From our agony aunt:
Dear Alma,
I’m stuck between two cellists. One is a Zionist, the other pro-Palestinian. They no longer talk. I am the one expected to hold the section together, even though I am the least experienced.
I have told my colleagues not to use me as a go-between for pencils, or a repeater of whatever the conductor just said. Do they listen? No way. I am piggy in the middle. I think I’ll audition for another orchestra.
Any other ideas?
Miss Piggy
Dear Miss Piggy,
Your co-workers should behave in a professional manner, be civil to others and keep their beliefs out of the workplace. It’s not your job to fix a toxic work environment. Their behavior is negatively affecting the workplace, and they have put it to you to pick up the slack and modify your behavior to enable them to continue being unprofessional.
You could do several things. Confront them and tell them you will not be their go-between anymore. You expect them to be pleasant and work well with others. And they should bring their own stupid pencils to work and grow up. That’s what Miss Piggy would do.
You could also talk to management and hope they deal with it. That’s more Kermit’s style.
You can also just ignore them. Like Snuffy would.
Personally, I might opt to go Oscar the Grouch on them and just dump a bunch of stinky garbage in their cases during break.
Unfortunately, joining another orchestra isn’t the best answer. IMHO every orchestra has a level of disfunction, and learning to deal with it in your own way while retaining your sense of self and balance is a never-ending task.
Questions for Alma? Please put them in the comments section or send to DearAlmaQuery@gmail.com
The post Dear Alma, I’m stuck between two cellists, a Zionist and a pro-Pal appeared first on Slippedisc.
