I Was Fired Today, For My Bumperstickers!!!

Good luck with the lawsuit. If I owned a daycare and a prospective employee arrived with the word pedophile on their car I wouldn't keep him/her around either. All it takes to ruin a business like that is one parent seeing the sticker and spreading the word. Suddenly there are no kids and we have another failed business.

Good luck with that. I think you displayed a shocking disregard for common sense and decency. I also think that you like the attention and you like generating strife and confrontation because you drive around with such glaringly shocking bumper stickers. You like gay rights, you hate the GOP, you appear to be a Marxist. That's your right, but seriously what did you expect? I wouldn't hire you either. I would guess that you have many other troubles in other areas of your life as well with such a rebellious and confrontational attitude. You ultimately will have no case and you are wasting your money on a lawyer. Any judge will see pedophile bumper sticker and day care and kick the case out. I would be shocked to drive into a daycare center with my child and see a car loaded with inflammatory hate speech and gay rights advocation blatantly on display for all to see, particularly one belonging to one of the caregivers to my child! Grow up and join the rest of us adults and keep your political and social beliefs to yourself. You'll find that you'll be a lot happier and a lot more successful in life.

[edit on 5/13/2008 by Escrotumus]

Hotbakedtater:

You should think less about politics. I am saying this to YOU and ONLY you, because you seem to be ULTRA-"LIBERAL", whatever the hell that is supposed to mean, it's not like everyone else wants you to live in a PRISON. You are as red as a baboons ass and just as much out there like an eyesore, and probably 25% of your time high as a kite.

If you have rustproblems, cover them up with anything else than GAY PEDOPHILE STICKERS.

I don't even know what party GOP is, BECAUSE I AM NOT AN AMERICAN (learn to pay attention to the left of the screen everyone. At least I think I put my location in there, or some very blunt clues and/or hints.) but I think the kindergarden did the right thing about firing you.

There is no "them" or "others", this is a consept created to divide and conquer. One side gets half the truth, the other side gets the other hald of the truth. And you are on one side of the truth, so shut up and learn before spreading propaganda for the ENEMY.

This is clearly a lawsuit please take action! what they did is againts the law.. I would also file a complaint with federal and state labor authorities. also check out this site www.workrights.org...

Originally posted by BlueTriangle
Good luck with the lawsuit. If I owned a daycare and a prospective employee arrived with the word pedophile on their car I wouldn't keep him/her around either. All it takes to ruin a business like that is one parent seeing the sticker and spreading the word. Suddenly there are no kids and we have another failed business.

Agree totally.
What would of you done if the parents saw it???????
They would rip you apart.

IMO, you have no case. The day care is under no obligation to employ someone who is displaying material that could easily be viewed as offensive to their customers. If they deem your bumpersticker to be potentially damaging to their business, they have every right to dismiss you or ask you to remove it.

If it were my business, you would have been dismissed on the spot. The mere association of that word to a day care has the potential of being incredibly damaging.

There's no free speech violation here, either. Its not a 1st amendment issue, as the Bill of Rights ONLY applies to issues of governmental involvement and governmental limitations on rights. Private businesses are allowed significantly more leeway in the rules that they can put in place and enforce.

[edit on 13-5-2008 by vor78]

Though, I don't agree with it, I could understand how such bumper stickers could be offensive to those that use the daycare. It's rather inappropriate to have the words "pedophiles" and "asses" in the presence of children ... whether they'd normally be in direct contact with the words or not. The chance for them to see the stickers are still there.

You may have a legitimate lawsuit. I would definitely pursue the claim.

You're lucky you do not reside in a "right to work" state such as Kentucky. Here they can fire you for whatever reason they wish.

EDIT:

LMAO. Nevermind. I just double check where you were from and saw that you're from the same city as I. You have to no case, unfortunately - at least in Kentucky. It's a B.S. law that works in the favor of business owners and corporations.

