How does one respond to this?

[enchantress62]

By aged do you mean "Middle aged"? She's somewhere in her 50,s or 60,s but hell I'm 49 and if anything her age should give her at least a little wisdom. lol Anyway, I don't begrudge anyone their religeous preferences but damn it makes me angry when it's imposed on me and my family. I like the Druid idea. hehe maybe I should get fang marks tatoo'd on my neck...hhmm

[Vypyrz]

Well, one thing that you could do is talk to your Supervisor/ Human Resources department about her harrassment.

Recently I was accused of worshiping Satan because I have pet snakes. The woman who accused me was overheard talking to another nurse.

I gather from your post that the woman feels that the serpent is a symbol of the Devil. I also gather from your post, that you both work in the medical profession. And, if I'm not mistaken, the symbol for the medical profession is...





Or, has she failed to notice that, according to her interpretation, she works under a Satanic symbol?

[LovelyMomma]

No, I meant over 60s lol. I just don't understand people like that. She probably works in your wing too, huh?

[enchantress62]

I agree that going to my supervisor is the logical thing to do but I can just picture him rolling his eyes when I tell him. This is really stupid and I think that is what's making me angry. I don't like to be reduced to responding to blatent ignorance. I have enough of my own to deal with. lmao I just wondered how the rest of you deal with this kind of thing.

[JulieInNJ]

well, one thing that you could do is talk to your supervisor/ human resources department about her harrassment.



I gather from your post that the woman feels that the serpent is a symbol of the devil. I also gather from your post, that you both work in the medical profession. And, if i'm not mistaken, the symbol for the medical profession is...



:o

Or, has she failed to notice that, according to her interpretation, she works under a satanic symbol?

this is perfect!!!!

[enchantress62]

lol yes that symbol is perfect. In fact I have an idea. I'll find a copy of it and name the two snakes Baloo and Frank then give it to her with a smiley face card. Maybe if I make a joke of it I can de-escilate the situation without anyone getting in trouble. I will go to my supervisor if it continues against my best efforts though.

[WingedWolfPsion]

I would report it to the supervisor thusly:

"Hi, I'm having an issue with one of my coworkers here. I'm not sure if she is mentally stable, and I'm getting a bit concerned. She seems to be telling people that I'm a devil worshipper because I keep a couple of pet snakes, and it's beginning to make me feel a bit uncomfortable. I'm worried that she may not have a very solid grasp of reality, and might wind up saying something frightening to a patient, or even become dangerous."

[enchantress62]

Wow! That's good.

[Norm66]

Yea, Winged Wolf nailed it IMO.

The only professional way to handle it is through the supervisor as above.

But I can think of so many un-professional ways that would be a lot more fun. ;^)

[Cendalla]

I don't really know why but people in the nursing field seem very set in their ways- it very well could be because of the strong religious background that goes with the 'older' generation in nurses.

I get people that look at me like I'm crazy and a bit touched in the head when they find out I have snakes. I get people that are fascinated and I have even had someone tell me that I should kill them because they are evil.

I could start quoting lines from the bible but I find that people will rationalize why they are right and you are wrong and there really is no changing their opinions. They will just know better than you

I don't know what you can do to resolve your current problem other than talking to the individual and telling her that discussing your life at the work place or anywhere else with other people is not very professional.

The long term actions you can take is to simple keep on as you are doing. Talk about your legless babies and let every one know the affection you have for them. Most people fear snake because of a lack of exposure and information about them. Corrupt them early is my approach. My son is 2 1/2 and he thinks reptiles are all that and a bag of chips!



* Just to note: I'm not bashing Christianity. My father-in-law is a preacher in a Wesleyan church and I have often discussed the imagery with serpents in the religious western world verses the the view that other cultures have taken on them. Its not as conservative of a church as others so I find that they are very positive about my reptiles.-They also think I am absolutely insane for owning a tarantula