[Albion] Am I a dinosaur/out of touch/or offensive?

[portlock seagull]

How has he nailed it ? He didn't mention Worthing council.

I'm not sure that the OPs incident is worthy of debate really. It should be obvious to anyone that he was unnecessarily rude to the clerk. And that's all really.

He wasn’t being rude. Anything but. It was a quip the intention behind was to forgive and forget but it went badly wrong seemingly. But theres a difference between rude and offensive, the later is of course subjective.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

I'm not sure that the OPs incident is worthy of debate really. It should be obvious to anyone that he was unnecessarily rude to the clerk. And that's all really.

That's about the strength of it.

He's said nothing too appalling, and the young lady probably ought to have just ignored it, but it would appear to have been entirely uncalled for.

The official follow up seems a bit strong, though.

In general, any form of BANTER is best avoided in business, unless you actually know the person involved well enough, to have a feel for how receptive they are to such comments.

 

[Beach Seagull]

Had an issue with Worthing Borough Council about some funeral related paperwork, a 20 something office person came on the phone and suggested a way forward that adopted not one shred of common-sense or flexibility.

Eventually they came round to our way of thinking but as an aside I spoke to the young lady and said there would be no hard feelings, and somewhat tongue in cheek, stated because like the Nazis she was only acting under orders.

She found this analogy, in her words, extremely offensive, and I have received an official communication from her line manager reiterating this fact.

It was a quip, and I honestly meant no offence, but are these kind of things really deemed politically incorrect?

Basically we stopped them delaying a funeral because of some nit picking, and ultimately the families we look after are the ones paying the bill, both mine and that of the crematorium.

What else would you expect from a Council? They are stuffed full of liberal, leftie snowflakes. They are more concerned with 'diversity and inclusion, than they are with providing the services we pay our CT for. That stupid bird who was 'offended' is typical of the types who work for the council. I bet she's a vegan and the comment you made has 'affected her mental health.'

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

Some will find it light hearted, some will shrug it off, others will take offence. This isn't about whether the comment is generally offensive, or whether we should take offence on someone else's behalf, instead this clearly directly offended an individual person. Sounds like you misinterpreted the situation and an apology needed. We've all done it.

 

[A1X]

It has nothing to do with being "woke", or "right on", or "PC gone mad" or anything like that. It was a dick move by the OP (I accept not through any malice, but still a dick move).

 

[portlock seagull]

What else would you expect from a Council? They are stuffed full of liberal, leftie snowflakes. They are more concerned with 'diversity and inclusion, than they are with providing the services we pay our CT for. That stupid bird who was 'offended' is typical of the types who work for the council. I bet she's a vegan and the comment you made has 'affected her mental health.'

Now that’s how to do offensive Harty! Take note

(Beach, I’m only pulling your leg mate!)

 

[Live by the sea]

I would personally avoid any analogy that involves the word Nazi. The word has a unique evil place in history and should not be used out of context.

I agree that the vast majority of council workers are probably a similar type, the type that think they have made it when they can afford to live in Hanover in Brighton and think Corbyn is a decent bloke and would vote for long Bailey. The type who in the real world would go nowhere fast .

 

[RossyG]

It’s only offensive if people decide to take offence.

This individual did and decided to make a song and dance out of it. Not sure what she got out of this response, but some people seem to get a kick out of playing the victim. In our society it can even give them power. If the police had turned up on your doorstop she’d probably have got some neurotic pleasure out of it. Some people never grow out of being the school sneak.

On the other hand, your quip was pretty lame.

Hope this helps.

Incidentally, what did the line manager actually say?

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

Best not to make comparisons with the Nazis - definitely with people you do not know. One person's banter and all that. You don't know the person's family history for example.

 

[Beach Seagull]

Now that’s how to do offensive Harty! Take note

(Beach, I’m only pulling your leg mate!)

Ha ha I'll get slaughtered before long for my post!!!

 

[Bold Seagull]

I was born in the 70s. I don't ever remember a time when using the Nazis in conversation, or making a joke didn't have to be done with a bit of judgement. Nothing to do with snowflakes, millennials or any other term to excuse poor judgement or behaviour, Nazi jokes have always needed the right audience. On the phone to someone you have never met or spoken to before – not a great time to throw in a Nazi gag.

 

[Grombleton]

Some will find it light hearted, some will shrug it off, others will take offence. This isn't about whether the comment is generally offensive, or whether we should take offence on someone else's behalf, instead this clearly directly offended an individual person. Sounds like you misinterpreted the situation and an apology needed. We've all done it.

This. Some will take it as a joke and others won't. I think it depends if you know the person or not - i'd never do it in a professional environment, but if you were in a similar discussion with say, a friend whom you knew how they'd react then it'd be a different situation.

So maybe not intentionally offensive, but definitely inappropriate.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Ha ha I'll get slaughtered before long for my post!!!

I don't think so tbh. Pretty much everyone has marked you as a dull troll, so will probably just ignore it. You've had better efforts, in truth. You need to be a little more subtle, if you can.

 

[Bakero]

I don't think so tbh. Pretty much everyone has marked you as a dull troll, so will probably just ignore it. You've had better efforts, in truth. You need to be a little more subtle, if you can.

