I say nothing at work regarding religion but as soon as I hear someone mention that zombie Jew Jesus, I give them both barrels. :) Needless to say people have learned to steer clear of me when talking about zombies. HA!
I feel this way sometimes at work about my sexuality. I've never talked about it, but my car does have a gay sticker on it, and once a coworker noticed me wearing a rainbow "pride" wristband and asked me what it said.
Generally speaking, things like politics, sexuality, and religion have no room in the workplace and it bothers me that people assume that it's ok to strike up conversations (or send emails) about them.
Hi frisbeesANDflipflops, it is definetly great to see that you are now thinking for yourself. As a fellow human being I would like to ask you, please don't stop with what you have found, there is infinitely more to discover. You need to find out who you REALLY are. For that, however, you need to continue to be ever truer to yourself first and foremost. Don't hold yourself too much to the "atheist thing," that too is a belief. You need to truly think for yourself.
um usually ignore forwards, especially cheesy Christian ones that usually have no theological back-up or are forceful of there beliefs, but i usually ignore all forwards anyway and i am Christian
lol sounds like you handled it very well frisbees and flipflops, i just delete all forwards automatically just as i would advertisements and other spam, religious or otherwise.
I am a christian but I really enjoy your videos, thanks for posting many thought provoking things here on youtube. Have a nice day.
I'm confused...you shouldn't talk about masturbation at work? I mean, of course I wouldn't talk about masturbating at work with a co-worker, but why not talk about masturbating? If I hadn't talked about masturbation, I would never have known that the guy working next to me was into midget porn.
Much easier to simply delete. No fuss, no muss. Nobody really cares what other people believe in or don't believe in.
Anything from Obama-worshippers or believers in the new global-warming religion gets the quick boot from me. No need to correct the mind-numbed robots. Though not a Christian, religious junk e-mail is no more offensive to me than that crap. Just delete - not worth the time or thought..
Well I'm an atheist working at a catholic school so religion is my work...sucks. I have to lead prayer before every class and have a mass (waste of time) every week.
I'm so glad I'm self employed now, and free from office BS.
Anyway, when I began working, I felt like I had to prove myself so I kept busy and avoided office frivolity and gossip. They never included me in their "put prayer back in school" type of emailings. When the issue came up, I just told them "I'm a science person, not a religion person." I like to put it that way because it identifies me with something, rather than against something. They didn't dare debate me on this. They knew better
It sounds like you handled it pretty well. My thing is to not bring it up unless somebody else does. Then, I'll tell them I'm an atheist and don't believe anymore (I used to be a Christian). It doesn't come up much at work since I work at a restaurant and we're constantly busy. But that's my thing...
to suggest there is something fundamentally wrong with me because i don't follow *your* beliefs is quite insulting. what if i suggested you're an incomplete human being because you're a republican or because you favor one philosopher over another or because you believe in a religion of "don't"s and ARE COMPLETELY WASTING YOUR LIFE?
insulting, right?
maybe you should think about how you would take the "there's something terribly lacking in your life" commment before using it.
In my very brief existence as cattle on a cube farm, I actually had an interaction like this. Instead of religion it was about race, but it was still nice to inform my coworker that I did not hold the same outdated opinions that they did. They had no... choice to accept it and move on. Though, we never spoke again. :)
I don't get much of the christian influence at work but our code of conduct specifically asks not to speak of religion or lack thereof in the workplace.
There are exceptions like an invite to someone's kid's baptism or something but they are relegated to the staff board in the lunch room.
One christian @ work had a knack for yelling "God damn it!" loudly in frustration. At break I pointed out the hypocrisy to him. He tried to bring our convo to HR and ended up on a leave of absence as a result.
My god-free status at work was declared, but for no particular reason. No big deal, I thought but over the next month I had several of my co-workers come over and ask why. Why don't you believe in God?" It is hard to give a good answer without appearing to try to influence other's beliefs. Hey, Just keep it simple. It worked for me.
I have a similar situation, but instead of it being a coworker, she is my mother-in-law. Its a bit complicated since I was a christian when I married Steve (and so was he) but now we are both atheists. He hasn't told his mother but the e-mails are seriously every day. I do want to be direct and to the point so the annoying "Pray for me" e-mails will stop but I don't think it's my place, or even if I can. Anyone?
i asked my dad and stepmom to stop sending me religious email forwards after the first one i received post-"coming out". when the second one came, i asked again that i be taken off their religious forwarding list. when the third one came, i blocked their email.
if they need to contact me, there's always the phone.
i could see how the in-laws might be a little more complicated. all i can say is that if i were in your position i would tell her i wasn't religious anymore and ask that she stop
if you don't want to come out as an atheist, you could always say that you have a problem with email forwards clogging up your inbox and could she not send you *any* forwards?
The only workplace I ever had problems with of that sort was a stint years ago temping at Prison Fellowship Ministries (Chuck Colson's outfit). I resolved matters in much the same way, but I think everyone involved was happier when I moved on.
god Ive missed your wit and charm! The country is becoming increasingly partisan and divided between radicals and extremists on both sides. The direct approach is the best approach as you said.
My reaction to your email is just: "woah! you take email forwards too seriously!" My religious friends sometimes send me those, I know that they mean well with sappy messages about God's love sent to all their friends, and I usually skim and delete. Sounds like it went well enough for you though.
Wonderful video, well thought out and should give many of we atheists alternative ways to deal with this commons problem. I love the "Masturbation" comment. It is right on target.
It depends on the dynamic of the work place. It was made known vicariously through Facebook about my second week into work. They never challenged me on it and the owners were hard core born again Christians and McCain lovers.
In fact I got promoted a month after starting and promoted again 3 months later.
I got an email at work about how the united states mint was printing money without "In God We Trust" (I don't even know if this is true), and about how only 3% of Americans are atheist and how they shouldn't be allowed to force their godless beliefs on the majority (forward to 10 people if you think atheists should keep their beliefs to themselves).
What did I do? Nothing. I was new, didn't want to cause trouble, and didn't even know the person who sent it.
I am pleased by the civil and courteous way you handled the situation. You took the most logical and ethical course of action.
