Religious experiences in the computer lab?!
Okay, so I've actually had this happen a few times, and I'm caught flat-footed every. damn. time.
A person (in all cases it's been women and I have no idea if that's telling or not) comes in. They sign onto a computer. They put on headphones. And about twenty minutes in they start muttering to themselves. Then whispering to themselves. Some of them whimper, and make noises I'm kind of uncomfortable hearing. Then they start crying or whimpering, and their whisper/low talk gets louder and they're saying "Jesus, praise Jesus, thank you Jesus, praise him," etc over and over.
I'm seriously uncomfortable, but they're not being really loud, just kind of weird and unnerving?
What the fuck do I do? I don't deal well with religiosity and the like, it generally leaves me confused and like I want to run away. I don't want to tell them not to do that here, because infringement on rights and all that.
But when they're crying and raising their hands and talking to themselves, I'm just kind of like, what the hell do I do with that?!
Anyone have any suggestions? I'm going to e-mail my boss about this, but I just thought I'd get some ideas here first. I'm re-thinking this; I think I'll consult a few of my fellow lab workers, see if they have anything to add...
(cross posted, sorry for repeats on people's flists)
A person (in all cases it's been women and I have no idea if that's telling or not) comes in. They sign onto a computer. They put on headphones. And about twenty minutes in they start muttering to themselves. Then whispering to themselves. Some of them whimper, and make noises I'm kind of uncomfortable hearing. Then they start crying or whimpering, and their whisper/low talk gets louder and they're saying "Jesus, praise Jesus, thank you Jesus, praise him," etc over and over.
I'm seriously uncomfortable, but they're not being really loud, just kind of weird and unnerving?
What the fuck do I do? I don't deal well with religiosity and the like, it generally leaves me confused and like I want to run away. I don't want to tell them not to do that here, because infringement on rights and all that.
But when they're crying and raising their hands and talking to themselves, I'm just kind of like, what the hell do I do with that?!
Anyone have any suggestions? I'm going to e-mail my boss about this, but I just thought I'd get some ideas here first. I'm re-thinking this; I think I'll consult a few of my fellow lab workers, see if they have anything to add...
(cross posted, sorry for repeats on people's flists)