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Over the past several years, I have been attempting to garner external interest in my abilities and knowledge of a specific type of test equipment, used in the semiconductor industry. I've been out of work for not quite four years, and it would be nice to leverage those skills to make a buck or two. Over the past couple of weeks, it is beginning to look as though my patience and perseverance are finally going to pay off. In simple terms, I GOT A GIG!
So ... in the process of getting myself LLC'ed and fixed up with mechanisms for getting paid for my work, I've had some interchanges with representatives of the company who needs my help. Just this morning, I received an email from one such person, inquiring about payment methods, and having this lovely little addendum just below the signature of the email:
His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word...
I don't think any of us need to guess at just WHOSE grace the above little morsel is referring to. It took some real strength of character NOT to add my own little bon mot in my answer the email, something nice, say, like:
That which may be asserted without evidence may be dismissed without evidence.
-- Christopher Hitchens
Of course, I didn't, but here again, is another example of how religion inveigles itself into inappropriate circumstances or assumes it has a place where it doesn't. And let's make no mistake here: had I slipped in the Hitchens quote into my return email, I have no doubt but that the reaction would be as swift as it would have been negative, never mind more than likely screwing up any chance of doing business with this company.
Yes, I am properly pissed. No, I don't know if there is anything I can particularly DO about this circumstance. Thoughts and suggestions are herewith solicited.
Comment
Comment by roland707 on October 4, 2012 at 10:46pm I forgot. Congrats on deal.
Comment by roland707 on October 4, 2012 at 10:44pm But, you're a famous atheist! They don't know about you? I hate getting tagged emails like that, too. It's like that time the crane company pitched to our company after starting with an invocation. haha. I still took the free flashlight.
Comment by Steph S. on October 4, 2012 at 10:10pm Well Loren since you are trying to get employed and they need your help I would suggest just not saying anything about the religious email. I know it is wrong of them to do that sort of thing - but if you argue with them they might not feel like hiring you - or may not give you a good reference to others that might want to employ you later.
I know it's a bad situation - it's hard to have to listen to that stuff and not argue back with them.
Comment by Pat on October 4, 2012 at 11:11am Then again, you could respond with some religious bon mot from a hell fire and brimstone sect of the christian cult. Something like,
I hope your company doesn't condone women in slack suits, because ""A woman shall not be clothed with man's apparel, neither shall a man use woman's apparel: for he that doeth these things is abominable before God." Deuteronomy 22:5 Because, if you do condone it, you and they are doomed. "Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction." Psalms 73:18.
On second thought, I'd probably go with Glen's suggestion.
Comment by Glen Rosenberg on October 4, 2012 at 10:22am Sociologically, the frequency and degree of religious presumption is a reflection of the tolerance of a culture. Rest assured the greater the mindless privilege the less the rights and liberties of its citizens. Go ahead invoke your stinking god, say a little prayer, I will only stare.
Comment by Loren Miller on October 4, 2012 at 9:39am I pretty much knew that from the get-go, Glen. For the time, it is what it is, and I can live with it. At least part of my point is that email is yet one more venue where christians think it's perfectly fine to push their bilge, and they are mostly clueless to the inappropriateness of their actions.
Comment by Glen Rosenberg on October 4, 2012 at 9:24am Loren, either you respond to this christian privilege crap and scrap this opportunity or you dont. I say let it go. Booker T Washington realized that blacks had to accommodate white privilege/racism and that eventually things would change. In a different context I dont doubt you would bon mot em to death.
Best way to rationalize is to draw on Francis Bacon-private morality/public morality.
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