Conversation with Coworker

[FieroCDSP]

Maybe he was just trying to sound big? The "is that a threat" "It's a promise" thing sounded pretty cliche, but in this day and age, it'd be hard not to respond with that.

He was probably just venting a collection of frustration (been guilty myself) and spoke before his brain worked it's magic (again, guilty, though never about shooting up the place). Some careful words from management about anger management and watching what he says will help hm in the long run.

But there's always that off chance; the 1 in 1000. Since you can carry, might want to do so for a while.

 

[Nate C.]

Sounds like you need to put some mojo ala Dwight Schrute on him.

http://blog.nbc.com/DwightsBlog/

 

[Funderb]

Oh, he is definitely a terrorist, and will probably blow up the entire workplace.

That was sarcasm.

seriousness:
You really didn't even need to mention his ethnicity at all for this to be a valid entry. Because he is iranian does not mean he is a higher risk individual.

 

[sierramist]

i think he was just mentioning his ethnicity to inform us of his previous military experience. Im pretty sure there was no bigotry in the statement.

 

[Funderb]

It still irks me to see statements that invite it to blossom.
Not that I just didn't get out of an argument with the local bigot,
and coincidence made me stumble onto this post.
Not my day today I guess.
No harm meant.

 

[mekender]

i saw no bigotry in the description of his ethnicity or his past... considering the facts, this guy sounds like a perfect candidate for sudden jihadi syndrome... IMO, not something to just brush off, this guy threatened to harm people with a weapon... best to be cautious than to ignore it

 

[crankshop1000]

How will you reconcile letting it go IF he comes in and shoots someone? You will find yourself as a defendant in the lawsuits because you had prior knowledge of the guy's threats and did nothing.Report it.

 

[Funderb]

I didn't say ignore it or don't report it,
just that it's best to avoid situations that breed
racial and ethnic tensions.

And you probably won't be sued if he comes to work with a gun after you
neglect to report it.
You can't sue dead people.

 

[AJ Dual]

I've had a few co-workers from the M.E., and I can say that some will make jokes/threats like that which are never serious. They can scream insults and threats at each other that would have one party or the other calling for the police if they were of a European or just multi-generation naturalized American background.

One guy I remember, the repair tech in a PC shop, whenever frustrated would literally bust out with the stereotypical "I KEEL YOU!", to us, the computer he was working on etc.

So it could well be a cultural miscommunication/understanding. Blame, mistakes, and CYA, and "honor" are handled differently over there, and what your co-worker said/did was probably just caused by that.

However, emphasis is indeed on "probably".

You have a chain of command, and an H.R. dept. making them aware was the right thing to do.

He's the one who made the choice to the U.S., and in general, we don't interact with each other in that manner here and there's no reason to accomodate that behavior either, even if it does have understandable "cultural roots".

 

[doc540]

Be smart and prepare for that 1%.

Write everything down, everything, with dates, times, names, everything.

Keep a copy for yourself.

Create an internal document for the company and submit it through whatever channels are in place.

Continue to document for yourself everything than transpires and could be even remotely related to this incident from here on out.

If you don't think the company is actively protecting you and your co-workers, find another job.

This is one of the ways things come down bad and people look back and say, "Is there any way we could've prevented it?".

 

[porterdog]

Create an internal document for the company and submit it through whatever channels are in place.

Yes. That was the one thing I was looking for in the entire thread- an indication that you put your 'complaint' on paper.

If you didn't write it down, it didn't happen.

 

[doc540]

And keep TWO copies.

 

[RIDE]

Whoa... I read through this (as some others should do as well).

FIRST: I ONLY mentioned his ethnicity to describe his past military inexperience. As I was typing that, I was going to leave out that he is Iranian, but then felt people might think he fought in the US Service. There is a major difference between Serving in the US .mil and seving in the Iranian Military.. That is the ONLY reason I considered and decided to mention it.... PERIOD!

2nd: READ... I posted that I did report it to the CFO (his boss). Yesterday the CEO/President of the company briefly spoke to me about it as well, so the CFO must have made it known to him.

3rd: I do have my CCL, and have for a long time prior to this and will continue to carry everyday.

4th: All has been well with him. He was actually in a car accident today at lunch (car totalled).. and asked if I could take him home after work... I told him I'd be happy to.

 

[doc540]

"2nd: READ... I posted that I did report it to the CFO (his boss). Yesterday the CEO/President of the company briefly spoke to me about it as well, so the CFO must have made it known to him."

I DID READ

And it was not clear to me that you filed a detailed written report.

If so, good for you.

If you didn't, then YOU need to read and heed.