Soapbox Tuesday...

New York Governor Cuomo is resigning.  He said he "didn't know the extent to which the line has been redrawn."

When I was a senior in high school I worked for a company with about fifteen women employees and a half dozen or so men.  Most of the men worked in the field with the exception of the office manager.  I was hired as part of a school vocational program, so I worked part of the day and attended school for part of the day.  (Actually I was barely shy of credits, so I only went to school for about 2 hours a day.)

As the newbie of the office, I got special treatment.  I got the desk closest to the lobby which divided our large open workroom and break room from the management offices.  So whenever the office manager wanted a cup of coffee, he would summon me via intercom to bring it to him.  No prob.

When it was time for my school program's end-of-year employer appreciation dinner, he offered to pick me up to drive the 20 or so miles to the restaurant where it was being held.   Don't worry; I know that you are probably thinking something sinister happened.  It was definitely inappropriate, but I wasn't frightened, just a little creeped out.  

Our company logo was a beautiful graphic design of a cow's head and horns which I loved.  I took the design and turned it into an applique done in sequins and sewed it onto a plain A-line maxi dress.  He came to our front door when he picked me up, took one look at what I was wearing, and said, "Kath, you will be the horniest girl there."  If my father had been sitting in the living room, the jerk boss would have needed medical leave to recuperate.  As it was I think I just rolled my eyes.

On another occasion he put a dead mouse in my top desk drawer.  Mid-morning, he had the poor judgment to intercom me to bring him his cup of coffee.  This particular morning he was SO not happy when he saw the dead mouse floating in it.   Flushed face, bulging vein in his forehead, the whole bit as he pushed the cup back across his desk and said to throw the contents AND the cup away.  I can see why he was mad, it was his favorite coffee mug after all.  LOL

Then one day he came back to the pool where all us 'girls' (ranging in age from 17 to 50-ish) worked in a big open room.  He said, all y'all ever wear is slacks.  I want to see more dresses.  And the shorter the better."  Even back then, we all commented on how inappropriate it was. 

The next day we all wore dresses, and I wore my very shortest skirt.  Ever heard of a 'sizzler'?  It was so short that it needed matching bloomers under it.  I stayed at my desk until...you guessed it...mid morning I am summoned for coffee.  I place the cup on his desk and head out the door.  He calls me back, and it's like the mouse incident all over again.  I look right at him and say, "What?  You said the shorter the better."  He is practically spluttering with rage as he tells me, "Go home NOW and change."  

Predictable jackass.  I already had another outfit hanging in the ladies room, so I was changed and back at my desk in about three minutes.  

I told my daughter this story recently.  She listened quietly, and then she said, "So what I am taking from this is that you were ALWAYS a smartass."

LOL  Yes, darling girl.  But I have just always believed in giving annoying people what they ask for...in a way that makes them as uncomfortable as possible.

You may wonder how I didn't get fired.  Well, I suppose he knew he would be in trouble if the truth came out.  In fact, it's possible that the day I wore the sizzler was a day the president of the company was due to be in the office, and I am not averse to throwing someone under a bus if I'm cornered.  And I'm sure the school would have loved knowing they placed a student in an inappropriate workplace.  Perhaps oddly, they kept me on even after I graduated.  I stayed employed there until I moved away when Carey and I got married.

All this to say that I've never been shy about letting someone know directly that I don't take $#!+ from anybody.  Of course, I've always had a safety net and an I-was-looking-for-a job-when-I-found-this-one outlook.

I did have a micro-manager in another job who had me in tears at least two days a week, but he wasn't inappropriate, just really unhappy and took it out on others.  I actually liked the work. He was eventually fired through no actions on my part, and I couldn't bring myself to stay in that job.  I think I may have had a case of the Stockholm Syndrome.

Now, as if this post isn't long enough, here I go on a pet peeve:

Please tell me what is fair about women openly belittling men's intellect, bodies, etc.  What exactly is okay with that?  Watch any television comedy, and you will almost inevitably see this.  If women don't like being sexualized by men, then what exactly makes it okay for them to do it to men?  Turn about is not fair play.  Two wrongs do not make a right.  

The line has been redrawn, the tide has been turned, and it seems that it is acceptable for men to now be on the receiving end of tasteless behavior.  Women should refuse to do unto others as they complain about having done to them.

Shame on us.