Funny thing just happened.

[All-American]

I was walking down a street in Chicago and came across a GLBT activist who asked me for a minute of my time. I had a 12:00 appointment to go to, so I told him he had a minute. He said that he was advocating for a pending bill which would make it illegal for employers to discriminate against prospective or current employees on the basis of sexual orientation. He pointed out a map of the United States, on which 29 states (Utah included) were in white, showing that in those states, it is still permissible to fire somebody just because they are gay. The guy said they were drumming up support because they knew that they would get resistance from "those grumpy old bastards" in certain named groups.

I mentioned that I might just be a member of one of the groups of those "grumpy old bastards." The look of horror that shot on his face was a little bit funny. He was extremely apologetic, and I told him not to worry about it; that I understood his frustration, and that I was at the very least sympathetic to the cause he was advocating and would happily take whatever literature he was handing out so I could study the issue out and decide whether or how to respond. He apologized again and we parted ways.

I made a mental note to myself to remember to tread carefully when speaking to strangers. Never know who's on the other side.

[wuapinmon]

I was walking down a street in Chicago and came across a GLBT activist who asked me for a minute of my time. I had a 12:00 appointment to go to, so I told him he had a minute. He said that he was advocating for a pending bill which would make it illegal for employers to discriminate against prospective or current employees on the basis of sexual orientation. He pointed out a map of the United States, on which 29 states (Utah included) were in white, showing that in those states, it is still permissible to fire somebody just because they are gay. The guy said they were drumming up support because they knew that they would get resistance from "those grumpy old bastards" in certain named groups.

I mentioned that I might just be a member of one of the groups of those "grumpy old bastards." The look of horror that shot on his face was a little bit funny. He was extremely apologetic, and I told him not to worry about it; that I understood his frustration, and that I was at the very least sympathetic to the cause he was advocating and would happily take whatever literature he was handing out so I could study the issue out and decide whether or how to respond. He apologized again and we parted ways.

I made a mental note to myself to remember to tread carefully when speaking to strangers. Never know who's on the other side.

I was at a party last Christmas. A man there who taught Spanish in the local high school on a 3-year visa was telling me about his job. He was very negative about the quality of the students. Fast forward to August. A friend who is a principal of a high school in the next county over called me and asked me if I knew this man and how I thought he would relate to their students. I was honest, and he didn't get the job.

Know your audience.

[creekster]

I was at a party last Christmas. A man there who taught Spanish in the local high school on a 3-year visa was telling me about his job. He was very negative about the quality of the students. Fast forward to August. A friend who is a principal of a high school in the next county over called me and asked me if I knew this man and how I thought he would relate to their students. I was honest, and he didn't get the job.

Know your audience.

You know, this little bit of advice goes a long ways toward keeping our little interweb community happy, too.