P.S. You may not remember my earlier text comment from before, but I still say in a Hungarian accent: "Children of the night. Vhat a mess they make!" ;-)
I think the main problem here is that it was a chain-letter. Though they are usually not unsolicited, they are almost as bad as spam. Most of them are completely pointless and just stealing bandwidth. Forwarding chain-letters is against company policy many places, I believe.
My reaction is usually to just delete them immediately. I rarely even read them since they are so easy to spot - often by looking at the subject alone.
I think it's best just to scream "GOD IS DEAD!" loud enough to be heard throughout the entire office when confronted with anything remotely religious at work. That way there's no need to get HR involved. ; )
And I've always found that awkward moments can be resolved by mentioning or doing something even more awkward. It gives you great perspective on how awkward the previous moment really was in comparison. :-D Or they may just start avoiding you altogether thus saving you any further awkward moments.
I certainly agree, dealing with it face to face and quickly is typically the best course of action to follow. As you said, the written word can often be misunderstood, especially by a co-worker.
I've actually had a religious run-in at work as well, but being polite yet direct, I was able to resolve the situation and not get anyone's panties in a bunch.
I used to work for a health insurance company, you have my sympathy. The smalltalk by the copier (in my case the tea machine) was, and is still, my biggest nightmare. Why is it always MY duty to force the meaningless conversation... meh i got fired :) P.S actually it was a "mutual termination of my contract" ha! A win for me!
Your approach is the one that's worked best for me - if something needs to be said, be polite, direct, and friendly about things. I've had a couple of people get pissy about my godlessness, but I always behave calmly and rationally, and besides - the other person was always the one who brought religion into the workplace...
I would have replied to her, and replaced the word "God", with "Satan", colored that word red, bold it, and bump the size up a few pixels...
>=)
Nooooo!!! I would never do that!
Actually, what I would probably do is take that as an opportunity to try to open a debate with her about it. If she complained about it, I would pull her email out and then do what you did.
I work with a bunch of mexicans. So every work vehicle I drive inevitably has a picture of jesus somewhere. Without even thinking about it, I took one of these down as I was driving and the guy I was working with blew a gasket.
Suddenly our work truck was a crash waiting to happen and no amount of skill on my part could ever drive the truck as well as that 3x5 picture of jesus can.
And before anyone starts, no I am not racist, I've just noticed that most mexicans are pretty religious.
I work for a government agency and any forwards must be reported. However I tend to let my co-workers know just in casual conversation my lack of beliefs pretty quickly so they usually already know before such a situation occurs.
I have the greatest job ever, I'm a PhD student studying moral psychology and the psychology of religion and politics.
But I'm a joint student at a business school as well. When I'm at the psych department, everyone is open about their nonbelief, but in the business school the waters are much more difficult to navigate. Usually I just let it be known that 'of course I'm an atheist' and that I study religion as a natural phenomenon (borrowing DD's term) and people at the office get the hint.
What I do is tell them where there religion came from and how it is borrowed from earlier myths.Not only do they cease and desist but they avoid me =D
You kick in the door with guns blazing. Combat roll to the nearest water-cooler and reload. Roll a frag through the door to your right and sprint down the hallway in front of you. Take a second to make sure your cigar's still lit because no badass can G.I. the workplace without a Cuban burning between their lips. Kick in the door to your left. Kick in the closet door behind that door. Piss on that door just to make sure the doors are catching on. Find the lady's desk and torch it. That'll do it.
Good good. I was hoping there was some kind of misunderstanding. I wasn't sure how to respond to being called a pig lol.
To shed some light on the actual video, I work with some very religious people. If they ever ask me questions (which they haven't thus far), I'll answer honestly. I enjoy telling people I'm an atheist though. Their reactions are priceless. "What? Really? Sorry to hear that..." Hah! I always chuckle and go on about my business. I think you were classy in your response IMO.
Welcome back Nikki...weve missed your smiling face! I'm a finish carpenter and when I told the "boys" at work that I am an Atheist,a few hard-core christians made fun of me until I jumped in their face.The forman,who was a friend,said he agreed with me and that helped allot.Christians are afraid of the unknown and feel threatened when someone questions their make-beliefs.Make more Vids Nikki! : )
I have missed you so much. I need to get a twitter account to I can keep up with what you have been doing, but as a whole, thanks for making this video and you rock. Its really good to see you come back.
Wooo! Welcome back. I was wondering what ever happened to you. As for your story I think you handled it well. You're just lucky you were dealing with Seattleites. If the same thing was to happen in the parts if Mississippi or Texas I used to live in I doubt it would have gone so smoothly.
This is why I've always wanted to start up an atheist forwarded message. Nothing offensive ... just a bright-eyed, sun-shiny message about the joys of not having to ask an imaginary spaceman to shape my destiny favorably. And then send it out to everyone, especially Christians who send forwarded religious messages.
Oh, and if you don't forward it to 10 people within the next 10 minutes, nothing will happen.
Yes, I think you handled it beautifully as well. I had received a god themed email from my ex's mother, and I nipped it in the bud. I very politely asked her to exclude me from emails that aren't personally addressed to me, and she replied with an "OK." I do the same when my friends/family on the Right Wing send politically charged emails. They're unwelcome, and I'm not interested. :) Nice to see a new post! I've been waiting for your next installment of insight and humor! :)
I'm an IT guy i always just say i don't believe in magic and if they don't get the point then i just say i'm an Atheist. And i leave it at that but if they go further i explain.
i have the same problem, being an arab, people just assume you are religious, or should be, and majority are muslims, so imagine the number of emails i get everyday, and how im getting burnt in hell if i dont forward the email! it sucks
hey frisbeesANDflipflops, I like your videos a lot. I wouldn't call myself an atheist... more agnostic I guess. I believe in the church of 'i don't know' so I can't say there is or is not a god. Anyway, you seem real genuine and cool and I wish you the best with your videos and discussions = ) -- mike
I find the part about your co-worker praying that God makes you successful at your job very offensive. As if people aren't able to become successful on their own without God's help.
