I had dinner with unknown freepers tonight...

[woodsprite]

and I had to come home and get on DU to get my head on straight again.
I had a 20 yr service recognition dinner to go to tonight. Big wigs were there and it was assigned tables. We were sitting with a couple we didn't know, and 2 other couples where both hubby and I are coworkers of the guys, didn't know their dates.

So we're sitting there chatting about homes, childhoods, etc. The one guy we know is 3rd generation Army Reserve. He starts talking about the military and how wonderful Bush was because he went to a military hospital and saluted someone who had his arm blown off and needed major repair work on his legs. He said he really can tell he cares about our soldiers. I looked to my husband and mouthed the words "Photo Op". To which hubby kicked me gently under the table.

Then the little lady to our left, the date of the other guy we know starts saying how much she just loves Laura Bush and how she is such a lady. This girl works at the Proving Grounds and she was going on and on about how much she respects our preznit and how he only has our best interests in mind and sometimes we have to do things militarily that are uncomfortable. But she knows his goal is to keep 'merica free so we can sit around just like we were tonight all different, but all together round the same table.

I know her fiance pretty well and I think he could tell I had a different opinion. He chirped in and said "Yeah, that Laura is some comedienne isn't she. You catch the show the other night?" Then he spent his time trying to keep his lady from spouting any more crap.

Needless to say, I went off my diet tonight. While they talked, I kept my mouth busy - 2 glasses of wine, my glass of water, cup of coffee and the dessert of the evening. BUT I kept my mouth shut. I didn't cause a scene and DH and I both waited until we were in the car with the doors shut before we exploded!

BTW, that other couple was equally quiet - they have a son of draft age.

[GardeningGal]

1. I'm not sure I could have kept my mouth shut

I know it wouldn't have made any difference to their opinion, but I just don't know. It was a work situation, so maybe I could have kept my temper at bay.....

[charlyvi]

3. At least it might have shut them up.

Or pissed them off.

[seabeyond]

5. i wouldnt have, not a chance in hell

but then everyone my husband knows., knows i wouldnt keep my mouth shut, and knows what i think

walked into husbands business the other morning, an employee says, who have you been terrorizing today. stopped me for a second, flashing thru the first few hours of coffee, on du............and i laugh, quite a few as a matter of fact. not you this morning though. you are safe

oh well

[FreedomAngel82]

9. Same here

I would've had to leave just to be nice to them. If not I would get rilled up.

[charlyvi]

2. Don't you just love how shrub supporters

take for granted that everyone agrees with them? They go on and on and on; it's rude as hell. Then if you express your own viewpoint, just as they have, YOU are labeled unsociable extreme radical liberal baby killer.


:crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy:

[seabeyond]

4. why are they allowed to talk, say the stupidest of things, never

challenged, as you shove food in your mouth and the other couple sit quiet?

[woodsprite]

8. I was quiet out of respect for the people

in the administration who were hosting our dinner AND the fact that they are the ones that make the decision on my husband's promotions. We both work with them on a daily basis. It was a dinner for my 20th, but my hubby is well thought of across the board of bigwigs and is up for another promo either this July or next.

She was trying to tell the quiet couple that they should have their son see her about getting an internship at Aberdeen, because everyone should do their part. He's interested in engineering. They pretty much ignored that she said anything.

Ya know? After thinking about it, maybe she had consumed too much alcohol - open bar for an hour before dinner, wine on the table. I can't imagine a rational person saying some of the stuff she did. I *KNOW* she must have had 3 glasses while we ate dinner.

[seabeyond]

11. this wasnt a jab at you, for real

i know there are people for there reasons that dont say things, i know people that cant. i still hold to, why are we expected (and we are) to be quiet

i am a different breed. i am never quiet. lol lol and i get away with it. i dont know why. maybe it would have been the biggest fit of laughter the first praising to bush, and that would have been the end, i dont know. i know i have opened mouth too much too. but havent had to suffer any repercussion, maybe just mild embarrassment

i just hate to see you and hubby and others having to sit quiet. that is wrong, so wrong in my book

on edit: thinking more in the situation. and you are probably right. now, rolling of eyes, exaggerated sighs, lol lol. wouldnt be embroiled in argument, lol but get point across

[Stand and Fight]

6. I would have excused myself from the table or confronted them.

I could not have sat there and listened to such nonsense. Since it was a work situation, I would have ended up simply excusing myself from the table. I don't care what they might say. However, had it been a public function, I'd have given them a piece of my mind. I commend you for being level-headed, but you should have voiced your disagreement -- at least -- diplomatically.

[saracat]

7. Why were you quiet? I always, politely, state that I don't agree.

I held a wonderful PC training in my district the other weekend and our guest speaker emphasized how important it was under similar conditions to speak up.We must let people KNOW we are here and let ourselves be counted.Otherwise we are perpetuating the falsehood that they are the unopposed majority!May I ask what good it did to complain to yourselves? These people must be held to account. Sometimes it helps to ask them "Why" they support Bush and the war. Usually they can't defend themselves and that in itself makes the point.

[woodsprite]

10. Truthfully, I was afraid if I got started I wouldn't be able to stop.

And that wouldn't have been good for any of us employees. We might be an academic institution, but I am almost 100% sure that when push comes to shove, most of the administration is Repub or at least holds repub financial values near and dear to their hearts.

[Elwood P Dowd]

12. I would have said

"Excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom and eliminate all this bushit I'm absorbing. It's making me uncomfortable".

[Virginian]

13. I might have mentioned the couple with the draft age son.

John and Mary, over there, aren't looking forward to sacrificing their only child to Bush's war, and we're not a fan of it either. Can we all discuss other, less contentious, topics at the table.

or ...

Have you seen any of those pictures of the Iraqi toddlers with their limbs blown off. Their poor mothers look so helpless trying to sooth their suffering babies. That's what I think of when I think of Bush's war. It ruins my appetite to think of it. Do you think we can discuss a different, less bloody, topic at the table?

or ...

Have you heard that Bush used to force fire crackers down the throats of frogs so he could watch them blow up. Did you know that Frist adopted cats from the pound, treated them as pets for a couple of days and then cut them open for vivisection. Sounds a little like Jeffrey Dalmer to me. How can you have a purring ball of fluff on your lap one day and slit it's throat the next? Oh, pass the salt, please.

The bottom line is that they weren't discussing table topics, so why should you be considerate of those people's appetites?
It used to be bad form to discuss politics or religion at the table as they were not polite topics. When did people lose their manners?

Edited for clarity.

[gumby]

14. I don't see the value in making yourself a target.

For some reason, this conversation reminds me of one of my favorite corny TV series, "V." Sometimes you've got to go along to get along-- until a later time.

In these "social/work" situations, you've got to be precise and on-target. There's no point of getting into an argument, but one or two well placed, coded zingers, are worth far more than an embarrassing confrontation.

Believe me, the targets will remember your zingers. One Phyllis Schfley worker hated me for years for a line I said at dinner.

[CC]

15. I understand your being quiet because of the job

and all. I might have said something like it is not a good idea (or polite) to talk politics or religion at a work sponsored event as people have varying opinions. And the one that works at Aberdeen has to know not to talk politics. I would have also probably bitten my lip bloody to keep my mouth shut and been whisked away as fast as possible by my hub. Hope you didn't end up with bruised shins. You probably burned more calories than you could consume just trying to not set her straight.