This.

 

[highflyer]

Probably using the word 'nazi' is now borderline at best

I mean context is everything, but when exactly WAS it OK to compare someone you were having a (work related) disagreement with to Nazi's?

'I understand the position you were in and that you were under pressure/following orders from above' is often a good diplomatic line to re-establish good relations after a fall out.

Adding 'like the Nazi's'? Not so much.

Not sure it's about being a dinosaur or out of touch. More just a question of poor judgement.

 

[Peteinblack]

I think today’s generation have ironically been programmed, like following some order sent down from the social media gods, to seek offence where none is intended and possess a list of key words including Nazi that sets off some chain reaction in their brain that screams I am offended. Let’s face it half of millennials don’t know what one is such is their poor knowledge of history as studies show so quite how they’re offended I don’t know. Harty, we live in a world now where those that preach tolerance are the least tolerant of all, fanatically so. And consequently you’re only a Twitter away from being ‘shamed’ whatever the facts are, they’re irrelevant now. People only understand their perspective (ie not more senior generations!) and hell hath no fury like a millennial scorned. In that respect, you’ve been naive nothing more. Even if I were offended by such a quip, official letter etc is a bit OTT. Sound like the bee got trapped in her bonnet.

But is not just millennials who seem either to be permanently offended, or look for things to be offended by. Donald Trump and Piers Morgan are constantly Tweeting about something (often trivial - didn't Morgan have a man-child tantrum about Gregg's selling vegan pasties!), or someone who has offended them, and Daily Mail readers (mainly 'oldies') are also constantly outraged and muttering: "It's disgraceful. It shouldn't be allowed; the government should ban it."

I'm far too old to be a Millenial (and they do annoy me with their Smartphone addiction and constant texting) but personally, I'm pleased that the deeply derogatory words commonly used until the 1980s, to describe (dehumanise) racial or ethnic minorities, and gay people, are now considered offensive by most people.

 

[Beach Hut]

Had an issue with Worthing Borough Council about some funeral related paperwork, a 20 something office person came on the phone and suggested a way forward that adopted not one shred of common-sense or flexibility.

Eventually they came round to our way of thinking but as an aside I spoke to the young lady and said there would be no hard feelings, and somewhat tongue in cheek, stated because like the Nazis she was only acting under orders.

She found this analogy, in her words, extremely offensive, and I have received an official communication from her line manager reiterating this fact.

It was a quip, and I honestly meant no offence, but are these kind of things really deemed politically incorrect?

Basically we stopped them delaying a funeral because of some nit picking, and ultimately the families we look after are the ones paying the bill, both mine and that of the crematorium.

Out of touch, what might be flippant to you can be offensive as you don't know the persons background.

 

[Dave the OAP]

We all become dinosaurs at some point.

Probably using the word 'nazi' is now borderline at best.

NSC used to regularly call Martin Perry "Obergruppenfuhrer Perry", I'm not sure that these days something similar would be received in such good spirit.

Oi. That was me ��

Trouble is harty, it is a different day and age. I work for an American company and someone made a quip about Trump on a meeting we had and we all now have to take internal online courses reminding us all about inclusivity, respect and behaviour!

BTW if we are taking this to the n’th degree, Facebook have banned all images of swastikas. So all the online modelling groups, and there are thousands of them, are having all their builds pictures removed by Facebook as the swastika is deemed offensive.

Yet one could argue that these are historical markings on aircraft. Someone also said then surely they should remove all US planes with the USAAF insignia as they committed one of the worst war crimes on civilians by dropping a A Bomb on them, specifically targeting civilians.

We are living in very odd times.



This is a Greek/ Hellenic coin thought to be 8000 years old

 

[Mackenzie]

Had an issue with Worthing Borough Council about some funeral related paperwork, a 20 something office person came on the phone and suggested a way forward that adopted not one shred of common-sense or flexibility.

Eventually they came round to our way of thinking but as an aside I spoke to the young lady and said there would be no hard feelings, and somewhat tongue in cheek, stated because like the Nazis she was only acting under orders.

She found this analogy, in her words, extremely offensive, and I have received an official communication from her line manager reiterating this fact.

It was a quip, and I honestly meant no offence, but are these kind of things really deemed politically incorrect?

Basically we stopped them delaying a funeral because of some nit picking, and ultimately the families we look after are the ones paying the bill, both mine and that of the crematorium.

If you’d have said that to me I’d find it funny, but then I’m a bloke in my mid 40’s and share your sense of humour. Mind you, if I said out loud what I was thinking half the time, I’d probably be arrested for hate crimes so I’m probably not the best judge in this instance.

 

[Springal]

BTW if we are taking this to the n’th degree, Facebook have banned all images of swastikas. So all the online modelling groups, and there are thousands of them, are having all their builds pictures removed by Facebook as the swastika is deemed offensive.
.

Really? What about the 'actual' meaning of the Swastika and the one you see plastered all over palaces, temples etc in Asia ?

'The Swastika is a sacred symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.[1] It is also a sign of spiritual purity. The swastika was a letter in the ancient Sanskrit language. It meant luck or well being.[1] It is also found on Byzantine buildings, Ancient Greek coinage and in Native American burial sites.[1]'