On the job, coworkers hesitant to talk politics

2008 presidential election coverage for The Commercial Appeal.

November 3, 2008.

The office water cooler by all accounts should be boiling over. More than Tigers vs. Rebels, more than young Elvis vs. old Elvis, more, even, than Willie vs. City Council, this year’s presidential race has had the potential of pulling people together in conversation and ripping them apart in debate.

It’s one thing to be open online, where tempers and tones can remain hidden, couched in parenthetical asides and emoticons. On Web sites and blogs, the talk starts placidly enough, then begins to swell and bubble until the nameless medium of e-mail becomes vitriolic … (read more)