How Do I Respond To Polluters Who Laugh At Me?

All I want to do is preserve the environment and my co-workers keeping making fun of me. They ask if I need a push home or if I found my "man card", whatever that might be. What are some ways to counter these gas-gussling bullies?

You can begin by acknowledging that you are also a polluter. Driving a Prius still generates large quantities of pollution, you are simply polluting less than some other car drivers. This is especially true if you have decided to drive a Prius to justify driving a large number of miles daily.

Then you can stop worrying about what other people think and start living your own life.

Ignore them.

I'm conservative myself, and I do not believe in AGW (or ACC now? whatever the hip term for mankind destroying the plant is these days), but I drive a Prius.

I'd tell them that their opinion of what I drive matters not to me. I like the car, and it does what I need it to. It's a TOOL and it does the JOB I need it to.


If they don't relent, ask them how they like sending as much money as possible to oil producing countries that hate us. That will get them thinking a little bit.

Potential questions for coworkers:

How much did you spend on gas last month?

Did it bother you when gas was $4 / gallon last summer?

How soon do you think gas will reach $4 again?

Do you think it is a good idea for the US to send money to governments that are hostile to us?

Can you show me your "man card"? I seem to have misplaced mine.

wrap a chain around your tow hooks on the back of your prius and pull one of their cars into an unforgiving intersection.... ok.. maybe that's a little overboard...

it simple.. they odviously know nothing about the car. too dense to grasp the aspect the car was designed around.

for me.. it's a work truck.. i run my saws and such when on jobs off my inverter.. i have a trailer i pull too. after abusing my car for a bit.. no one ever comments.. ever. they all know that i do thing with my car that they would never do with their cars.

If they push you, simply tell them your current MPG. In a calm voice. Don't say anything else.

I've found that saying "51 MPG" with a smile tends to shut up a lot of people.

Um yeah, thanks for the effort. But my boss didn't find this too amusing. Wish Toyota had an Assurance policy like Hyundai does right now. I think he is going to fire me.

Fire you? You should be entitled to extra pay for putting up with these morons.

See the previous thread where I pose the question: "Why does Tony have round shoulders and a flat forehead?"

Tom

So, your Boss is one of the morons that are bashing you? You simply try to defend your decision to drive a Prius, and he threatens to fire you? You've got a harrassment case on your hands, but perhaps it's not worth the legal effort.

If it weren't for the difficult unemployment situation across the country right now, I'd say to hell with your company, quit and find a better work environment.

What kind of company is it, how many employees are there, and what do you do?

I would just ignore them and not worry about it. If it makes them feel better, don't give them the satisfaction that it bothers you. Be confident in your purchase and it being the car YOU wanted.

My fiance pokes fun (in good humor) about me driving a Prius...she jokes about the illusion of being wussy...for lack of better terms. I just give sh*t right back to her ("isn't it about time your sh*t Nissan was in the shop again?")...but its all in good fun. She actually loves the car and is psyched that I bought it.

Just smile! It will confuse them.

Are they picking on you, or are you needling them? If the latter, stop. It does not help. If the former, ignore them.

Nobody has ever laughed at my Prius. All I've ever had have been serious, honest questions about how it works and what mileage I really get.

Occasionally people laugh at my Xebra. Not often. Just very occasionally. I respond by smiling and waving. Mostly people give me the thumbs-up. If your co-worker are laughing at you for driving the Prius, sell it and buy a Zap Xebra instead. Then they'll really laugh at you. And you can laugh too, because you'll never have to stop at a gas station again.

As appropriate, speak objectively and quantitatively. I keep a current spread sheet with me. When people ask questions I given them my current copy and point out mpg, distance traveled between fill-ups. I mention there are no smog checks, the car does not idle when stopped, it has a good sound system. I state that I can go 10 to 15 days between fill-ups (60 mi per day). When they persist, I invite them to sit in the passenger seat and go for a ride. Initially I floor it to demonstrate the torque. Then I emphasize pulse and glide and point to the MFD showing regeneration. Not much to argue about.

Sounds like Dogfriend NAILED it right there!!!
Well the mancard thing kinda kicks em in the nuts, but hey!!!


All I say is "I put in 8 gallons, and drove 400 miles" What are your numbers?
Say something once, why say it again!!.

If your Boss is that anal he wants to fire you for driving a Prius ..... it sounds like you work for a company that came out of a Steven King book!

Then again, maybe the OP lives/works in Detroit, a bastion of forward
thinking and technological innovation...

Or, just maybe, Trollhattan

I would never waste my time trying to explain the situation like the OP has done. It helps that I'm built like a bald 800 lb gorilla, I generally don't have to explain myself - period

Are you for Hire.
Sounds like you would make a fine "Equalizer"

I expect folks to solve their own problems. I make exceptions to frail elderly folks being pushed around by arrogant teenagers

We all have to learn to look after ourselves. I always use my brains first, always. If that fails, for minor bulls*** I just walk away. For something major, I hurt the other person

As a kid, we moved around a lot. The new kid is always targeted by the school yard bully. I learned pretty quick the only way to keep the situation from turning into a complete fuster cluck was to fight back, even against hopeless odds

Boy, did I ever get the s*** kicked out of me a few times as a kid! But guess what? The other kids then started looking up to that new kid, and pretty soon the nasty school yard bully realizes he may have a serious challenge on his hands if he tries to take on the new kid

Eventually, you leave the school yard bully scene. In the real world, there are plenty of school yard bully mentality. The smart thing to do is to avoid the losers, morons, and hillbillies who make up such groups.

Never surround yourself with losers, morons, and hillbillies, or you will become one yourself. Anybody with half a brain can move far beyond those situations

Of course, we then have the minority of disassociated persons who feel all they have to do is get a firearm and become a modern gunslinger. That almost always ends with tragedy