A note to the new folks. This is a workplace.

ZapBrannigan said:
You were right. No question about it. And I'm changing the subject with surprising regularity. Thankfully I'm also a varsity level slam clicker.

Only problem is that it's the cultural norm here to buy probationary FOs meals and the beverage of their choice.
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If you are varsity level slam clicker, then I was a pro...haha. A few times I went out with someone that would be rude to servers and that was enough for me. I'd rather not deal with how people are. Politics, religion, being rude. I just got tired of it really fast. I'd bend over backward for a probie but most wouldn't bring it up and I was guilty of not asking. Quite honestly, the newer guys did such a good job you didn't know they were newbs. The best Capts are the ones that take note of the problem Capts and make the choice to not be like that.
 
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The easiest way out of a political discussion, and trust me this usually works 90% of the time. You say "I'm not into politics and know nothing about it. It has never been interesting to me." Usually the person will get it and move on to something else because they are looking for an advocate to their political opinion and now know they wont be getting that from you. In the event the person says something stupid like "You should be" respond with "Hey, did you watch The Last of Us on HBO yet?" and if they say "No, I'm not into that stuff" respond back with "You should be, its amazing"
 
I'll talk about anything with anyone....for a finite amount of time. You wanna talk politics for 4 hours, no thanks. You wanna talk cars for 4 hours, no thanks. You wanna talk contract negotiations for 4 hours, no thanks. 30 mins on any of those as long as it doesn't escalate beyond a discussion I'm ok. If the body language of the other person changes then it's time to change subjects.
 
It’s amazing how many assumptions folks make about you based on demographics. I’m a bit left of Bernie and folks automatically think I’ll join in a little MAGA-cult worship session. I firmly believe the only safe topic in a cockpit is how much Collins avionics suck.
 
Thankfully I have rarely had anyone enter into political conversations at my shop, and when they do its on subjects that most anyone can agree on. The only time I had issue with a conversation was when I was jumpseating home on RPA and as soon as I sat down and started chatting with the captain. He asked where I was from, and it happened to be primary day in my home state. He told me he sure hoped I filled out my absentee ballot, and I said I didn't really care that much about who won. He then said I should cause the US was being ruined, or something along those lines. I just ignored him, and that was the extent of the conversation for the rest of the flight.

DropTank said:
Save the sex, politics, and religion until after duty time is over.

After duty time is over:
"You know, Trump had a lot of good thi-" *SLAM*..........*click*
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CFIT99 said:
that was a benefit of being Captain.... I didn't feel bad about calling out insane Qanon, Trump masturbation fantasy they had..
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There are probably just as many people that get tired of your "TRUMP IS LITERALLY HITLER!!!!!!" diatribes as well.
 
Jimmy_Norton said:
. He asked where I was from, and it happened to be primary day in my home state.
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That kind of stuff is infuriating. I live in California, I have to wince every time someone asks where I live because a solid majority of the time they’re like “oh, let me instantly give my opinion about your state.” There’s plenty of places I don’t care for, but I at least have decent enough manners to find something positive to say when someone tells me where they’re from (“oh, they have some good food there, really pretty hikes, etc”). Somehow bagging California is normal but if I instantly went “you’re from Ohio? Ohio sucks.” to their face they’d probably think I was a jackass.
 
JordanD said:
That kind of stuff is infuriating. I live in California, I have to wince every time someone asks where I live because a solid majority of the time they’re like “oh, let me instantly give my opinion about your state.” There’s plenty of places I don’t care for, but I at least have decent enough manners to find something positive to say when someone tells me where they’re from (“oh, they have some good food there, really pretty hikes, etc”). Somehow bagging California is normal but if I instantly went “you’re from Ohio? Ohio sucks.” to their face they’d probably think I was a jackass.
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100% this. I live in NYC and about 30% of initial interactions at work involve some sort of “the crime! The taxes! What’s wrong with you!” Usually followed by some not so thinly veiled racism. There are lots of places I wouldn’t want to live but would never tell that to someone from there within minutes of meeting them. It hasn’t really decreased since upgrade either. Slam clicking has never felt so good.
 
