Nothing irks me more than sexual harassment in the workplace. Sure, you hear about women being sexually harassed in the workplace, but I am coming forward to proclaim it happens both ways. I should know, I am a victim!
I work in an office where I am the only male. Swarms of women (2) make crude comments as I try hard to ignore their remarks. During the Summer, I wear shorts. “Ewww, nice legs”…“Hey, pasty white”… “The buttons on your shirt are popping”… “Who farted” as they look in my direction. It never ends.
Imagine working in a place where the females think nothing of popping a rubber band on my butt. Sometimes wads of paper are chucked in my direction, hoping I will bend over to pick them up.
Perhaps the worst comments are made by Wife Patti. She has no qualms of grabbing my ass as I pass by. She may whisper rude sexual comments…often makes suggestive moves and has on occasion demands a kiss! In the middle of the day! Then there are the stares and smiles…the provocative little notes left on my desk. I often fear for my safety, but I fear reprisals if I complain.
Imagine a day at work where you have to watch your every move. The other day I cried out “Leave me alone, I just want to type!” My pleas are often met with destain and ridicule. I am often told to “Shut up, stop singing and just type”.
The other day I found a tube sitting on my desk. Something called Boudreaux’s Butt Paste. (This actually happened) I shivered when I picked up the item and insisted Wife Patti tell me her expectations. “Oh, relax. Mandy (our daughter-in-law) left it here by mistake. It is for the baby’s diaper rash,” she exclaimed.
I still had my doubts about her intentions and sat in my reclining lounge chair watching TV, without moving the entire day.
I thought about keeping a detailed diary on the conditions in the office, but who would believe me! I must work in silence. The voice that is never heard.
*****
Hmmph. Somewhere along the line, over the past year, somebody (probably me) forgot to change the Volume Number on the masthead of the paper. I think I am off by two weeks. I will correct this in the coming issues. We will be starting our 29th year of publishing this paper in mid August. That is over 1500+ issues and columns. That includes about a billion (?) police stories and mugs. I have seen police stories come from the same families, same crimes, passed down through generations. Yeah, there have been threats, but I take them in stride and pride.
As the paper works in conjunction with the online world of news, hopefully we will see many, many more issues coming your way.
I have met scores of people with interesting stories to tell and will continue as long as my family doesn’t put me in a home.
The post Sexual Harassment in the workplace appeared first on Times of Wayne County.