife at home. She makes decent money but not nearly enough to carry us - not that I would want her to. I agree that if your workplace is causing you lots a grief you should start looking for alternative employment. It should be kept in mind, tho, that there are things to consider, like: I'm in Michigan, where we've held the highest unemployment rate in the country for the past year or so, over 15%, meaning that 1 of every 8 people are unemployed, and the jobs are still disappearing at a staggering rate. Finding a job when you're unemployed is hard enough, and finding one when you're already employed would be even more difficult. The search for employment here seems to be an indefinite one. Chances are that, to find another suitable job, you'd be compromising something for another.

As much as I hate to say it, I think that if you've still got a job, especially a reliable one, you'll have to make compromises to keep it. There are way too many people in search of jobs right now to be putting yours on the line. There are people that are willing to do your job for less money and employers know this. Nothing's stopping you from seeking something else, but don't put your job in jeopardy until you've got something else in-hand.

Sometimes you just have to put up with some bullsheet and gut it, whether it's against what you believe is right or not.

[JJFlash]

I, however, am 33 yrs old and have 3 kids and a wife at home. She makes decent money but not nearly enough to carry us - not that I would want her to. I agree that if your workplace is causing you lots a grief you should start looking for alternative employment. It should be kept in mind, tho, that there are things to consider, like: I'm in Michigan, where we've held the highest unemployment rate in the country for the past year or so, over 15%, meaning that 1 of every 8 people are unemployed, and the jobs are still disappearing at a staggering rate. Finding a job when you're unemployed is hard enough, and finding one when you're already employed would be even more difficult. The search for employment here seems to be an indefinite one. Chances are that, to find another suitable job, you'd be compromising something for another.

As much as I hate to say it, I think that if you've still got a job, especially a reliable one, you'll have to make compromises to keep it. There are way too many people in search of jobs right now to be putting yours on the line. There are people that are willing to do your job for less money and employers know this. Nothing's stopping you from seeking something else, but don't put your job in jeopardy until you've got something else in-hand.

Sometimes you just have to put up with some bullsheet and gut it, whether it's against what you believe is right or not.

True enough. I agree with you 100%.

[JSDinTexas]

Well Folks, I didn't think I would get so many replies to this thread, and all I can say to each of you is thanks. I realize there are threads here that are somewhat far to the left or right and that is fine. As I said in my last post yesterday, I appreciate all opinions because I read and weigh them all and do not just take one or another.

Here are some of the conclusions I have drawn from the discussions:

1) I have not had my 1st amendment rights violated - and I am sorry that I do not know my constitution better, I will correct that.

2) I find generally that most take a centerist position in that it is best to keep my job and move forward - not letting the event fester. And the boss/company has the ability to set the conditions of the workplace. I believe I must agree with that.

3) And if I find the conditions not to my liking, I should look for other work - and that makes sense too.

4) Finally, and maybe most important, I find people on this sight to be intelligent, insightful, and generally understanding of this situation, no matter how they approached it. This make me very happy to be in such good company.

I can only say thank you all - I will visit again tomorrow to see what else I might need to consider. For now, my immediate boss says I still have a job, and just be careful about discussions and so on. So maybe I should be thankful that while the workplace is not as cozy as I would like, it is still providing a salary.

[AvidshooterTX]

One other thing I'd say is to refrain from telling people you carry and especially don't talk about guns at work. Statistics show that most people are shot by someone they know. If someone does go postal you don't want them to shoot you first because they think you're some kind of gun nut and you might be packing. I know this is hard to do when the subject comes up and some anti-gun liberal starts talking about how they hate guns and we need to ban them, blah blah blah. But that's the kind of person I believe we have to be the most wary of.

[JSDinTexas]

One other thing I'd say is to refrain from telling people you carry and especially don't talk about guns at work. Statistics show that most people are shot by someone they know. If someone does go postal you don't want them to shoot you first because they think you're some kind of gun nut and you might be packing. I know this is hard to do when the subject comes up and some anti-gun liberal starts talking about how they hate guns and we need to ban them, blah blah blah. But that's the kind of person I believe we have to be the most wary of.

I don't talk about the carry side to anyone at any time, but like another post may have mentioned, there were a few in the workplace that engaged in the discussion of hunting, guns, ammo and so on, including myself.