To be considering reporting a colleague?

[missmaryp]

I have just recieved an email from a work colleague, from and to a work addres (local authority) and I find it highly offensive. I can't believe in the organisation we work she would send this on. Well I can't believe it's been sent full stop really as I find it racist.

Am I over-reacting to be considering reporting this email?? A big part of me doesn't want to get the lady 'in to trouble', but another part of me is annoyed she would ever think it's ok to forward this.

Here is the email:

YOU SEE MY FRIENDS IT AINT JUST ME WHO IS PISSED RIGHT OFF WITH ALL THESE "CORRECT WAY TO LIVE AND DO AS I SAY NAZIS" TELLING ME WHAT HOW I SHOULD LIVE MY LIFE.

TAKE A READ!

This should be required reading for every man, woman and child in the UK , United States of America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand etc.

"I'm 55+ and I'm Tired"

I'm 65+. Except for brief period in the 50's when I was doing my National Service, I've worked hard since I was 17. Except for some serious health challenges, I put in 50-hour weeks, and didn't call in sick in nearly 40 years. I made a reasonable salary, but I didn't inherit my job or my income, and I worked to get where I am. Given the economy, it looks as though retirement was a bad idea, and I'm tired. Very tired.

I'm tired of being told that I have to "spread the wealth" to people who don't have my work ethic. I'm tired of being told the government will take the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to people too lazy to earn it.

I'm tired of being told that Islam is a "Religion of Peace," when every day I can read dozens of stories of Muslim men killing their sisters, wives and daughters for their family "honour"; of Muslims rioting over some slight offence; of Muslims murdering Christian and Jews because they aren't "believers"; of Muslims burning schools for girls; of Muslims stoning teenage rape victims to death for "adultery"; of Muslims mutilating the genitals of little girls; all in the name of Allah, because the Qur'an and Shari'a law tells them to.

I'm tired of being told that out of "tolerance for other cultures" we must let Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries use our oil money to fund mosques and mandrassa Islamic schools to preach hate in Australia, New Zealand, UK, America and Canada, while no one from these countries are allowed to fund a church, synagogue or religious school in Saudi Arabia or any other Arab country to teach love and tolerance.

I'm tired of being told I must lower my living standard to fight global warming, which no one is allowed to debate.

I'm tired of being told that drug addicts have a disease, and I must help support and treat them, and pay for the damage they do. Did a giant germ rush out of a dark alley, grab them, and stuff white powder up their noses or stick a needle in their arm while they tried to fight it off?

I'm tired of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers and politicians of all parties talking about innocent mistakes, stupid mistakes or youthful mistakes, when we all know they think their only mistake was getting caught. I'm tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or poor.

I'm really tired of people who don't take responsibility for their lives and actions. I'm tired of hearing them blame the government, or discrimination or big-whatever for their problems.

Yes, I'm damn tired. But I'm also glad to be 55+... Because, mostly, I'm not going to have to see the world these people are making. I'm just sorry for my granddaughters and their children.

There is no way this will be widely publicised, unless each of us sends it on!

This is your chance to make a difference.

" I'm 55+ and I'm tired.

If you don't forward this you are part of the problem".

It's hardly 1.5 hours though, is it?

Two minutes to make the initial post, maybe 30 seconds to check and make each response.

Mind you, I would also have expected my local authority employer to have blocked such sites. Sounds like the OPs employers expects people to be responsible without nannying them.

You did the right thing.

Izzywizzy at you.

Eric, Local Authority employee on her lunch break.

Understand how you feel OP. I regularly get horrid things like this from a friend's DH and really don't like them but am concerned about the knock-on effects of telling him. My delete key is getting a lot of use atm!

Glad you have dealt with it.

missmaryp - quote "Ok, you're right, racist was the wrong term to use. I meant anti-islamic and at the very least uncharitable!

It does offend me personally, as I am very liberal."

I can't see how objecting to this material in the manner you did makes you a liberal!!! You've got views and opinions that are opposed to those expressed in the email but they're certainly not liberal -anything but.

@ Izzy: I didn't mention goats but if I had one, I wouldn't be making curry with it.

I wanted a goat from an RSPCA centre once but my sister rightly pointed out that it wasn't really feasible seeing as I lived in an upstairs flat.

Slimfast

I'd reported it. Our internet rules mean we could be disciplined for not reporting it.

I would have reported it

If it is proven to have come from her, then I'd report her. Let's be honest, if the letter was from a Muslim spouting hateful things about Western Christians then it wouldn't be tolerated, it would be seen as extremism.