Personally, I would have walked up to the person with a megaphone, turned it up full blast, hold right in their ear and say, "I don't want to find anymore of your religious bullshit in my e-mail. Capiche?!" But you handled it very well.
I used to work for my dad's company for over 2 years in a small office environment.
Every day, his policy was religious radio in every room (on an intercom system), religious propaganda on the waiting room table for patients, religious comments frequently to employees and patients alike.
He knew I was atheist and didn't care. Several patients complained that they didn't want to hear that crap and he didn't care.
Not much you can do in a small business whose HR dept. is the religious boss!
The people in my team at my old job were all Catholic, Protestant or Muslim. They often talked about their respective take on things. Thing is, they were all utterly reprehensible. Im glad I was never challenged on theism in any sense else I'd probably have had to leave that job. Sooner.
I think you handled this quite well, and I hope atheists around the world can do the same when confronted with similar situations. The notion that the deity described in the Judeo-Christian bible is somehow "good" is offensive to a growing number of thinking individuals. It would be cool if more Christians realized that, though they are free to practice their faith privately, they are not immune to criticism when they bring it into the workplace or the public arena.
I work for a company that works for the government. Any prostelatizing(sp?) would get whomever attempted to do so in trouble, so I think I'm safe. Personally I would have just deleted the e-mail I doubt everyone she sent it to felt compelled to send it back.
People that email me know I respond to what I want, when I want, when it comes to these kinds of emails. But I don't discourage any senders because I do find something useful in some of these messages, although it's usually not in the literal text of the mail. Like you, I take it as someone wishing me well, and at some point, I will wish them well in return, in my own way.
I have never had a religious experience at work, but I have had someone try to convert me at university. I'm somewhat confrontational with these things so I tried to deconvert him haha, but he couldn't comprehend most of what I was saying so it was a pointless exchange.
I'm used to that kind of situations because I live in GA. I don't know a single person who doesn't play the Baptist social game of I'm more Christian than you. It will almost make you believe that Hell does exist and you're in it. LOL
I have had family and friends forward unwanted emails to me. I have found that the direct approach pretty much works although in my case it probably cost friendship and offended them as much as it offended me. Most people just don't think it through and assume that everyone shares their views and or beliefs. I guess that I am off their Xmas list's now....
I just discovered your videos today and have watched many of them. So Über cool that you suddenly post a video today, when it's been a year since the last vid!! :P
My story is not so far away from yours, which is maybe the reason i stumbled over this stuff. Anyway.. Preach it woman, spread the words!! :D
I'm really happy to hear it ended up being anti-climactic ... There's no shortage of people who've lost there jobs over not being one of the crowd ... and sometimes much worse ... false felony charges! or being chased out of the state.
When I was younger and completely stupid, I received one of these emails in which I replied back to all with the very same message, except I changed the word god to satan. Let's just say that was not very smart of me. :)
When I received a mass-email like that; I just sent out a reply-all email roughly saying that I am an atheist and would not want any further email referencing any of the gods or the messiahs sent to me. I did get a little static, from one severely religious person but I cleared it up real quick. And for some reason she does not send me any emails any more. ;O)
I have been told MANY times there are places where I cannot talk about masturbation. As yet, after 23,024 experiments, I have not found one.
I hope your exchange with the girl doesn't change your friendship. I had similar exchanges with people with whom things remained cordial afterwards, but they never turned into friends.
Wig is a winner. Had me fooled. And that cut would suite you. :)
I worked at a call center that was against reading books during business hours but they always made the exception for Bible, so I thought why not bring the Satanic Bible to work and quietly read that to myself. As predicted I was told to put that away and the Bible thumpers were allowed to keep their Bible out. My emails and complaints we lost amongst management and HR.
I'm generally pretty direct if people approach me religiously. I'm not walking up to people and proclaiming there's no god, but I'm not ashamed of mentioning my position if people approach me (be it in person or via e-mail etc.).
I've been on both sides of this coin; raised as a Jehovah's Witness before I gained a better understanding of the universe. I usually make a joke, something like "no more god for me thanks, I'm full", if that doesn't work I make it a polite but firm point to make my disinterest quite clear (sounds like you took that route), and if that doesn't work I use scripture back at them to make them feel guilty and confused until they stop. Those last two seem to trump anything else in religion.
By the way reading "The Book of Atheist Spirituality" by the french contemporary philosopher Andre Comte-Sponville. It's definately worth a read if you havent already :)
Used to have a lot of email like that floating around where I worked. I worked with a bunch of people and we we're all really close. So I had no problem saying "don't send me that shit anymore." That was that. :P
I receive at least 3-4 emails at work each day with religious undertones and even direct bible verses and little quotes under their names. I work at a public high school. Pretty nuts, I know. I don't bother telling anyone of my atheist stance. I'm VERY afraid of losing my job.
Nice doo( not sure if it's new for ya or old)
When the movie, 'The Golden Compass' was getting ready to be released, the whole staff got an email from a teacher warning our kids to not see it. Satanic stuff :)
Hey good to see you back - watched your vids a month ago for the 1st time so guess hasnt been so long hehe In these situation i tend to just email back thanking them but indicating that I dont do chain chain messages so please dont send me anymore. You should try being an athiest in Ireland you get quite philosophical about a while, most dont mean any harm. People send religious cards all the time but i'd never make an issue of not accepting them - life's too short.
OMFG, Iv subscribed to you ages ago and this is the first video from you, that came up in 'My Subscriptions' . You should really try to make more videos. I almost unsubscribed to you,during my subscriptions cleanup( you were just too cute to unsubscribe xD )
You should have just sent an email back saying 'do you have any empirical studies to back that up'. I've had great success with the kind of thing in the past.
I think you handled it in the most honest and intelligent way possible. Now, you don't have to worry about being invited to church gatherings!
balance512 2 years ago
I say nothing at work regarding religion but as soon as I hear someone mention that zombie Jew Jesus, I give them both barrels. :) Needless to say people have learned to steer clear of me when talking about zombies. HA!
Celticking36 2 years ago
I feel this way sometimes at work about my sexuality. I've never talked about it, but my car does have a gay sticker on it, and once a coworker noticed me wearing a rainbow "pride" wristband and asked me what it said.
