I got a written warning for saying this at work?

[SonOfVoorhees]

Ok, we all know certain comments are unacceptable in work and can cause offense. Racist, sexist and comments against ones gender and religion are all unacceptable. But what I said I dont think should have resulted in a warning unless your in an ultra PC work place where everyone is pathetic children with zero thickness of skin. Ok, are you ready to hear....will read...what i said? You sure? Should i add a NSFW warning?

Ok, in the paper that morning it said that ISIS had accused Russia of "a massacre" due to supposedly killing innocent people. An i just said that i cant believe a group like ISIS can claim that based on what they have done to people themselves.

Thats it. Just stated something from an article in the morning paper that i found unbelievable due to "pot calling kettle black" situation. I mean, i would find it amazing if a burglar was in the paper moaning due to being burgled. Or a racist complaining that they were receiving racist abuse.

So what do you think, was i in the wrong or a victim of the now ultra PC society that cant take a comment for what it is? By the way ive worked there almost 3 years which is why im pissed off.

 

[Zontar]

So you're telling me that calling a group who are perpetrators of genocide and are the Nazis of our time (in an invocation that doesn't apply Godwin's law due to not trivializing the holocaust but being a legitimately accurate description) out for Russia massacring people got you in trouble? That's insane.

 

[KyuubiNoKitsune-Hime]

I'm pretty sure that you received the warning for making a politically charged comment at work, less the fault of PC-policing, more that most work places would rather you leave your politics at the door. Either that, or a Muslim at your work place took criticism of ISIS as criticism of Islam and Muslim people. Perhaps a ISIS sympathizer you work with reported you, citing what you said as islamophobic. It's equally possible you stepped on someone's pro-Russian toes. At any rate without the exact details of the conversation, and how the coworker(s) you were conversing with reacted to what you said, it's hard to say. If what you said wasn't strictly against company policy though, I'd be looking to file a complain/appeal with your Manager's or Supervisor's boss(depending on who issued the warning), for unfair treatment.

 

[mduncan50]

I find that most people that get in trouble for something and then say "But all I said was", that that wasn't actually all they said.

 

[Sampler]

Maybe they're unpleased with your performance and are building a paper trail to dismiss you?

 

[Nickolai77]

If you work in a customer or client facing role, I don't think the management would approve of anyone talking about potentially inflammatory topics like politics or religion where they could be overheard. If you just work in an office or something though a written warning does seem like a bit of an over reaction, given the information you have told us that is.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Thats it. Just stated something from an article in the morning paper that i found unbelievable due to "pot calling kettle black" situation. I mean, i would find it amazing if a burglar was in the paper moaning due to being burgled. Or a racist complaining that they were receiving racist abuse.

That sort of thing happens all the time, people are very good at recognising faults in others (especially ones they themselves suffer because of), not so good at recognising it in themselves. Also, ISIS or someone speaking for them isn't necessarily wrong about something like that.

OTOH, a written warning is rather odd, though you've given us little information on the situation. I'd expect the devil was in the details, and I'm not sure what PC has to do with it either.

 

[Autumnflame]

i work in a factory and as long as your not attacking any individual at work your pretty much free to say what you like

 

[GeneralChaos]

Your examples of a burglar being robbed or a racist receiving abuse don't fit the situation, because in both cases the perpetrator is the one suffering. In this case, innocent civilians - not ISIS members - were targeted and massacred. That does not call for a flippant remark just because ISIS was the ones to bring attention to it. The deliberate death of civilians should always be noticed, mourned, and punished. It doesn't matter where they live.

 

[RedDeadFred]

I find that most people that get in trouble for something and then say "But all I said was", that that wasn't actually all they said.

What's the point of posting that on the internet? What does he have to gain? Do you think he's going to go to his HR department tomorrow, pull up this thread and go "see"?

OT: It's probably more that your work doesn't tolerate discussion of controversial issues. Otherwise, yes, that's ridiculous.

 

[KenAri]

Workplaces don't like employees making any political or religious comments at all. If there was an extremist behind you that got triggered and akbar'd the place up there on the spot, that's a lot of paperwork for corporate to file.

It not so much that anything you said was wrong or even distasteful, but offices aren't there for people to discuss controversial or sensitive topics; full stop. Conversations are limited to work projects, the rality TV show that aired the previous night, and the footie.

It'd be best not to contest this, to be honest. Ultimately it's a stupid system, but anything that might escalate down the road is something not fit for a workspace. It's best not to fight unreasonable people if said people have the power. Now sit down and get back to work, #16534.

 

[FirstNameLastName]

I find that most people that get in trouble for something and then say "But all I said was", that that wasn't actually all they said.

What's the point of posting that on the internet? What does he have to gain? Do you think he's going to go to his HR department tomorrow, pull up this thread and go "see"?

OT: It's probably more that your work doesn't tolerate discussion of controversial issues. Otherwise, yes, that's ridiculous.

Your post doesn't really gain you anything, neither does my post. It's just a form of socialization, so it's not like a post needs to have any kind of tangible improvement on the poster's life for them to post it.
As for why people would post heavily biased accounts of their real life problems, a lot of it comes down to validation. Often, people like to discuss and vent about some grievance they've had, and the parts that would paint the poster in a negative light are often left mysteriously absent. So yes, I actually agree, whenever I read someone's account of some conflict, especially on the internet, I'm generally skeptical that's I'm receiving a full picture of what actually happened that day.

Not saying the OP is being dishonest, just that you often can't really tell who was in the wrong when all you've been given is the account of one of the people involved.

 

[LetalisK]

There are a lot of things wrong with where I work. I'm glad this is not one of them. When you're dealing with people covered in their own fecal matter trying to fight you on a daily basis, concerns about discussing international politics goes out the window in a hurry.

