You Can Leave a Job If Your Boss Yells at You for Being a Buddhist
In college I held down a variety of mind numbing jobs. Waitress, receptionist, library clerk, quality control assistant, and eventually a job at American Family Insurance as an office assistant. This office was run by a married couple in Indiana. The husband was a robust evangelical Christian man and his wife was a nervous, meek, albeit neurotic woman. They had a frenetic energy that was hard to keep up with. The husband would generate the leads and his wife would make the follow up calls and lock people into their life insurance plans. I just put things in file cabinets and did some light data entry. I was putting my creative skills to very good use.
From the beginning they made it clear to me that they were Christians and that they believed I should be as well. I was 20 years old and I really didn't have a religious upbringing, I told them. I was still exploring how I felt about religion. I told them about a bible camp I attended when I was 16 with a friend where our watches were taken away because we were on God's time (that's another story). I came home from that camp confused, sleep deprived, and hungry. They relentlessly brought up their religious beliefs to me, often preaching about it and challenging me to discuss it with them.
One day I went out for lunch and got Chinese food. In my order there was a fortune cookie. I sat at my desk eating peacefully. Out of nowhere the husband asked me if I was Buddhist. "Are you Buddhist now!?" He laughed. His second chin turned bright red. He was laughing so hard at his own "joke" that he couldn't catch his breath. "You know, since you got a fortune cookie. I figure you're a Buddhist now. Now talk about the devil!" On one hand I was amused at his pure stupidity. On the other hand, I thought his might spark a lively debate. I couldn't have been more right.
"No, I'm not Buddhist. Although I do like their philosophies."
You could have cut the silence in the room with a knife. The red from his second chin climbed up to his eyeballs and he became unhinged. He started preaching at me, yelling, he stood up. We were alone and it was getting hostile. I was trying to talk but he was yelling over me about the bible and what he knows and what I don't know.
I got up to the use the restroom. I came out a few minutes later. He was typing on his computer. "Terry," I said, "I'm leaving now."
"Oh are you OK? Are you sick?"
"No I'm leaving and I'm not coming back. Ever."
He looked terrified. The red from his face drained to pure white.
"Oh, why! Oh no, is it--did I say something? I was just joking!"
"I just have to go. You can't preach to your employees. You have to stop that."
And I left. He didn't get up. He just sat there. I think he tried to call me. Then his wife tried to call me. They kept calling. I just didn't answer.
I remember early on they told me that Terry was an alcoholic who had the demons exorcised out of him and it was very powerful. I believe it was, in hindsight. I have no problem with anyone who finds solace in their spiritual beliefs. I found a lot of solace in leaving a toxic situation with a power hungry boss, which in and of itself is a spiritual practice of its own.
From the beginning they made it clear to me that they were Christians and that they believed I should be as well. I was 20 years old and I really didn't have a religious upbringing, I told them. I was still exploring how I felt about religion. I told them about a bible camp I attended when I was 16 with a friend where our watches were taken away because we were on God's time (that's another story). I came home from that camp confused, sleep deprived, and hungry. They relentlessly brought up their religious beliefs to me, often preaching about it and challenging me to discuss it with them.
One day I went out for lunch and got Chinese food. In my order there was a fortune cookie. I sat at my desk eating peacefully. Out of nowhere the husband asked me if I was Buddhist. "Are you Buddhist now!?" He laughed. His second chin turned bright red. He was laughing so hard at his own "joke" that he couldn't catch his breath. "You know, since you got a fortune cookie. I figure you're a Buddhist now. Now talk about the devil!" On one hand I was amused at his pure stupidity. On the other hand, I thought his might spark a lively debate. I couldn't have been more right.
"No, I'm not Buddhist. Although I do like their philosophies."
You could have cut the silence in the room with a knife. The red from his second chin climbed up to his eyeballs and he became unhinged. He started preaching at me, yelling, he stood up. We were alone and it was getting hostile. I was trying to talk but he was yelling over me about the bible and what he knows and what I don't know.
I got up to the use the restroom. I came out a few minutes later. He was typing on his computer. "Terry," I said, "I'm leaving now."
"Oh are you OK? Are you sick?"
"No I'm leaving and I'm not coming back. Ever."
He looked terrified. The red from his face drained to pure white.
"Oh, why! Oh no, is it--did I say something? I was just joking!"
"I just have to go. You can't preach to your employees. You have to stop that."
And I left. He didn't get up. He just sat there. I think he tried to call me. Then his wife tried to call me. They kept calling. I just didn't answer.
I remember early on they told me that Terry was an alcoholic who had the demons exorcised out of him and it was very powerful. I believe it was, in hindsight. I have no problem with anyone who finds solace in their spiritual beliefs. I found a lot of solace in leaving a toxic situation with a power hungry boss, which in and of itself is a spiritual practice of its own.
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