I also don’t know if many men {or boys, in this case} read my blog, but this is for you too.
Harassment isn’t funny. It’s real. It’s painful. And it’s uncomfortable.
At the beginning of last year, I worked as an office clerk. The economy was {and still is} pretty rough, so finding a job at all was a blessing. The other office clerk was a guy about my age. Everyone in the office loved him, and he
We spent almost eight hours a day together, talking while making copies and sorting the mail. It wasn’t glamorous at all, and I hated it. He had a lot of friends in the office, so I often went out to lunch and Happy Hour with them. He didn’t have a car though, and one day, I offered to drive him home after we got drinks after work for someone’s birthday.
That’s when he told me he loved me.
I didn’t know how to react. I felt strange, especially since Robert was waiting for me at home. Robert and I have a very trusting relationship, so I knew that driving a co-worker home wasn’t going to be that big of a deal. But it turned out to be a terrible idea.
He never tried anything with me. I tried to forget about it over the weekend, but I was dreading going back to work on Monday. When I did, everything was different. I noticed the way he looked at me. The clothes that I once wore now felt too tight, too revealing. He made inappropriate comments that made me want to quit right then and there. I hated going into work every day, and not just because I was the office slave.
I was being harassed.
I probably could have said something to management, but I didn’t. I didn’t want people to think that I ratted him out, especially since he was so popular. Part of me wishes I could go back. I don’t want him treating any other girl or woman like this. He doesn’t have the right to make the workplace uncomfortable for anyone.
I don’t know if he reads this, but if you do, know that I did not like what you did to me. I hated it.
So, boys, if you think it’s all right to make inappropriate comments to a girl, just because you think she would be “cool” with it…
Don’t.
You are not funny. You are not cute. You are not witty or charming or romantic. You are a predator, someone that I will not choose to be around anymore. I will not go through that again.
And neither should anybody else.