Generally speaking, things like politics, sexuality, and religion have no room in the workplace and it bothers me that people assume that it's ok to strike up conversations (or send emails) about them.
mrdarkavocado 2 years ago
Hi frisbeesANDflipflops, it is definetly great to see that you are now thinking for yourself. As a fellow human being I would like to ask you, please don't stop with what you have found, there is infinitely more to discover. You need to find out who you REALLY are. For that, however, you need to continue to be ever truer to yourself first and foremost. Don't hold yourself too much to the "atheist thing," that too is a belief. You need to truly think for yourself.
charlesmof 2 years ago
um usually ignore forwards, especially cheesy Christian ones that usually have no theological back-up or are forceful of there beliefs, but i usually ignore all forwards anyway and i am Christian
MrKylehass 2 years ago
lol sounds like you handled it very well frisbees and flipflops, i just delete all forwards automatically just as i would advertisements and other spam, religious or otherwise.
I am a christian but I really enjoy your videos, thanks for posting many thought provoking things here on youtube. Have a nice day.
DreamerDavious 2 years ago
I'm confused. Why would a smart person like yourself deny the existence of something that can't be proven or disproven?
xleax 2 years ago
I'm confused...you shouldn't talk about masturbation at work? I mean, of course I wouldn't talk about masturbating at work with a co-worker, but why not talk about masturbating? If I hadn't talked about masturbation, I would never have known that the guy working next to me was into midget porn.
daffyff 2 years ago
Much easier to simply delete. No fuss, no muss. Nobody really cares what other people believe in or don't believe in.
Anything from Obama-worshippers or believers in the new global-warming religion gets the quick boot from me. No need to correct the mind-numbed robots. Though not a Christian, religious junk e-mail is no more offensive to me than that crap. Just delete - not worth the time or thought..
ObamaJugendFuhrer 2 years ago
So you haven't burned your face and become a nun then!
KevinSolway 2 years ago
Well I'm an atheist working at a catholic school so religion is my work...sucks. I have to lead prayer before every class and have a mass (waste of time) every week.
anurre5 2 years ago
I'm so glad I'm self employed now, and free from office BS.
Anyway, when I began working, I felt like I had to prove myself so I kept busy and avoided office frivolity and gossip. They never included me in their "put prayer back in school" type of emailings. When the issue came up, I just told them "I'm a science person, not a religion person." I like to put it that way because it identifies me with something, rather than against something. They didn't dare debate me on this. They knew better
ATHEISTIQ 2 years ago
It sounds like you handled it pretty well. My thing is to not bring it up unless somebody else does. Then, I'll tell them I'm an atheist and don't believe anymore (I used to be a Christian). It doesn't come up much at work since I work at a restaurant and we're constantly busy. But that's my thing...
kcpackerfan 2 years ago
oh man I am an office bitch too. I have Excel, database, and word!! grrr!! Don't even get me started on those damn invoices
mrtnsamson 2 years ago
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slikarstojan 2 years ago
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slikarstojan 2 years ago
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slikarstojan 2 years ago
"horrased"?
to suggest there is something fundamentally wrong with me because i don't follow *your* beliefs is quite insulting. what if i suggested you're an incomplete human being because you're a republican or because you favor one philosopher over another or because you believe in a religion of "don't"s and ARE COMPLETELY WASTING YOUR LIFE?
insulting, right?
maybe you should think about how you would take the "there's something terribly lacking in your life" commment before using it.
frisbeesANDflipflops 2 years ago
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slikarstojan 2 years ago
In my very brief existence as cattle on a cube farm, I actually had an interaction like this. Instead of religion it was about race, but it was still nice to inform my coworker that I did not hold the same outdated opinions that they did. They had no... choice to accept it and move on. Though, we never spoke again. :)
themightylex 2 years ago 2
nice vid!
hope to see more soon!
AlexPiti5 2 years ago
I don't get much of the christian influence at work but our code of conduct specifically asks not to speak of religion or lack thereof in the workplace.
There are exceptions like an invite to someone's kid's baptism or something but they are relegated to the staff board in the lunch room.
One christian @ work had a knack for yelling "God damn it!" loudly in frustration. At break I pointed out the hypocrisy to him. He tried to bring our convo to HR and ended up on a leave of absence as a result.
tillo2008 2 years ago 2
My god-free status at work was declared, but for no particular reason. No big deal, I thought but over the next month I had several of my co-workers come over and ask why. Why don't you believe in God?" It is hard to give a good answer without appearing to try to influence other's beliefs. Hey, Just keep it simple. It worked for me.
ghengiscrayon 2 years ago 2
I have a similar situation, but instead of it being a coworker, she is my mother-in-law. Its a bit complicated since I was a christian when I married Steve (and so was he) but now we are both atheists. He hasn't told his mother but the e-mails are seriously every day. I do want to be direct and to the point so the annoying "Pray for me" e-mails will stop but I don't think it's my place, or even if I can. Anyone?
annasterbre 2 years ago
i asked my dad and stepmom to stop sending me religious email forwards after the first one i received post-"coming out". when the second one came, i asked again that i be taken off their religious forwarding list. when the third one came, i blocked their email.
if they need to contact me, there's always the phone.
i could see how the in-laws might be a little more complicated. all i can say is that if i were in your position i would tell her i wasn't religious anymore and ask that she stop
frisbeesANDflipflops 2 years ago
if you don't want to come out as an atheist, you could always say that you have a problem with email forwards clogging up your inbox and could she not send you *any* forwards?
hope that helps. keep us all posted!
frisbeesANDflipflops 2 years ago
You are wise.
I probably would have ignored it. That's usually how I am.
RandomCastaa 2 years ago
The only workplace I ever had problems with of that sort was a stint years ago temping at Prison Fellowship Ministries (Chuck Colson's outfit). I resolved matters in much the same way, but I think everyone involved was happier when I moved on.
