M.T. Hart

Ugh so I can’t take this to FB but oh my god. I’ve worked in my job for 3 years. I have never really hidden the whole side of me that isn’t straight. My general manager didn’t care. The owners didn’t care. At one point they asked me to chime in on an LGBT issue they were having. We had a customer complain that one of our wraps was offensive because it was a picture taken from a local pride parade called “Queer Pride”. The word ‘queer’ was not on display. The picture is of a woman with pink hair, laughing, and looking like a brightly colored fairy with confetti flying. In any case, I’ve never had any issues with coworkers other than their idea of suggesting our company Christmas party should be a lesbian wedding, then getting texts of people asking me if I was getting married. There was also a coworker that was the same sex and got angry when, right after she made a pass at me, I told her she wasn’t my type (party girl that likes being drunk). But just last week a coworker I knew all 3 years suddenly blurt out that she had to tell me something. We had just been talking scheduling when she announced, “I feel you should know I don’t agree with your lifestyle”. All I had said prior was that I was going home after my shift to sleep. It was shock. It was easy to tell what she meant. She couldn’t say ‘gay’. She couldn’t say ‘bisexual’. She couldn’t. So instead of calling her a bitch or telling her that it was none of her business, I squared my shoulders and gently said that was fine. I wasn’t doing anything on her lawn. As long as she continued to treat me with respect, we’d be fine. But my face was red. I felt uncomfortable and I could tell she was floundering. She brought up local issues stemming from businesses and the LGBT community. She said how she didn’t understand “you people”. I gave up then. I left once my time was up for the shift. I spoke to my general manager the next time I saw him. I told him gently what happened. He was shocked. Apologized and said he didn’t know what to say. I had to remind him, she has a right to feel how she feels. But she shouldn’t have said it to me. Now us working together is going to be hard. I also asked him to check on one of my other newer coworkers who is trans. He never got a chance to. Yesterday, I spoke to said coworker one on one. I mentioned what happened and since she’s much older than me, she patted me on the shoulder. She told me she was sorry and how dumb it was. I asked her if anything was said to her and she got this funny look. She admitted that she had been greeted with “Hey old man”. She’s thirty-some-odd years old. I was horrified. I wrote a long note to my boss. Sensitive training and respect is coming in the future.