[edit on 13-5-2008 by tyranny22]

I can only echo many of the previous posts. Considering the nature of your new job, it's hardly a surprise that they didn't take too kindly to such slogans! And, I'm sorry, but please don't hide behind the term "civil rights" to cover the fact you made a gross error of judgment. Just put it down to experience and move on - to try and take it any further doesn't reflect well on you I'm afraid

Good luck for the future

Originally posted by thefreepatriot
This is clearly a lawsuit please take action! what they did is againts the law.. I would also file a complaint with federal and state labor authorities.

So...what laws did they violate, exactly?

I work in a preschool as a teacher and I have to say while I do respect your right to free speech, there are some things you never joke about around children(i.e., pedophiles). I am slightly shocked at your unawareness as to how inappropriate some of the bumper stickers are. If you hadn't been fired that day, I'm sure some parents would have complained within days had they seen them. Luckily children that age can't read yet because I'm sure the parents wouldn't want to have a conversation about some of those topics with their children.
When working with children, you have to set an example and try your best to be squeaky clean and stay away from controversy, if you value your job that is. If you do get another job at a daycare, I would suggest parking along the street instead of in the staff parking lot. Maybe that would be more appropriate.

I'm sorry you got fired so abruptly and I don't agree 100% with their decision, but I do understand where they're coming from. I think they should have asked you nicely to cover them up, remove them, or move your car. Just my .02.

Dave

Time and place man. Time and place.

I seriously doubt it was "politically motivated" if you had to explain what GOP was and they didn't give you any hassle for the other stickers. You had a car parked at a daycare with a "pedophile" sticker on it. That's something Tom Green would have done back in the day and I don't think he would have expected to keep the job.

You think it would have been okay to go in there with a "gay old pedophile" t-shirt on? If not then why would it be okay to go in the parking lot with a "gay old pedophile" sticker on your car? Time and place. A daycare is neither the time nor the place.

man, that really sucks!
Maybe you shouldn't put vulgar language on a bumpersticker




BTW I hate Hillary

Come on, people. Why is everyone being so hard on the OP?

Yes, I reluctantly agree that the bumper sticker may not have been appropriate for a daycare, but they did not even offer her the option to remove it before they abruptly fired her!

hotbakedtater: I am sorry you lost your job. Perhaps it will be better for you in the long run that you not work there anyway. I hope you find something soon.

BTW: I do like your "asses" sticker.

A 1" x 3" piece of duct tape would have probably prevented the whole mess. Did it honestly never cross your mind that there might be some issue taken with the sticker? Surely in your heart of hearts you must have had an inkling that there could be consequences.

You'd be wise to learn sooner rather than later that "Discretion is the better part of valor."
While you're to be admired for being willing to openly state your viewpoints on things, rather than beating around the bush, or perhaps even being hypocritical like some people (not referring to anyone in particular), you were certainly foolish, most likely due to your age, I'm assuming you're under 25, probably under 20. (not knockin' you, just sayin')

Self-censoring is a necessary skill for everyone.

I'm not saying you need to lose your passion or change your opinions, far from it. Just be more willing to put yourself in the shoes of others, consider things from all viewpoints (especially those that differ from yours) and be willing to consider adjusting your behavior/presence/attitude/bumper stickers etc...accordingly.

It sucks you lost your job though, that I agree. If you were my employee, I would have recognized your left-leaning tendencies and politely asked you to do something about the potentially questionable verbage on that sticker. Probably would have handed you a roll of duct tape....

I read the first 2 pgs of this thread and looked at your bumper stickers and here is my response to it. I believe you meant no ill will I really do however, in this day and age things like this aren't acceptable.

Your first day on and you are the topic of converstion and I can see why. You are representing a day care where parents leave their precious cargo in your hands all day long. Your car says something about you regardless if it's correct or not or if you were covering up rust or not. The director of the facility simply didn't want the talk or reputation of whom she hires to come into question.

So while I agree that the firing was a bit much I guarantee that if you were a long time employee you probably would have gotten away with just removing them in the first place but you are new and your car cast you in a bad light unfortunately.