Nicely done on your part. :)
Other than that, OOOO, SHINY GOLD FINGERNAILS
*takes his short attention span off to sleep*
stealthbadger 2 years ago
the fingernails were chipped to hell, but thanks for noticing anyway :" >
frisbeesANDflipflops 2 years ago
^.^
*looks forward to more vids!*
stealthbadger 2 years ago
How to handle this stuff:
Dear my fellow brothers and sisters.. I hope you are all having a great day, and I wish you all great success in your endeavors.
Hail Satan
OkieSlims 2 years ago
god Ive missed your wit and charm! The country is becoming increasingly partisan and divided between radicals and extremists on both sides. The direct approach is the best approach as you said.
dandiacal 2 years ago
My reaction to your email is just: "woah! you take email forwards too seriously!" My religious friends sometimes send me those, I know that they mean well with sappy messages about God's love sent to all their friends, and I usually skim and delete. Sounds like it went well enough for you though.
muerteverde 2 years ago
I'd just leave it.
CamdenBloke 2 years ago
Given my current job, I'd trade you in a second.
startasagn 2 years ago
Welcome back. It's good to see you talk on these subjects again. And yup, it has been a while.
huyked 2 years ago
WHA!
You know, sometimes you don't know how much you miss someone till they return! Welcome back =)
jeffertoya 2 years ago
OH boy,
I would have hated that situation. Diplomatic declination is tricky business. You dealt with it a whole lot better than I probably would have.
ubergossen 2 years ago
Wonderful video, well thought out and should give many of we atheists alternative ways to deal with this commons problem. I love the "Masturbation" comment. It is right on target.
damon132 2 years ago
GREAT VIDEO!!
ArkCowboy 2 years ago
Welcome back, Nikki. Great video, as always. Love what you've done with your hair.
erickeVolved 2 years ago
I love your style of storytelling, keep it up!
ErikWithBrain 2 years ago
It depends on the dynamic of the work place. It was made known vicariously through Facebook about my second week into work. They never challenged me on it and the owners were hard core born again Christians and McCain lovers.
In fact I got promoted a month after starting and promoted again 3 months later.
mynameisinept 2 years ago
First video you uploaded since I subscribed. Good stuff.
Ferdiad1 2 years ago
i actually love those types of mails make me laugh
grade1981 2 years ago
I'm really glad you posted this video! I will be going into the work force soon, and now I know a good way to handle such things! Thanks! :)
userjosh9874 2 years ago
I don't respond to chainletters, ever .
Is the sender overtly religous, or is this the first incident like this? I
echs1 2 years ago
I got an email at work about how the united states mint was printing money without "In God We Trust" (I don't even know if this is true), and about how only 3% of Americans are atheist and how they shouldn't be allowed to force their godless beliefs on the majority (forward to 10 people if you think atheists should keep their beliefs to themselves).
What did I do? Nothing. I was new, didn't want to cause trouble, and didn't even know the person who sent it.
EternalAlert 2 years ago
we miss u
ccoates4825 2 years ago
i've been missing you as well : p
frisbeesANDflipflops 2 years ago
I am pleased by the civil and courteous way you handled the situation. You took the most logical and ethical course of action.
P.S. You may not remember my earlier text comment from before, but I still say in a Hungarian accent: "Children of the night. Vhat a mess they make!" ;-)
legendre007 2 years ago
Hmm, I meant "Transylvanian accent."
legendre007 2 years ago
"my god! what ARE you doing to the furniture?!"
best. evAr.
frisbeesANDflipflops 2 years ago
"Zee theory of Yes ... or No."
legendre007 2 years ago
luv the hair!
CharlieDevilDog 2 years ago
wig*
frisbeesANDflipflops 2 years ago
Um.. who doesn't talk about masturbation at work? Pishhhhh!
jeffertoya 2 years ago
You're my favorite office bitch. ^_^
Glad to see you on the toobs again.
healthyaddict 2 years ago 2
read that waay to fast. thought you said "glad to see your boobs again"
o_0
frisbeesANDflipflops 2 years ago
\Very assertive of you!!!!!!!!!!!!
truevoiceofsanity 2 years ago
I think the main problem here is that it was a chain-letter. Though they are usually not unsolicited, they are almost as bad as spam. Most of them are completely pointless and just stealing bandwidth. Forwarding chain-letters is against company policy many places, I believe.
My reaction is usually to just delete them immediately. I rarely even read them since they are so easy to spot - often by looking at the subject alone.
BamBasse 2 years ago
I think it's best just to scream "GOD IS DEAD!" loud enough to be heard throughout the entire office when confronted with anything remotely religious at work. That way there's no need to get HR involved. ; )
jussts 2 years ago
And I've always found that awkward moments can be resolved by mentioning or doing something even more awkward. It gives you great perspective on how awkward the previous moment really was in comparison. :-D Or they may just start avoiding you altogether thus saving you any further awkward moments.
cliffy340 2 years ago
aka secretary
Adipatus 2 years ago
got promoted from that position, actually. "assistant to operations" these days.
frisbeesANDflipflops 2 years ago
Hey, it's great to see you back again.
I'm so glad to hear that that message came from a woman. It was starting to sound a bit creepy.
So, that's good news. Things could've been a whole lot worse otherwise.
theTRUTHgroup 2 years ago
Welcome back!
I certainly agree, dealing with it face to face and quickly is typically the best course of action to follow. As you said, the written word can often be misunderstood, especially by a co-worker.
I've actually had a religious run-in at work as well, but being polite yet direct, I was able to resolve the situation and not get anyone's panties in a bunch.
cliffy340 2 years ago
I used to work for a health insurance company, you have my sympathy. The smalltalk by the copier (in my case the tea machine) was, and is still, my biggest nightmare. Why is it always MY duty to force the meaningless conversation... meh i got fired :) P.S actually it was a "mutual termination of my contract" ha! A win for me!
slupperd 2 years ago
Religion is like masterbation? Sign me up!
rhyfelur 2 years ago
Congrats on the job! They're hard to come by these days. Curmudgeons unite! You are of my ilk. All the others suck. Rave on, my friend.
theogore 2 years ago
Your approach is the one that's worked best for me - if something needs to be said, be polite, direct, and friendly about things. I've had a couple of people get pissy about my godlessness, but I always behave calmly and rationally, and besides - the other person was always the one who brought religion into the workplace...
