Should I contact DCL about this?

[OliveMcFly]

I'm a bit torn as to what I should do about something on my recent cruise so maybe you can help. While waiting to be taken out on our excursion we were waiting in the Buena Vista Theater and it ended up that we were delayed and sat for another hour. That wasn't a problem, we still got to our excursion and it was great. While we were waiting we had a crew member "entertaining" us and this is where I had an issue. He wasn't a very entertaining guy and that's fine but he made a comment about "I'll hand in my nametag and handgun when I quit". I think majority of use were taken back by the comment. I'm not an easily offended person but this just keeps bothering me and I thought it was completely uncalled for as are any handgun jokes in public.
So my question is do I contact DCL about the comment? I don't want to get him fired but I feel this needs to be discussed with him. I may be overreacting as well.
What do you all think?
Thank you.

 

[Phonedave]

My opinion - not the smartest of jokes, but nothing I would go crazy about.

But then thats my opinion. I would not make a joke like that because I know how sensitive some people are, but on the other hand it does not bother me. I also don't think its funny, not because of the gun element, I just dont get it.

-dave

 

[OliveMcFly]

Right and that's why I'm stuck. I just want someone to be like "hey, not cool", I feel a conversation is due. Since it could get him in a lot of trouble maybe I shouldn't. Who knows, maybe someone else already did report him.
Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[ChuckElias]

I pretty much agree with Dave on everything he said.

1) The "joke" isn't funny.
2) I don't get the joke.
3) I wouldn't make a handgun joke to a big audience, personally.
4) I'm not offended.

Having said all that, I personally do not think it's out of line to tell your story, while perhaps leaving out the person's name, and let DCL know that this was a distinctly "unmagical" moment. Perhaps that would spur them to make a general recommendation to their staff to refrain from the topic. If they reply and ask for the cast member's name (which, I would expect, actually), then you have a decision as to whether you want to point out this person by name.

 

[OliveMcFly]

I pretty much agree with Dave on everything he said.

1) The "joke" isn't funny.
2) I don't get the joke.
3) I wouldn't make a handgun joke to a big audience, personally.
4) I'm not offended.

Having said all that, I personally do not think it's out of line to tell your story, while perhaps leaving out the person's name, and let DCL know that this was a distinctly "unmagical" moment. Perhaps that would spur them to make a general recommendation to their staff to refrain from the topic. If they reply and ask for the cast member's name (which, I would expect, actually), then you have a decision as to whether you want to point out this person by name.

Thank you!

 

[rob0519]

Honestly, you have no idea if a majority of the people were taken aback. Maybe they were, maybe they weren't. It was definitely an inappropriate comment given today's gun climate. If the comment is still bothering you at this point, it will probably continue to bother you until you have a conversation with DCL. As a previous poster suggested, do not give the name of the cast member. If, as you suspect, others were offended, there may have been one or more complaints lodged already.

 

[Ralphlaw]

I know you don't think any handgun jokes are appropriate, and I also know that you think you are not thin-skinned, but I may respectfully disagree. For example, my wife may ask, "Do you want to go shopping?" And I'll respond, "Not unless you intend to pull a gun on me." Is that offensive to you? If so, then I think you may be thinner skinned than you think. By the way, I would relay this little bit of dialogue anywhere other than a prison or a crime victim's forum.

The only way to not offend people is to say or do nothing. I don't think there's a single person in the world who could be interesting for a full hour in these impromptu situations without offending someone or saying something stupid. I do a lot of public speaking, and it is rare for me to walk away from the microphone without regretting something that I said, or kicking myself for not saying something as well as I should have.

Lighten up. I have known perfectly un-offensive impromptu speakers in these situations who were, for the most part, deadly dull. If you are utterly preoccupied with your efforts not to offend, you'll probably put them to sleep. I assume the cast member regrets saying it, but I also assume it was a slip that had no insidious intentions. And without the overall context, I think it very hard to judge. I assume, by what you said, he may have been referring to the handgun as a method of suicide, or somehow as a law enforcement thing. Who knows? What I do know is that the comment, taken in its entirety, might not actually have been offensive at all. So, yes, you are probably over-reacting. One slip should not ruin a promising young career. If that's the standard, then NONE of us would have survived our first jobs.

Again, lighten up. If you spend most of your days without regretting some slip, then perhaps you can't sympathize. But for us mere mortals who are very likely to say something potentially offensive on a daily basis, we let it slide. What would have been better, being stuck for an hour with no attempt by the CMs to make it fun, or having someone up there trying to make it fun but perhaps making a mistake with an accidental slip? Personally, I'd rather be thick-skinned and entertained rather than thin-skinned and bored.

 

[OliveMcFly]

Thanks for your opinion.

 

[Phonedave]

I know you don't think any handgun jokes are appropriate, and I also know that you think you are not thin-skinned, but I may respectfully disagree. For example, my wife may ask, "Do you want to go shopping?" And I'll respond, "Not unless you intend to pull a gun on me." Is that offensive to you? If so, then I think you may be thinner skinned than you think. By the way, I would relay this little bit of dialogue anywhere other than a prison or a crime victim's forum..

Don't do it in a TSA line either.

Here is an other tip, if you buy those fizzy balls of stuff that you put in the tub at Disney Springs, and then fly home with them in carry on, do NOT refer to them as "bath bombs". "Bath fizz" will get you through the line with much less headache.

-dave

 

[Ralphlaw]

Words to live by.

 

[Hakunamatata]

If it was a comedy routine I dont think I would waste my time or the cruise lines.

 

[Daveeeeed]

Wow, I think if someone loses a job over this that's when I know I am going to start my own company, so I don't have to worry about using a figure of speech. It wasn't funny, but you shouldn't lose a job over it, much less get a warning over. Do not say the name of the person, if you do that is just wrong.
People need to stop thinking everyone is out to get them, this was an innocent albeit bad joke, I can't believe you're still wondering about it.

 

[ChuckElias]

People need to stop thinking everyone is out to get them, this was an innocent albeit bad joke, I can't believe you're still wondering about it.

This seems a bit harsh to me. Nobody, including @OliveMcFly , thinks the cast member was "out to get them". Nobody has said that the cast member should lose his/her job. Nobody has even said that the "joke" was offensive. But in the setting where it occurred, with the audience that was present, it seems to a few of us that handgun jokes were out of place. And this is something that an employer might want to know about.

 

[Ralphlaw]

I disagree. Let it slide by folks.