Debating a RW Receptionist ...

[aggiesal]

Living in Orange County in SoCal can be a bit annoying.

The receptionist that controls the TV in the lobby continues to watch Fox NEWS.
When I go into the lobby, I ask to change the channel to CNN or MSNBC.

She did it the first time, but when I left she immediately changed it back to Fox.

I later told her that she needed to watch a different channel, when she replied
"No I don't"

So I showed her the article about the Univ. Of Maryland study that proves that
those that watch Fox News are the most misinformed electorate. She said that it
depends on how you interpret correct.

I then told her that:
"You can have your own opinion, but you can't have your own facts"

Then she started spouting off about giving money to the job creator and entrepreneurs.
So I asked 3 questions
1) "If I gave you $1M right now, would you hire anyone?" her response was "Probably not"
2) "If giving a tax breaks to the rich creates jobs, and they've had this tax break since
2001, where are the jobs?"
3) "Why if they create jobs with the tax breaks did the manufacturing jobs go from
18M in 2001 down to 12M in 2008? Shouldn't they have increased?"

Her response to both questions was "I don't know"

She then said "I love watch Glen Beck"

My head almost exploded. I had to walk away.

[upi402]

1. Yet they DO have their own "facts"

...and no amount of facts will change their views

[Hugabear]

2. Is this a RW-friendly company?

And what is your relationship with this company, are you a customer, vendor, etc? If you're a customer or vendor, I suppose you might be able to talk to her boss (assuming it's not a RW-friendly company), let them know that their receptionist is engaging in offensive behavior.

[aggiesal]

4. I'm a contractor, ...

The company is Broadcom, which I believe is a RW friendly company.
The last thing she said was that FOX News was an approved channel
so she's entitled to have the TV on Fox.

I going to bring my universal remote control and change the
channel from a clandestine location.

[Hugabear]

6. Better yet, if you could find some way to delete FOX from their cable/satellite lineup

If somehow you could access the setup menu, that could be interesting

[whathehell]

3. Good job, Aggisal...I consider talking to RWingers you don't know to be semi-heroic

Seriously..I've done it myself and I know how frustrating it can be.

Important note: Don't believe that her Glen Beck comment necessarily means she didn't "hear" what you said.

Sometimes new information has to "sit" with people awhile..It can take time to kind of "register"..In addition, people often react "automatically" ala the Glen Beck remark.

you asked her two questions she could NOT answer...that will probably stick with her...It might even open a door.

[aggiesal]

5. We'll see. ...

Last time I went past the lobby she said
"I'm watching your favorite person!"
She was watching Glenn Beck.

[whathehell]

7. True..

but Her last remark to you may be simply teasing...Was she smiling?

You see, what I've learned is that people do not change right away...It takes them awhile

Of course, she may not EVER be ripe for change, but I think it's too soon to tell..If she's

indulging in friendly teasing with you, sounds like she's at least not hostile.

[aggiesal]

11. About "... watching my favorite person..." remark?

Yes, she was smiling and joking.
And, she is not hostile.

She seems to think that she's one of these true conservatives, like RR.
But then she says she loves watching Glenn Beck. That to me says that
she's a teabagger.

Then she asks if I was one of the Obama-Can't-Do-Wrong liberals.
I told her that I did not vote for Obama in the primary, but instead
voted for Kucinich in the primary and Obama in the general. There was
no way I was voting for McInsane.

She's fun and easy to debate because she has her facts all wrong.
But I have to be extremely calm when I do, because she'll make my
head explode otherwise.

[whathehell]

12. I know what you mean...

"But I have to be extremely calm when I do, because she'll make my head explode otherwise"

I'm the same way and I really marvel at, and admire people like Thom Hartmann and

Rachel Maddow who seem able to keep their cool in the face of the the most inane remarks.

[NuclearDem]

8. Used to have the same situation when I worked at the chapel out here

Whenever one of the two TVs was turned to Fox, I always made a point of switching it to either CNN HLN or MSNBC...but I'd come back later to see Fox back on.

[aggiesal]

13. I used to work at Cymer in San Diego a few years back, ...

There were at least half a dozen TV's in the cafeteria, all tuned to
the same source (DirecTV STB) with FOX News always tuned. The STB was
stored in a locked cabinet, but the doors had a glass front to allow
changing the channels without having to open the door.

The person in charge of the TV's was a Retired Navy Officer, and extremely RW.

I went out and purchased a cheap universal remote control for about $5-$10, with
systems pre-programmed into the unit. I set it up to broadcast the DirecTV signature.
My friends and I then would then sneak it into the cafeteria, pick a place relatively
close to the cabinet and sit facing the cabinet. We would then change the channel to
ESPN, CNN, MSNBC or something local, just to get it off FOX.

When the retired Navy Officer came into the cafeteria he would stand in front of
one of the TV's scratching his head, I'm sure wondering how the TV channel was changed.
He would disappear for about 5 minutes and return with the official DirecTV Remote
control, and change the channel back to FOX. He'd then walk away, just before he left
the cafeteria, we would change the channel again. Still puzzled, he'd come back and
re-tune to FOX. We would then re-tune it back to our station. This would continue until
he finally got frustrated and left, never figuring out who was changing the channels
and how.

My friends would routinely stop by my desk and ask to borrow the remote when they went
to lunch.

True Story!
Very Funny!

[Angry Dragon]

9. Bring her in some articles to backup your facts

Tell her you are worried about her and would not wish her to
be hurt by mis-information.........

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[B Calm]

14. Buy a universal remote and put FOX on parental block!