SayYesToReason 2 years ago
I would have replied to her, and replaced the word "God", with "Satan", colored that word red, bold it, and bump the size up a few pixels...
>=)
Nooooo!!! I would never do that!
Actually, what I would probably do is take that as an opportunity to try to open a debate with her about it. If she complained about it, I would pull her email out and then do what you did.
Sintwar 2 years ago
I work with a bunch of mexicans. So every work vehicle I drive inevitably has a picture of jesus somewhere. Without even thinking about it, I took one of these down as I was driving and the guy I was working with blew a gasket.
Suddenly our work truck was a crash waiting to happen and no amount of skill on my part could ever drive the truck as well as that 3x5 picture of jesus can.
And before anyone starts, no I am not racist, I've just noticed that most mexicans are pretty religious.
KurNorock 2 years ago 2
I work for a government agency and any forwards must be reported. However I tend to let my co-workers know just in casual conversation my lack of beliefs pretty quickly so they usually already know before such a situation occurs.
Northernskeptic 2 years ago
I have the greatest job ever, I'm a PhD student studying moral psychology and the psychology of religion and politics.
But I'm a joint student at a business school as well. When I'm at the psych department, everyone is open about their nonbelief, but in the business school the waters are much more difficult to navigate. Usually I just let it be known that 'of course I'm an atheist' and that I study religion as a natural phenomenon (borrowing DD's term) and people at the office get the hint.
falsificationism 2 years ago
What, you mean I should stop discussing masturbation at work?
therealeeeo 2 years ago 4
and stop practicing. i wasn't going to say anything, but it's making us all really uncomfortable.
haha.
frisbeesANDflipflops 2 years ago
Best damn video I've seen on this subject yet!!!!
RosieDesire 2 years ago
...oh yeah.With a face and mind like that you won't be doind excel spreadsheets for long.''Hang in there''??? ooops! Sorry! =D
lipoicacid 2 years ago
What I do is tell them where there religion came from and how it is borrowed from earlier myths.Not only do they cease and desist but they avoid me =D
lipoicacid 2 years ago
I have a good story of something like this if you want to hear it.
ALEXplus3 2 years ago
go for it
frisbeesANDflipflops 2 years ago
It's so good to have you back :) You definitely one of my favorite youtube atheists (not to mention youtubers in general!)
nonfictions 2 years ago
you're an epic genius.
Trenholmes 2 years ago
I get those types of emails all the time. Mostly from family members who know I'm an Atheist. It's annoying, but I just don't reply to them.
GambitX37 2 years ago
yeah, i told my family members that would send me religious forwards to stop. i gave them 2... blocked on the 3rd.
frisbeesANDflipflops 2 years ago
I delete all forwarded e-mails. They're always completely insipid. Ignoring them discourages their dissemination.
vulpix 2 years ago
You kick in the door with guns blazing. Combat roll to the nearest water-cooler and reload. Roll a frag through the door to your right and sprint down the hallway in front of you. Take a second to make sure your cigar's still lit because no badass can G.I. the workplace without a Cuban burning between their lips. Kick in the door to your left. Kick in the closet door behind that door. Piss on that door just to make sure the doors are catching on. Find the lady's desk and torch it. That'll do it.
crimsontearz24 2 years ago
that'll due, pig. that'll due.
frisbeesANDflipflops 2 years ago
Ouch. Just trying to have a little fun. I like your videos and personality. I don't intend to start a war.
crimsontearz24 2 years ago
oh no, no. you misunderstand. the end of your statement reminded me of that movie- babe. that was one of the lines...
i liked your comment, lol! i guess i shouldn't assume that people will get my nerdy references : \
frisbeesANDflipflops 2 years ago
Good good. I was hoping there was some kind of misunderstanding. I wasn't sure how to respond to being called a pig lol.
To shed some light on the actual video, I work with some very religious people. If they ever ask me questions (which they haven't thus far), I'll answer honestly. I enjoy telling people I'm an atheist though. Their reactions are priceless. "What? Really? Sorry to hear that..." Hah! I always chuckle and go on about my business. I think you were classy in your response IMO.
crimsontearz24 2 years ago
If I got a forward about God..... oh wait I have before:
DELETED!
.... like all forwards :)
Good to see you Nikki.
Doogeedoo12 2 years ago
Welcome back Nikki...weve missed your smiling face! I'm a finish carpenter and when I told the "boys" at work that I am an Atheist,a few hard-core christians made fun of me until I jumped in their face.The forman,who was a friend,said he agreed with me and that helped allot.Christians are afraid of the unknown and feel threatened when someone questions their make-beliefs.Make more Vids Nikki! : )
Thereminator101 2 years ago
i work in a construction office, so TRUST me i know how "the boys" can be! glad the foreman was on your side : )
i'm working on the "more vids" part! hopefully soon!
frisbeesANDflipflops 2 years ago
welcome back f&ffs. missed your beautiful face and wonderful stories..
hutch876 2 years ago
I have missed you so much. I need to get a twitter account to I can keep up with what you have been doing, but as a whole, thanks for making this video and you rock. Its really good to see you come back.
later dayz, and love u!!!
Adnaana 2 years ago
Wooo! Welcome back. I was wondering what ever happened to you. As for your story I think you handled it well. You're just lucky you were dealing with Seattleites. If the same thing was to happen in the parts if Mississippi or Texas I used to live in I doubt it would have gone so smoothly.
Arikiel 2 years ago
This is why I've always wanted to start up an atheist forwarded message. Nothing offensive ... just a bright-eyed, sun-shiny message about the joys of not having to ask an imaginary spaceman to shape my destiny favorably. And then send it out to everyone, especially Christians who send forwarded religious messages.
Oh, and if you don't forward it to 10 people within the next 10 minutes, nothing will happen.
