A reader writes:

I’d love to know your take on what seems to be a ubiquitous addition to every startup: the arsenal of Nerf guns and ammo.

About two months ago, one of our C-levels invested in a large number of nerf guns and several packs of darts, and now they’re becoming flat out office supplies with new orders coming in regularly. Nerf battles break out not quite daily, but they do happen with alarming frequency.

I would get frustrated because my old desk was in the middle of Nerf Alley, though we have open plan of course, so nowhere is safe. The aforementioned C-level took a shot at me one day, nailing me in the back of the head (“Your hair [bright red] makes the perfect target”), which I made clear I didn’t appreciate. The day that I got two darts to the face (one in the jaw, one in the temple) while just sitting at my desk trying to concentrate on something was the day that I kind of lost it. Not in a yelling screaming kind of way, but in a holding up the dart saying “Really, you guys?!” kind of way. My boss says I need to grab a gun and fight back. I say no, because I don’t want to be involved in any of those shenanigans.

My new desk is more isolated, but I still get a few that find their way into my realm. I also know that once this row fills, I’ll be more in the line of fire. I’m starting to get really testy about it, which I know I shouldn’t be. It’s just so frustrating and annoying when you’re trying to concentrate on something and, even with headphones on, you’re constantly distracted by flying missiles and loud clacking of the guns themselves.

I enjoy fun in the workplace, but getting whacked with flying missiles, no matter how harmless, is not my idea of a good time, and those guns are crazy crazy loud. How can I handle this more graciously and not be the office bitch?

I think I’m going to have nightmares about this tonight.

I get that this would be the height of fun for some people (and apparently is for many of your coworkers), but you know, it would also be the height of fun for some people to blast opera at high volume all day but they don’t do it at work because of consideration for others.

In any case, I’d look at this from two different perspective: the immediate question of what you can do to stop getting hit in the face, and the broader question of whether this is a culture you want to work in.

On that first question, I’d start with telling people directly that you’re not into it and don’t want to be shot at. As in, “Hey, shoot each other to your hearts’ content, but it’s really jarring to me to be shot at. Can you leave me out of it?”

Other possibilities:

* You could see if anyone else shares your dislike of this, and if so, consider banding together with them to either (a) speak with a louder voice (as groups can) that none of you want to be shot at, or (b) see if you can all sit together in a demilitarized zone that’s off-limits for Nerf attacks.

* You could see whether there’s a way to set up some sort of physical barrier around your workspace that will block most of it.

* Hell, you could even try putting up a white flag to signal that you’re unarmed and not to be fired upon.

But beyond that, there’s the broader question of whether this is a culture that you like and want to work in. From that perspective, it’s just like if you were working somewhere that had constant potlucks or rampant profanity or something else you disliked but which most of your coworkers liked. This is more aggressive, yes, since you’re getting hit in the face by flying objects, but it’s ultimately the same principle: If this is the culture that your company’s leadership wants, you have to decide whether you can live in that culture reasonably happily or not.

I do think the organization is probably disadvantaging itself by creating an environment where whole demographic groups are less likely to feel comfortable than others — older people, for one thing, and people with some types of disabilities, and I’d bet an awful lot of women (and start-ups already have a problem attracting women). To be clear, I’m not saying this is true of all women or all older people — I’m talking in generalities here. But those types of generalities matter when you’re running a company that will benefit from not having a homogeneous workforce (i.e., pretty much all of them).

If you have credibility and some political capital to spend, you might talk to someone in a leadership role about why that’s bad for the company if it eventually wants to grow up.

Or you could try this.