 

[CaitSeith]

Did you ask around the office who had a problem with what you said and why? Is in the company work policy to avoid specific topics? As right as you are, there is someone more influential there that thinks otherwise. Try to solve that first, or the incident may repeat itself in the future.

 

[Creator002]

Absolutely avoid talking politics at work, even if they effect you personally.

This, and I'd chuck religion in too.
I've found that even genuinely asking people there political or religious views can make them defensive from the get-go.

That being said, I don't think you said anything deserving of a written warning.

 

[MHR]

Who's the victim of the statement? ISIS? Nobody should be giving a damn.

The substance of the discussions wasn't perfectly innocuous, but there was nothing inherently wrong with it. Someone's PC ticker may be on the fritz. Though it may not have much to do with anything specifically PC, discussing things remotely in that direction can in many cases set off alarms for no reason. It's to be expected.

 

[Phasmal]

Eh... I once got a written warning for something I didn't even do, so.. y'know. Warnings are kind of bullshit. If your boss wants to give you a warning, they will find a reason to.

My warning conversation went something like this:

Boss: So [x] bit of paperwork didn't get done.
Me: Yeah, I know.
Boss: And who was responsible for it that day?
Me: [Co-worker].
Boss: Ye-Wait what. (Checks paperwork) Oh. Well.... I'm still giving you a warning.
Me: ????????????????????????

 

[SecondPrize]

Ok, we all know certain comments are unacceptable in work and can cause offense. Racist, sexist and comments against ones gender and religion are all unacceptable. But what I said I dont think should have resulted in a warning unless your in an ultra PC work place where everyone is pathetic children with zero thickness of skin. Ok, are you ready to hear....will read...what i said? You sure? Should i add a NSFW warning?

Ok, in the paper that morning it said that ISIS had accused Russia of "a massacre" due to supposedly killing innocent people. An i just said that i cant believe a group like ISIS can claim that based on what they have done to people themselves.

Thats it. Just stated something from an article in the morning paper that i found unbelievable due to "pot calling kettle black" situation. I mean, i would find it amazing if a burglar was in the paper moaning due to being burgled. Or a racist complaining that they were receiving racist abuse.

So what do you think, was i in the wrong or a victim of the now ultra PC society that cant take a comment for what it is? By the way ive worked there almost 3 years which is why im pissed off.

Do you work for Al Qaeda? That's fucking weird. Does this mean that whoever complained is part of ISIS?

Or a third possibility is that the OP unintentionally used language that could reasonably be construed as Islamophobia or xenophobic towards russians.

In these situations people tend to focus more on the intent of what they said rather than the words that they actually used. Even if unintentional there could've been language used that could be reasonably seen as a bigoted slight.

We know what OP said. It's in his post.

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

Ok, we all know certain comments are unacceptable in work and can cause offense. Racist, sexist and comments against ones gender and religion are all unacceptable. But what I said I dont think should have resulted in a warning unless your in an ultra PC work place where everyone is pathetic children with zero thickness of skin. Ok, are you ready to hear....will read...what i said? You sure? Should i add a NSFW warning?

Ok, in the paper that morning it said that ISIS had accused Russia of "a massacre" due to supposedly killing innocent people. An i just said that i cant believe a group like ISIS can claim that based on what they have done to people themselves.

Thats it. Just stated something from an article in the morning paper that i found unbelievable due to "pot calling kettle black" situation. I mean, i would find it amazing if a burglar was in the paper moaning due to being burgled. Or a racist complaining that they were receiving racist abuse.

So what do you think, was i in the wrong or a victim of the now ultra PC society that cant take a comment for what it is? By the way ive worked there almost 3 years which is why im pissed off.

Number 1 lesson about any kind of thing like this, do not vomit your indignation onto the Internet until after HR have found in your favour. Other than that, I agree, total bollocks and take it your boss. If they don't care, take it to his boss or if you feel really screwed either directly to HR or your Union, if you're a member - otherwise find your local impartiality committee (if you have one).

 

[Shymer]

If you do not understand what it is you have been warned about, then you may wish to consider asking your manager or the person giving you the warning, or your HR team, or your nominated staff representative to clarify. A written warning sounds serious to me and I think it should deserve serious attention - that's what warnings are meant to do.

It is natural to feel like you're being treated like a child when someone criticises you formally at work. They are taking a very parental role and that can push people into feeling 'told off', which in turn can lead to confused acquiescence or rebellion - neither of which will be helpful to you. It might take time, self awareness and conversation with others to really understand the warning, why it was given, whether it was justified and then whether you will accept it as congruent with your beliefs.

The tone of your post seems angry. I am reading your phrase "pathetic children" as seeming to be a indicator that you, perhaps, are too heated to see clearly.

Seek first to understand, only then to be understood.

Either the warning was justified based on accepted rules of workplace conduct or it was not. If you are not clear on why it is justified, then this forum cannot help you. Perhaps the rules of conduct are not clear - perhaps they have been poorly applied - perhaps words have been misconstrued or misheard or misunderstood? Even if it was justified based on your workplace policies, you still may not agree with it. The warning may serve as an indication that you are not perfectly suited for the workplace environment you find yourself in. What you decide to do about that is up to you - but acting in the heat of the moment, or acting without understanding seems folly.

I would also urge you not to automatically consider this an example of an ultra-PC society. That seems to be taking an individual workplace incident (one moment in three years of work) and assigning it far-reaching scope.

I think most people consider themselves easy to get on with and inoffensive by nature towards people who are reasonable - and take pride in that. We hate being wrong and we hate losing. It comes as a bit of a shock when something we say upsets someone deeply by accident.

Anyway - best of luck getting to the bottom of it.