HeyDuffy459 2 years ago 3
Yes, I think you handled it beautifully as well. I had received a god themed email from my ex's mother, and I nipped it in the bud. I very politely asked her to exclude me from emails that aren't personally addressed to me, and she replied with an "OK." I do the same when my friends/family on the Right Wing send politically charged emails. They're unwelcome, and I'm not interested. :) Nice to see a new post! I've been waiting for your next installment of insight and humor! :)
747captain 2 years ago
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nothinbuthax 2 years ago
Comment removed
nothinbuthax 2 years ago
you should upload ideos regulary
lyriclex 2 years ago
I'm an IT guy i always just say i don't believe in magic and if they don't get the point then i just say i'm an Atheist. And i leave it at that but if they go further i explain.
SYNICtheAtheist 2 years ago
i have the same problem, being an arab, people just assume you are religious, or should be, and majority are muslims, so imagine the number of emails i get everyday, and how im getting burnt in hell if i dont forward the email! it sucks
Omaricoxxx 2 years ago
You handled it beautifully:-)
cosmos11 2 years ago
nice to see the frisbies and flip flops back,
garydocool 2 years ago
hey frisbeesANDflipflops, I like your videos a lot. I wouldn't call myself an atheist... more agnostic I guess. I believe in the church of 'i don't know' so I can't say there is or is not a god. Anyway, you seem real genuine and cool and I wish you the best with your videos and discussions = ) -- mike
supes789 2 years ago
fail haircut is fail, go back to the old way.
ctvwr 2 years ago
fail comment is fail. read the description.
frisbeesANDflipflops 2 years ago
o i c wat u did dere
ctvwr 2 years ago
Good Video.
xy11xy 2 years ago
I find the part about your co-worker praying that God makes you successful at your job very offensive. As if people aren't able to become successful on their own without God's help.
Personally, I would have walked up to the person with a megaphone, turned it up full blast, hold right in their ear and say, "I don't want to find anymore of your religious bullshit in my e-mail. Capiche?!" But you handled it very well.
mlr2112 2 years ago
well, i suppose that would have gotten the point across pretty clearly.
frisbeesANDflipflops 2 years ago
I used to work for my dad's company for over 2 years in a small office environment.
Every day, his policy was religious radio in every room (on an intercom system), religious propaganda on the waiting room table for patients, religious comments frequently to employees and patients alike.
He knew I was atheist and didn't care. Several patients complained that they didn't want to hear that crap and he didn't care.
Not much you can do in a small business whose HR dept. is the religious boss!
neonsilkworm 2 years ago
oh, dag. that is teh suck.
frisbeesANDflipflops 2 years ago
Oh its you! I missed you.
You're a class act.
kff 2 years ago
:" > !
frisbeesANDflipflops 2 years ago
The people in my team at my old job were all Catholic, Protestant or Muslim. They often talked about their respective take on things. Thing is, they were all utterly reprehensible. Im glad I was never challenged on theism in any sense else I'd probably have had to leave that job. Sooner.
kff 2 years ago
PROGRESS!
thegyger 2 years ago
Welcome back. hope this isn't a one off.
BathTubNZ 2 years ago
I'm really not looking forward to Christmas @ my office...
And I'm with you on office working turning me into an anti social troll... :P
ModelAnarchist 2 years ago
Religion is like masturbation, it serves only one person, makes you feel better, and shouldn't be done in public.
darketernal3 2 years ago 2
lol, that's good.
frisbeesANDflipflops 2 years ago
Religion rarely comes up in my life, so no need to handle anything. :)
I'm glad that worked out ok for you.
Welcome back, even though I've been talking to you on twitter for a while. lol :)
Brianswers 2 years ago
I think you handled this quite well, and I hope atheists around the world can do the same when confronted with similar situations. The notion that the deity described in the Judeo-Christian bible is somehow "good" is offensive to a growing number of thinking individuals. It would be cool if more Christians realized that, though they are free to practice their faith privately, they are not immune to criticism when they bring it into the workplace or the public arena.
MatthewJohn00003 2 years ago
Yaaaay! You're alive!
Good to see you F&F.
I work for a company that works for the government. Any prostelatizing(sp?) would get whomever attempted to do so in trouble, so I think I'm safe. Personally I would have just deleted the e-mail I doubt everyone she sent it to felt compelled to send it back.
HonestDiscussioner 2 years ago
Welcome back!
cain825 2 years ago
I am glad your back. I missed you. You always make me smile.
Nanee715 2 years ago
I just got that same email, and I'm male. :)
People that email me know I respond to what I want, when I want, when it comes to these kinds of emails. But I don't discourage any senders because I do find something useful in some of these messages, although it's usually not in the literal text of the mail. Like you, I take it as someone wishing me well, and at some point, I will wish them well in return, in my own way.
KennyWrites 2 years ago
I have never had a religious experience at work, but I have had someone try to convert me at university. I'm somewhat confrontational with these things so I tried to deconvert him haha, but he couldn't comprehend most of what I was saying so it was a pointless exchange.
Skepnostic 2 years ago
I probably wouldn't do anything. Whenever I get those emails I just toss them in the trash. I don't hate chain mail, I just don't like it.
...as for the religious theme, I wouldn't have cared. It didn't sound very religious and had good intention behind it.
3ssay 2 years ago
good to see you back making new videos.
moralapostel 2 years ago
I'm used to that kind of situations because I live in GA. I don't know a single person who doesn't play the Baptist social game of I'm more Christian than you. It will almost make you believe that Hell does exist and you're in it. LOL
mma171 2 years ago 2
Niiiiiiiiiiiiiice
AristotleP 2 years ago
Whoa, thought you died hahaha.
Ujikaweapon1 2 years ago
not yet.
frisbeesANDflipflops 2 years ago
RAmen
thruthem 2 years ago
I have had family and friends forward unwanted emails to me. I have found that the direct approach pretty much works although in my case it probably cost friendship and offended them as much as it offended me. Most people just don't think it through and assume that everyone shares their views and or beliefs. I guess that I am off their Xmas list's now....
ocVlog 2 years ago
I just discovered your videos today and have watched many of them. So Über cool that you suddenly post a video today, when it's been a year since the last vid!! :P
My story is not so far away from yours, which is maybe the reason i stumbled over this stuff. Anyway.. Preach it woman, spread the words!! :D
matrox123 2 years ago
i posted this just for you : *
frisbeesANDflipflops 2 years ago
You should have worn the devil horns when you confronted her.
mma171 2 years ago
that would have made the conversation much more dynamic!
frisbeesANDflipflops 2 years ago
I'm really happy to hear it ended up being anti-climactic ... There's no shortage of people who've lost there jobs over not being one of the crowd ... and sometimes much worse ... false felony charges! or being chased out of the state.
