When you work in a call centre environment, you talk to all sorts of people. I talk to investment advisors, their staff, their clients, their head offices, and others in the industry. I talk to people who have advanced degrees and people who haven't graduated from high school. People who are multi-millionaires and people with just a few hundred dollars in their name. People who were born in Canada, and those born in a hundred other countries and came here to make a better life. Not every call goes according to plan, I can't always give every person what they are asking for, and sometimes that results in anger, some cursing, and an intervention by a manager.
But I've never been threatened because of where I live and what it is assumed I believe.
Two days ago I took a call from someone that I've probably talked to dozens of times before during my time in this role. It started friendly enough, as he asked me if I was keeping out of trouble. I joked "Well, I'm trying" and then he asked me if I was in Toronto. I confirmed his suspicion and then things went off the rails. He replied "Oh, you guys are terrible" or something similar, and when I asked what he meant, he said:
"Oh, you guys are all Liberals. I HANG LIBERALS! I have a farm and I hang them all!
He then tried to make his idea of banter a bit lighter by adding "and for some colour, last year I hung some Maple Leafs (the hockey team)". I was rather stunned as we then proceeded to cover the business of his call.
I realize that little comment pales in comparison to what many of you in the United States deal with, especially in rural areas, or the Deep South, or in certain churches or other conservative organizations. I guess that's why it shocked me even more. I just never expected it to happen here. It looks like talk radio, the anonymity of the internet, and lazy political reporting are all contributing to an atmosphere where people think they can get away with demonizing those on the left here as well.
Obviously I couldn't engage in a political debate with this man, he was my client and I'm obliged to service him. But what should I do going forward? What if this guy does it again, or someone like him does the same thing? Am I just being thin-skinned? Do I report the situation to a manager? What do my fellow Kossacks think?