I started a job at a sawmill and at first things were good, it seemed liek the group I was working with was a good bunch of folks but a couple of things have stood out to me.
-
This sweet older lady that I was shadowing for the first day, we were joking and talking the whole day and i thought she was just a really nice person. And then one day I overhear her in the lunch room saying "they just don't deserve to live honestly" when referring to addicts, like wtf? how can someone be so pleasant and then turn around and say something so barbaric.
-
I was shadowing another guy who seemed friendly and we were getting along well, and then one time while a group of us were standing around just talking, he was complaining lightheartedly about his wife when he starts dropping bombs like: "Best place for a woman is in the kitchen" and "A woman looks best behind a vacuum" there were more but I don`t remember cause I was honestly shocked.
I was looking forward to getting to know the people here and getting in on the group dynamic but now im not sure if im gonna be able to stand anyone here lol, so far it was only these two but going forward I want to be able to counter reactionary bullshit like this when I hear it. Chapos how do you counter this shit when you come across it without pissing off your coworkers?
Only start challenging them when you've become part of the work culture imo. Once you have respect they'll respect what you'll say, but if they don't then you might just make them think you're annoying. But once you're in a position where you can push back,
Don't get emotional. Even if someone's saying something abhorrent, just casually ask questions socraticly, or maybe laugh a little if they say something particularly stupid, but never go beyond that.
If you don't know something say "I don't know" or "Hmm, good point, I'll have to look into that" instead of floundering, trying to own them. If they make a good point acknowledge it, find common ground where you can, and try to make the agreed upon aspect line up with your political vision.
A good concept for Americans is the concept of positive liberty vs negative liberty. More effective as a starting point than any European or socialist sounding words. Also, in general try to formulate things in your own words instead of using slogans and words that people recognize and have built up readymade responses to.
It's also important to note that if they're in the minority with their beliefs, you can just bully them relentlessly with other co-workers. I worked in a shop with one racist MAGA dude and we just mocked him.