Glad you're ok!
msginca 2 years ago
oh ... yes
Oven!
msginca 2 years ago
When I was younger and completely stupid, I received one of these emails in which I replied back to all with the very same message, except I changed the word god to satan. Let's just say that was not very smart of me. :)
trick0171 2 years ago
haha!
oh to be young again... so that i could use that as an excuse.
frisbeesANDflipflops 2 years ago
Indeed ★★★★★
P.S.
When I received a mass-email like that; I just sent out a reply-all email roughly saying that I am an atheist and would not want any further email referencing any of the gods or the messiahs sent to me. I did get a little static, from one severely religious person but I cleared it up real quick. And for some reason she does not send me any emails any more. ;O)
Katalyzt
Katalyzt 2 years ago
:) Cutest Atheist on Youtube.
mattkuhl 2 years ago
I have been told MANY times there are places where I cannot talk about masturbation. As yet, after 23,024 experiments, I have not found one.
I hope your exchange with the girl doesn't change your friendship. I had similar exchanges with people with whom things remained cordial afterwards, but they never turned into friends.
Wig is a winner. Had me fooled. And that cut would suite you. :)
philhellenes 2 years ago
thanks, phil- you're the best!!
frisbeesANDflipflops 2 years ago
Over the moon to see you back. Please keep the videos coming. You're one of my faves.
memoryhero 2 years ago
I worked at a call center that was against reading books during business hours but they always made the exception for Bible, so I thought why not bring the Satanic Bible to work and quietly read that to myself. As predicted I was told to put that away and the Bible thumpers were allowed to keep their Bible out. My emails and complaints we lost amongst management and HR.
sweatytoothmadman 2 years ago
I'd have coughed into my hands and under my breath said plainly, "cough, lawsuit, cough" And then continued reading, heh.
Swidhelm 2 years ago
I'm generally pretty direct if people approach me religiously. I'm not walking up to people and proclaiming there's no god, but I'm not ashamed of mentioning my position if people approach me (be it in person or via e-mail etc.).
leifey 2 years ago
I've been on both sides of this coin; raised as a Jehovah's Witness before I gained a better understanding of the universe. I usually make a joke, something like "no more god for me thanks, I'm full", if that doesn't work I make it a polite but firm point to make my disinterest quite clear (sounds like you took that route), and if that doesn't work I use scripture back at them to make them feel guilty and confused until they stop. Those last two seem to trump anything else in religion.
bananagraveyard 2 years ago
"...if that doesn't work I use scripture back at them to make them feel guilty and confused..."
ha, love it.
frisbeesANDflipflops 2 years ago
By the way reading "The Book of Atheist Spirituality" by the french contemporary philosopher Andre Comte-Sponville. It's definately worth a read if you havent already :)
Doctorsurferboy 2 years ago
noted- thanks for the recommendation. always looking for good reads.
frisbeesANDflipflops 2 years ago
Used to have a lot of email like that floating around where I worked. I worked with a bunch of people and we we're all really close. So I had no problem saying "don't send me that shit anymore." That was that. :P
Sarahon06 2 years ago
I receive at least 3-4 emails at work each day with religious undertones and even direct bible verses and little quotes under their names. I work at a public high school. Pretty nuts, I know. I don't bother telling anyone of my atheist stance. I'm VERY afraid of losing my job.
Nice doo( not sure if it's new for ya or old)
When the movie, 'The Golden Compass' was getting ready to be released, the whole staff got an email from a teacher warning our kids to not see it. Satanic stuff :)
saxmanchiro 2 years ago
the hair is just a cheap wig- but thanks!
: p
frisbeesANDflipflops 2 years ago
Being from the secular paradise that is Scotland, I've never had such an email so I wouldn't know. Anyway, welcome back Nikki, you've been missed.
Orygyn 2 years ago
Hey good to see you back - watched your vids a month ago for the 1st time so guess hasnt been so long hehe In these situation i tend to just email back thanking them but indicating that I dont do chain chain messages so please dont send me anymore. You should try being an athiest in Ireland you get quite philosophical about a while, most dont mean any harm. People send religious cards all the time but i'd never make an issue of not accepting them - life's too short.
Doctorsurferboy 2 years ago
It's nice to finally get some new vloging action from you!
Those mails are high up on my list of things that make me doubt humanity...
silverstream314 2 years ago
OMFG, Iv subscribed to you ages ago and this is the first video from you, that came up in 'My Subscriptions' . You should really try to make more videos. I almost unsubscribed to you,during my subscriptions cleanup( you were just too cute to unsubscribe xD )
ObscureNemesis 2 years ago
:" >
frisbeesANDflipflops 2 years ago
Better than grabbin that ole AK and gettin down to business. Good Job!
JimmerSD 2 years ago
good to have you back, keep it up!
TheSal2010 2 years ago
Woah!! I haven't seen you in FOREVER!! Great to see a new video! :D
jarail 2 years ago
thanks! : p
frisbeesANDflipflops 2 years ago
my redhead princess isn't so redhead anymore...welcome back, sweet tits ;) good vid
C0ct0pusPrime 2 years ago
no worries, it's just a cheap wig : p
frisbeesANDflipflops 2 years ago
I told my boss I was an atheist, and he gave me a book on "Creation vs Evolution." I lawled all the way home :]
SuperAtheistBrothers 2 years ago
oh dear.
frisbeesANDflipflops 2 years ago
Welcome back :)
justintempler 2 years ago
You should have just sent an email back saying 'do you have any empirical studies to back that up'. I've had great success with the kind of thing in the past.
TheAtheistRising 2 years ago
but her point wasn't "god is real, you should believe in him", it was more "you're a good person and i wish you the best"...
in my head, just calling her out on what i regard as her mystical beliefs would do more to build tensions. don't you think?
frisbeesANDflipflops 2 years ago