Miniature goat, balcony and astroturf gallic? I want a full size goat, a camel, ducks, chickens, geese, and bees but I only have a small inner city garden to call my own

Commiserations Eric Are you abstaining from real food for a worthy cause such as a forthcoming beach holiday?

Gissabreak - I understand your point but I believe one of the fundamental tenets of a liberal democracy is to respect the rights of others to hold alternative views to yours. (leaving aside the workplace issue and whether the email sender does or does not actually hold these opinions.)
I feel that applying the 'ultimate sanction' of threat of dismissal is extreme and very illiberal.
The OP hasn't said that the expression of ANY political views in the workplace is wrong - she is only objecting to the expression of these particular views because they are at odds with her personal opinions.
That, to my mind, is entirely wrong and suugests that the OP would happily endorse the promotion of political views with which she agreed.
That is very illiberal.

I can't see how objecting to this material in the manner you did makes you a liberal!!! You've got views and opinions that are opposed to those expressed in the email but they're certainly not liberal -anything but

An illiberal liberal :o

AIBU to think that telling the boss before checking the email wasn't hacked etc was not in the liberal tradition?

Can one person not speak to another, without involving their boss? I think that if you've got a problem with someone, your first port of call should be to them, not to go running to your boss.

Imo, your colleague has the right to hold any view she wants. If you don't like it, say so directly to her or ignore it. Freedom of speech means hearing things you don't like or agree with, but if you suppress it, then you no longer have freedom of speech.

To be blunt, she should have just dealt with it herself. Send an email to the originator saying you don't want any similar emails sent to you and forget about it.
Accept other people hold different views, and their entitlement to do so, and move on with your life.
If you disagree enough to do something political in response (ie joining Amnesty or something) then good for you but don't try and get people disciplined or sacked - it's just really shitty and perpetuates the view of council employees as small-minded eejits, with too much time on their hands spent on PC nonsense instead of doing their actual jobs, working in the last bastion of the peoples republic of old Labour.
You know the motto of local authority - "think local - act mental"

karma - it's different if you are using LA tools to spread views that are inconsistent with the values of the authority - and this mail def. would. It's reportable.
Am still doubtful if it's authentic though.

It's not just an issue confined to LAs. Many private sector employers have rules about what is appropriate content for emails sent to work addresses. People have been sacked for sending 'jokes'. If you want to have a private conversation use private email.

indeed evenless - just saying that bit as the OP, I think, works in a LA. There's a rsponsibility to treat all members of the public fairly, and this indicates the writer is someone who may not do that.

Pan - the 'authority' is not a moral arbiter. I think the views that are 'consistent' with their 'values' change according to who is in power, so although it is unlikely, it is not impossible, that those views may at sometime be in accordance with those of an authority.
It seems quite likely that no employer would endorse staff emails of ANY political bias - but a reasonable person doesn't try and get a colleague in the poo for this sort of nonsense.

I think that so long a person does their job and doesn't allow their politics to interfere with doing their job properly, then it is not relevant that they hold a different personal view or have used LA tools to pass on their views. The LA has to be fair to all employees, so it may be better to say that work computers are for work and all personal stuff should be done at home.

Once you go down the route of saying that it's okay to publicly state some views but not others, it's the thin end of the wedge and before you know it, you live in a country where only state sanctioned views are acceptable. Kiss goodbye to freedom of speech. That means you could be up shit creek, depending on who is running the state.

no, the authority isn't being a moral arbiter. They say 'here are our values re equal treatment - if you transgress them you could be open to disciplinary procedures'. That's pretty clear.

Pan - quote - "indeed evenless - just saying that bit as the OP, I think, works in a LA. There's a rsponsibility to treat all members of the public fairly, and this indicates the writer is someone who may not do that."

I don't think you can make such a leap of assumption, otherwise I could properly argue that you and the OP, are expressing difficulties in accepting that members of the public may well hold similar views to those in the email -and may not treat those people fairly?

I think it's okay to say that this person may not treat people equally. The views of the public are not releavant here as they are not the ones providing theservice.

no, the authority isn't being a moral arbiter. They say 'here are our values re equal treatment - if you transgress them you could be open to disciplinary procedures'. That's pretty clear.

You have no evidence that the emailer has broken those rules at all. Neither you nor the OP are judge and jury and hopefully, you won't find yourself singled out for expressing the 'wrong' opinions either.
I'm sure there are plenty of other LA busybodies waiting to trip you up.