Because I'm tired of pretending that an obvious thing isn't.
I've written about this topic a time or two before, so let me make this perfectly clear right from the beginning: Everything that follows in this post is about something that wouldn't bother me nearly as much, if at all, if it wasn't taking place on company time.
Now, as I've said before, I've written about this before. I have a coworker who comes across as gay. I put it that way because if I were to stereotype the behavior, that's pretty much where it would fall.
I say that mostly because this guy likes to be all flirty with other male coworkers. This poses a problem for two reasons. One is that on the few rare occasions I've seen it brought up, he's strongly denied it. The other, more important reason is that I see this happening while all involved parties are on duty.
If it were not for that second reason, I wouldn't even be writing this, as I'd be more than happy to leave it alone because it's none of my business what goes on in someone else's life outside of work. It's the whole on-the-clock aspect of it that makes this an issue.
I'll liken it to my own weight and health issues. I freely admit that I've got these issues, because it's just not normal or healthy for a guy just over five feet tall to weigh in the area of 270 pounds. People can see that I've got a problem just by looking at me, and if they can't, all they need to do is wait until they have a chance to see me eat. I do it like it's going out of style sometimes, which is stereotypical fat guy behavior.
Of course, along those same lines, I should also be the kind of guy to be constantly stuffing my face, regardless of if I'm on the job. I don't, of course, as I know it would be wrong of me to do that even if I had the time for it while I was on the job.
I wish I could say that similar logic was applied to this one coworker specifically. It's not the behavior or the apparent orientation that bother me. It's not even the timing, so much, because even I've been known to be a little off-color when we're slow. I just try to reign in the mean-spirited, bitter asshole type humor when I'm on company time.
The biggest disappointment for me is that the same cannot be said for this particular man I work with. It's really a shame that he can't check himself even as badly as I do while at work. Then maybe I wouldn't care so much about the way the guy apparently goes.
As is, though, I'm just supposed to shrug all this behavior off as some kind of joke, or humor. Maybe that's what it is, but it still makes it look like the guy's using company time to get himself a little cock. In and of itself, that's not a bad thing. The bad thing is that it's happening on the company dole.
The best way for me to end this would be by saying that I'm willing to compromise. I'll check my personality and hold off on the jokes and humor if he will. Sounds fair. Kind of like the rules I see applied to myself and the rest of the crew for the most part.
I honestly don't understand people - or human nature. People are what they are, and I do not understand why it should be put down on criticized, or even hidden. I feel that people should allow themselves to be seen as they see themselves, and to live for themselves, to better themselves for themselves.
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