How to respond when someone is ranting about politics

[365names]

Apart from STFU.

Nice guy but rants about local government and politics wasting resources. I don’t want to say shut up but would ideally like some suggestions of how to curtail the rant or close it down.

I’ve tried - if you feel so strongly as apparently our entire political system needs reform and there should be no parties just independents

• tried what is your solution?
• tried if you feel so strongly I suggest you stand for government yourself
• tried explaining it is a flawed system but better than most countries and asked him to explain a better system.

yesterday was a classic -

discussing slavery by the British.
of course it’s not right but I don’t know enough history did we really do that much wrong. Yes slavery is wrong but the British brought the slaves from other west African leaders. The parents of the slaves sold them to these tribes - that’s what is wrong. have these west African leaders been reprimanded?

me - no you are wrong. Most families did not sell their own children into slavery. But let’s stick to the British dealing in slaves - that was wrong. on repeat.

him- We were just doing what other countries were doing. Money changed hands but it wasn’t viewed as wrong then. Let’s go back to the families that sold their children that’s what wrong.

20 minutes of a monologue about that. me just repeating stick to what the British government did - over and over. But avoided the question. - I’m pretty sure this wasn’t a racism issue.

if felt that a NAMALT argument. A bit like when you talk about violence against women and someone goes on about violence of women to women etc or discussed a case of the woman in the media murdering her partner.

then he’s back to corruption in local government - try to talk about independent monitoring and transparency and then he starts ranting about corruption in fifa

writing it down it sounds stupid this is someone I work with - I don’t want to tell him to shut up but how do you deal with people like this?

is it a man thing? Or a person thing? or do I just need to be better informed

any simple one line statements to

1. stop him jumping from one to the next to the next in terms of topic
2. yesterday I felt like saying do you want a tape recorder as it wasn’t a discussion in the group just him ranting from one to the next to the next

another colleague who said something like ‘bring back Roman forums but without the slaves and women not being being allowed to speak - his response is to say ‘I agree with that’ which sounds so condescending.

we don’t want to exclude him, he is very intelligent and I don’t want to stop a discussion or walk away -but it is becoming draining - any one got any ideas-

I cut him off yesterday and said ‘you’ve spoken for an hour - anyone else want to talk’ - and someone started talking about work

he just monologues on and on.

but any one liners or tips for reigning them in ?

• have changed details and topics so please don’t add anything specific more like general strategies

Hi Op

I know someone exactly the same, kind of character,

I think the reason these types of characters bang on(rant on aisbout Political stuff ect like this, is essentially they are just not happy in their own lives,they are emotionally unfilled or and insecure and feel in their own lives they haven't got much autonomy agency in better themselves or changing . Circumstances.

So they look outside themselves project their unfilled restless. ThemsePolitically people somewhat/or a lot...

In reality they have got agency/autonomy to change their life, but they could be too lazy apathetic or and depressed 😔

Less face it there's a lot Politically ect we could all or lot of us rant on about

There's a bloke in the pub who rants on about the evil Tories , how great labour is, incidentally he's on the sick and has not worked for 2 decades because of anxiety.

He also works cash in hand helping my landscape gardener mate

Also think it's can be more socially acceptable/easier to rant about stuff politically in certain situations too, than to look at yourself and see what changes to make in your life,

Especially if your life is emotional strained tensions...

As someone who is also very concerned and has varying amounts of knowledge about those issues, I would be inclined to go and put the kettle on.

Inappropriate topics for work colleagues.

I like a good rant about politics but never at work.

Oops another typo mistake

ment to say they project their restless unfilled unhappy Insecure souls themselves on unspecting people ...

Set an egg timer up for 5 minutes when he starts to talk. When the buzzer goes off he has to stop. 🤣

Please explain further what you do.

What have the Romans ever done for us anyway ?

She doesn’t need to. It has no relevance to the question.

Two things that should never be discussed at work are politics and religion.

Rant back usually

Is this what passes for conversation when sat in a car staking out a suspect/benefit claimant's house?

You could always try the tried and tested method of 'Mate, if you don't shut up about politics, I am going to have to kill you and that is wayyyy too much paperwork'.

Hi OP if he is OK to talk to when not ranting, I might choose a time when he's not 'off on one' and say 'can I ask you about something, I like your company but sometimes when you talk politics it gets intense and it feels uncomfortable, if in future I just change the subject or don't respond, I hope that's not going to seem rude.' The thing is when people are ranting they're all activated and in their threat system and not easy to reason with, but away from the time, some feedback might actually help them unhook from the stuff that feels threatening. Its fight or flight stuff really. People react to the politics as an existential threat because they feel a lack of control or safety. And ime there's usually past reasons they are easily activated and triggered. There is absolutely no point doing it during though. Otherwise I would just go for a relatively pleasant and caring subject change 'can I get you a cup of tea', 'how was your birthday', again its deactivating the threat system.

We are the critical emergency response team waiting for the alien invasion.

In answer to your question - it’s irrelevant. So no, I won’t.

No suitable to put headphone in, a timer might be appropriate …….

No stalking involved in our jobs.

No alcohol available either.

OK we can guess then.
You are a fireman waiting for fires?
You are an emergency archaeologist?
You are a standby groomer to dogs for the aristocracy?

Either you find the discussion interesting (in which case you make your points calmly and with examples). Or you don’t, in which case don’t give him airtime. Just walk off or tell him you have work to do.

You aren’t obligated to listen to this. At some level you must be engaging with him or he wouldn’t bother.

I would either;-
Get on with some actual work
Pretend to be doing some work
Get up and go and make a drink/ go to the toilet/go and chat to a colleague in another office
If you can’t leave current work room turn to another colleague and ask how was your weekend/ have you booked a holiday this year/did you see X program last night?
Basically just act like he’s not spoken.

If you don't explain the exact situation then how are people meant to come up with solutions to the problem.

If you are literally trapped in a space with this bugger during your personal, unpaid, free time (let's assume it's a nuclear submarine in the Atlantic) can you not just put on headphones, listen to an audio book, knit, read, anything?

Jesus I find it hard enough to have to talk to colleagues when I'm paid to spend time with them. Bending my ear constantly during my own free time would lead to fisticuffs pretty quickly.

Have you not reported him for benefit fraud?

We don't need to know the OPs job. If someone at work is engaging in such monologues, there are some possibilities. Possibly but I think unlikely a mental health issue, possibly neurodiversity of some form (again unlikely), and the other one is if persistent and has been asked to stop, harassment.

Hope that speaking to him about this can have results though. You don't have to be friends with work colleagues, but work should be a pleasant place.

We have someone like this at work only she rants re politics via team messages. It’s very exhausting and not work related. We do not respond as it adds fuel to her fire.

Silence. Literally say nothing in reply