Dear Urban Diplomat: how do I get my Ford-hating coworkers to stop mocking me?
Dear Urban Diplomat, I’m a supporter of the Fords. When people badmouthed them at work, I stood up for them. Now that Tory’s mayor, my colleagues continue to rip on me. My boss is in on it too, so I have nobody to complain to. I feel like my only option to get respect is to ask one of them to go outside and settle it. Should I?
—Ford National, East York
Holster those pythons. Your eagerness to get physical with one of your colleagues suggests that you’re playing right into the brawn-over-brains stereotype that gives Ford Nation haters oxygen. Try the tactic that works on the playground: ignore them. If that’s not your style—and I sense that it’s not—issue some fact-based return fire. There’s lots of material, including but not limited to Tory’s litany of defeats, comma- and period-free sentence structure and iffy SmartTrack funding plan, plus all manner of snafus lurking around the corner. Or just wait for it all to pass. Tory has promised a return of “boring” to municipal politics, so city hall–related zingers may soon be passé.
Send your questions to the Urban Diplomat at urbandiplomat@torontolife.com