JordanD said:
That kind of stuff is infuriating. I live in California, I have to wince every time someone asks where I live because a solid majority of the time they’re like “oh, let me instantly give my opinion about your state.” There’s plenty of places I don’t care for, but I at least have decent enough manners to find something positive to say when someone tells me where they’re from (“oh, they have some good food there, really pretty hikes, etc”). Somehow bagging California is normal but if I instantly went “you’re from Ohio? Ohio sucks.” to their face they’d probably think I was a jackass.
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Nah, Ohio gets shamed all the time. We are used to it...

killbilly said:
This needs to be led from the left seat. There's too much of a power imbalance between new people and leadership. At least, in my org, this would need to be led from the left seat. I can't speak to yours, but I suspect it would be most effective that way.
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Good luck. The left seat just emboldens a lot of people. Especially the people that want to exclusively talk about their conspiracies or political opinions.

SlumTodd_Millionaire said:
Man, you people must have really boring cockpits.

While I agree that nobody should be disparaging any racial, ethnic, etc. group for obvious reasons, there isn't any reason that people can't discuss things like politics in the cockpit. If you don't want to discuss it, then just say so when the other person brings it up. But a whole lot of people enjoy discussing that stuff, even with people they disagree with, so the idea that they shouldn't ever bring it up is nuts.
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The problem is that the quality of political conversations are extremely low. Not everyone wants to be a respectful interlocutor. Hell, the way it gets brought up tends to be via anger. Remember Todd, you haven't been flying during MAGA's existence. The loud and obnoxiousness of Trump has certainly rubbed off on many people. They think it is a virtue. I have literally had CAs walk into the flight deck complaining about Biden before even introducing themselves.

The other quality problem is the lack of evidence that can be produced during such a conversation. Claims can easily be made but evidence cannot be produced without breaking airline policy. Good arguments require a good foundation.
 
I don’t mind talking about things (I could care less about sports, which definitely puts me in a minority and that’s all most people seem to care about). I’ll listen but once you go full tilt MAGA, I’m less likely to listen. And that cuts both ways obviously, but I’ve found that especially at a legacy, the left seat leans way far right and they’re happy to spout off ad nauseam.

I even let the guy who tried to “save my soul” go on and on somewhere over the Rockies continue until he’d had enough. People are fascinating to me, I might go back to school for a psych degree!

But Zaps point is “ be cautious and know your audience” and some folks just can’t wrap their head around the concept. When I was in the left seat, I’d either let the other person start first ( goes for cursing too, while rare,some folks are not comfortable with it) and then let them go. One reason we have so many problems is that we’ve lost the ability to discuss things.
 
Jimmy_Norton said:
There are probably just as many people that get tired of your "TRUMP IS LITERALLY HITLER!!!!!!" diatribes as well.
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Welp, the entirety of the thread went right over your head, WOOSH!!
(caution, wake turbulence)

I don't bring up politics in the cockpit.

Because I don't act like an undermedicated 12 year old.

(and I would never insult Hitler like that)
((it's just rude for even him))
 
Maurus said:
Good luck. The left seat just emboldens a lot of people. Especially the people that want to exclusively talk about their conspiracies or political opinions.
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I haven’t done this. So you’re saying as a Capt it’s open season on ranting against California and Democrats to unsuspecting FOs? :)
 
Cherokee_Cruiser said:
“So if you have 45 minutes, I’d like to talk to you about the Lord Jesus Christ.”


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All I said was that an upgrade "emboldens a lot of people." At no time did I say it was "open season" or that every CA does this.

EDIT: While it would be great for a company to mold their CAs toward specific goals many CAs like to believe they know better. Type A people being put into a position of authority doesn't always work as expected.
 
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