I typically could care less what bumper stickers people have on thier car but if I were to see your car at the daycare where my son goes I it would give me pause too.

I think because you just started there they can fire you for any reason. I don't think it would be worthwhile to start legal action. Best probably to learn from it and go find another job, sans bumperstickers.

As I see it many people have bumperstickers on there cars and they don't really think about them as a whole about being there.

I can see getting a job and going to work and not even thinking about my bumperstickers.

Once it was bought to my attention I would have apologized and explained and asked if I could go out and remove them ASAP.

Unfortunately things like this happen and I don't think these children or the parents were harmed by this.

The owners of the day care could have handled this better.

As I see it businesses are getting to Nazi like no wonder why this Planet is going to HE&&.

I haven't read all the pages of posts, so forgive me if this has been stated already; I just felt I needed to weigh in here, because there's a bigger issue at stake.

As far as the bumper stickers themselves, I actually like the one about 'coexist', thought it had a good message. The GOP one was kinda funny, as was the 'A**** of Evil'. Where I think you got into trouble was having the word 'pedophile' on your car parked in a day-care center.

Think about it: you're employed in a place where people bring their children for long-term care. If I was taking my kids to a day-care center, I would probably get real nervous if I saw anything with the word pedophile on it. These nervous parents pay the bills (your salary included), and could probably get more nervous after seeing that sticker... maybe nervous enough to find another center to give their business to?

Also, in the shot of the cars, yours stood out. You have several stickers arranged sort of haphazardly across the back, whereas the others do not. That means anyone walking by will be drawn to yours.

In short, you are not the victim of some sort of anti-liberal conspiracy, but you are the victim of your own actions. The day-care center exists to serve the parents of children; not to serve you. As an employee, it is you who is expected to do the serving. Your reward is the salary (which you received).

This is the bigger problem I mentioned earlier. We all have the right to make political/social statements, and we cannot (according to the Constitution) be imprisoned for it, nor can we have our individual rights removed because of it. Nowhere does the Constitution say that you have the right to work at a day-care, or anywhere else for that matter. Freedom of speech is a restriction on the government, not on the rest of society. There will still be consequences for actions or words, and it is up to each of us to determine if we are willing to experience those consequences.

If I were you, and wanted to work in a day-care center, I would immediately either get another car without the stickers for work, or sand all those stickers off and put new ones somewhere else (and I don't mean the front bumper ). Next job, look at the impression you're before you go in, and remember that you will be dealing in a position of servitude with other people who may disagree with your views. Present an air of neutrality when at work, and leave the openly flamboyant personna for your own time. Your employer owns the time you sell to him.

TheRedneck

reply to post by keltdruid65

I don't normally get involved in threads like these, but as someone else who is from Louisville, KY I must ask what it is that you are insinuating with your comment regarding my hometown?
I understand that the conventional wisdom says that Kentucky is a large backward redneck state. I also, would not argue that some areas are, indeed, a little out of step with the modern era. However, if you were at all familiar with the city of Louisville you would know that you are very wrong about Louisville. This is a fairly progressive, dynamic city. I am not trying to start a fight here, just want to clear the air before more people read your post and write off this part of the state.

As for the situation hotbakedtater is dealing with. I must say that while the political statement might have had something to do with the reaction of your employer I think what others have said, that this is more to do with the wording (pedophile) is more likely the reason.

Obs out

Bottom line, you acted in an unprofessional manner and you were terminated for it. While you have the right to express yourself, you are expected to behave and conduct yourself in a professional manner while on your employer's time. Having offensive bumper stickers on your car is no less un-professional than having visible tattoos. You have no basis for a real lawsuit, although I'm sure you'll find a scum lawyer who is willing to file a frivolous lawsuit on your behalf.

Instead of crying about it online and decrying the conspiracy against you and your liberal beliefs by the overbearing conservatives in your neighborhood, you should use this as an opportunity to learn from your mistakes and conduct yourself with more professionalism in the future.