Never been OK to be rude at work

Response to Jon Caldara’s “Pervasive bill for a silent workplace.”

It’s always refreshing to open the Sunday paper and be smacked in the face with a piece (written by someone who purportedly hosts a local television show and has a regular Sunday column) about how hard it is to speak freely these days.

Despite this refreshment, I would like to know: in which industries does Caldara think there was ever a time during which employees were “spending time creating or having enjoyment while creating at work” instead of being asked not to harass people?

This idea that language being somehow fettered in workplaces means that American individuality is hanging desperately from the guillotine reeks of white-collar, out-of-touch, boohooing hysteria.

Real working class Americans have had to police their own language for decades, both towards the people they serve and towards the people in charge of them. Discipline for not doing so apparently is only a problem when the unfiltered dialogue is directed at peers or workplace inferiors.

I have some news — it has never actually been okay to be rude to coworkers in professional spaces, folks are just upset that their actions might have real consequences now. If someone can’t find their “spark,” “fun,” or “innovation” without showing others basic human respect, maybe they shouldn’t come back to the office, after all. Did my use of the singular “they” just send anyone reeling into another sphere of the multiverse? Apologies if it did. To sum up: Colorado is no closer to its “woke” demise than it was before.

Amber Woodside

Colorado Springs

Both sides of the mouth

Oh, the irony! Gov. Jared Polis, you cannot have it both ways. Oh, we need children to continue to thrive in our capitalist society. We need them for all the open jobs we have and we need their production to help sustain the older generation. Oh, but women need to be able to kill their children whenever they want because it’s a “reproductive right.” They need to be able to eliminate the life in the womb as a matter of convenience at any point during pregnancy because their sexual immorality should not reduce their quality of life by having to take care of the children.

Nice of you to talk out both sides of your mouth, governor. Whatever you sow, so shall you reap.

Joseph Ford

Colorado Springs

Whichever is convenient

In reading the letter written by Ralph Bruce, I was struck by the dilemma. Is Gov. Jared Polis for killing babies or having more babies. Seems like it is an oxymoron statement from the governor but then don’t all politicians speak out of both sides of their mouth whichever is convenient at the time.

Carolyn Riggle

Colorado Springs

Build up small businesses

At the Urban Central Marketplace, we take pride in bringing a taste of home to Colorado Springs and the Denver Metro area by serving soul food, Caribbean, and other foods from the African diaspora. We are not only a restaurant, but an incubator space that lifts other businesses up to succeed and come together. While our mission is so much more than just the bottom line, the reality is, the bottom line does matter, and we can’t keep moving forward without digital advertisements.

Data-driven digital advertising is at the soul of what makes us run. As a small business owner, I rely on digital ads to keep my current customers aware of what’s happening at the restaurant, as well as to bring in new customers who are looking for an exceptional menu, meal, and service.

Representing my own business in Colorado Springs, I flew to Washington, D.C., recently to meet with Congressional staff to discuss the importance of social media and how digital tools like advertising helps small, authentic businesses like mine compete against the big chains in the hospitality industry and beyond. I hope that our leaders in Washington will continue to build up our small businesses, not tear them down.

Chariese Blue

Colorado Springs

Misleading headline at issue

When reading news, a great deal of critical thinking ought to come into play. An example:

An AP article in the Gazette is headlined, “Girl, 8, dies in Border Patrol custody”. One might think, from the large headline, that the Border Patrol caused, or had something to do with, the unfortunate death of a child.

The child was actually born in Panama with heart problems and was with family, according to the article. Parents are responsible for an 8-year-old. Making a land crossing from Panama to Texas with any 8-year-old ought to be viewed as extremely risky and, yes, child abuse.

I’m sure that the Border Patrol is devastated by each unnecessary death amid the crowding and unsanitary conditions of the mass of humanity along the southern border. Our Border Patrol agents are human, after all, and have families.

Janice Taylor

Colorado Springs

Column hit the nail on the head

Dick Wadhams’ column Monday vis a vis Colorado Springs hits the GOP squarely on the head both locally and nationally.

Although the unaffiliated voter percentile presented is no doubt unrealistically high it’s a good indicator of where many of we former Republican Party members have moved to. We have no use for the stolen election mantra fanatics nor do we have any patience with the nation crippling antics of the currently fashionable woke “Progressive” Democrats. As Yakov Smirnoff would say, “What a country!”

Bill Leake

Goldeng