I work at a 3rd-6th public school in MA. I wore this hat to celebrate Pride month and last week of school. I am known for my 25 days of holiday hats I wear around the winter holidays. I do mostly Santa hats but also make sure to include secular hats/Hanuikka hats. No one has a problem with it and the kids LOVE it because the hats get progressively more outrageous the closer it gets to break.
So yesterday I get in the door and My Lead says “Do you have to wear that hat?” I replied “What? Its a rainbow hat for pride month?” And shrugged. Then my most vocal and conservative coworker came in and told me that “my hat is inappropriate”. I replied that d"iversity, tolerance, and inclusion is ALWAYS appropriate". She came back with " if it was just a rainbow hat but with the Pride sticker on there its not ok. You want tolerance and repect but you aren’t respected the other side. You know I dont believe in that and in front of the kids, its bad enough in front of us knowing we don’t believe in that." So I asked her if she wanted to bring it to HR. She said no and i offered to turn my hat around. Then My called HR who told her that my hat is fine. Lol.
The kicker is the coworker was wearing a Black Flag hat!
edit Black American Flag hat worn by conservatives in the US
Me: Well I don’t believe in that points at black flag hat but you don’t hear me being a whiny snowflake about it.
You want tolerance and repect but you aren’t respected the other side
By “other side” I’m assuming she means heterosexuals? If so, I’ll tell you as a member of that side that I think the hat is fabulous.
The other side is bigots. Literally the intolerant asking for tolerance of their intolerance. Blows my mind.
No, she doesn’t mean heterosexuals. Because most heterosexuals don’t have a problem with LGBT+.
She means bigots. She means that she expects tolerance and respect for the bigotry, so that she can continue to tell people being LGBT+ is a sin and bad for children or whatever.
It’s an argument in bad faith.
It’s sort of ironic, isn’t it? Tolerance and respect work both ways. Like we all have to tolerate these homophobes. So she is arguing against her own argument by making the argument.
PLEASE leave a copy of the U.S. flag code laying around somewhere. An all-black American flag ISN’T an American flag, and showing them how they’re breaking the rules of the flag they pretend to care about breaks their brain.
The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding or drapery. The flag should never be used for advertising purposes in any manner whatsoever. The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature.
Dude black flag is a punk band
How likely is it that a Conservative Christian type is into Black Flag?
About as likely as a highly conservative states person saying that their favorite band was Rage against the Machine
I was 50/50 on if it was the band or not. It didn’t seem to make sense for a callout for a band hat, so I assumed it was a black American flag. Could be wrong, though.
Totally not the black flag you’re talking about but my mom after a pride once asked if there was a “heterosexual flag” and I hesitated before saying “There is. But you really won’t like it.” She pressed the issue saying she wanted to see so I brought up that black and white monstrosity and she got SO mad.
“How can they do this to us! That looks like prison stripes!” I had to tell her the LGBTQIA+ didn’t make that flag, it was a bunch of heterosexuals who didn’t like pride. She was ridiculously upset by that until I remembered the Ally flag was a thing and upon showing her she immediately cheered up saying something to the effect of “Those bigoted losers can keep their dumb ugly prison flag! What are they allergic to color? My flag has rainbows!”
I love my Mum.
You know I dont believe in that
Yeah, that’s why the hat is necessary.
And if they tried to use the same logic with the Santa hat it would sound crazy.
Seriously. OP should strike up conversation next Christmas time while wearing the Santa hat. Causally ask them if they believe in Santa. Then when they inevitably say they do not, ask why the hat doesn’t offend them just as much as that rainbow pride hat did.
For centuries the treatment gays got was ‘stay hidden or else’. No respect in that from me.
For centuries the treatment gays got was ‘stay hidden or else’.
Citation and location needed? I’m a supporter of LGBTQ+ rights, but I don’t think that sentence is accurate.
Edit: Guys… there have been civilizations in which homosexuality was okay. I’m not going to say was pervasive, but it definitely was a thing. If you’re talking about Western values, then that’s a different thing.
They are talking about anti-sodomy laws like the Buggery act of 1533 variations of which persisted specifically in American law in some states up until 2003 that criminalized consentual sexual relations between same sex partners (though in practice mostly for men). For a very long time it was a hanging offence through it went through a lot of different eras the punishment changed. Some of the early of medical horomones was high doses of estrogen to “chemically castrate” men who were caught and proven to have had same sex sexual relations.
So yes. Stay in the closet “or else” is accurate.
Some of the first European anti buggery law originated in the same 50 year period (1250-1300) that the Church started cracking down on it’s previously fairly lax veiw of abortion stemming from multiple debated theories of when “ensoulment” happened. The reason for this was the emergence of the largest wave of the Black Death that caused fears of the collapse of society so it was “make babies (the Christian approved way) or else”. Buggery laws, midwifery suppression and the castigation of “non fruitful” same sex relationships were basically just used to force the issue.
Exactly what doesn’t she believe in?
That gay people don’t exist?
Honey, have I got news for her.
I suspect she believes they shouldn’t be allowed to exist. 😮💨
“Next thing y’all be learnin’ kids that Santa be gay, too!!”
–
JesusMAGASanta is SUPER gay.
“Don we now our gay apparel, fa la la, fa la la, la la la!”
Your coworker doesn’t know the first fuckin thing about Black Flag, apparently. I really hope she doesn’t ever find out about Rollins’ op-eds from LA Weekly or she might have a heart attack.
I had to reread that part of the post a couple times. Try to think of some other Black Flag it could mean. OP please read this if you don’t know what Henry Rollins and Black Flag stand for and educate your coworker!
Different Black Flag. The American one conservatives like to wear.
That is the most obnoxious hat I’ve ever laid eyes on. Well done.
When you asked if she wanted to bring it to HR, she probably thought you meant Henry Rollins and she knew that wouldn’t go well.
Oof it would have gone down very differently in a public school in Texas/Florida. Be grateful you’re in MA.
Offering to go with her to HR about it was the right move. Let her dig her own grave right in front of them. With any luck, she’ll get fired.
How many hats have you accumulated by now? Or do you sell them away once the holiday is over?
I have about 30. They fall apart amd get lost so I dont have too many saved.
The “other side” is the very definition of a lack of tolerance and respect so get bent, coworker!
Yeah like what exactly would a hat representing this other side look like?
Kinda white and pointy I’d imagine.
Tbf it’s a cheap looking hat with cartoons on the front. Why don’t you show some pride LOL
