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Thanks for all your replies. Here’s some more background; I started mid August. I had spent 30 years prior as a CNC Applications Engineer for machine builders and dealers. This is my first time at direct Manufacturing in a production machine shop. In my earlier career I would probably go on site to a machine shop 2 to 4 times a month, for 30 years.
A friend already working here got me the job. I didn’t think I could handle the pressure of production machining, so I never even looked in this arena. My friend “George” is late 30’s and we worked first shift closely together. And had adult discussions about cars, news, sex, our jobs, the weather, etc. There was also a younger fellow Igor around 27-8 that worked second shift and we overlapped 1-1/2 hours. WE GOT ALONG GREAT. Collegial, professional, working side by side. We respected each other and learned from each other. As a matter of fact, Igor went to work for a machine builder and I have been mentoring him, as I feel my thirty years in the world he’s just entered may come in handy for him. I probably had a few sex chats with him. Don’t remember, don’t care. It was just guys being guys and we were on the same wavelength. George left late Nov and Igor left mid Dec. So whats left is my antagonists; John and Fred. So speech that may have been acceptable to all changed into forbidden speech after George and Igor left. The 3rd guy started mid January of this year.
George told me that one of the young men, when he first went to work here 3 years ago, was out in the parking lot with George getting stuff off the catering truck. The young man, my main accuser, held a cold bottle of water to George’s head and then held him against the outside wall and challenged him to a fight right there. George floored him rather quickly. I don’t think there were any witnesses.
My friend George would spend his breaks talking to Nancy. The same young man would ask them if they were dating, and how their date went and if they were getting engaged. Harassing type stuff. Well, it got so uncomfortable for George, he stopped talking at break with Nancy.
I had one event early on with this young man. I put my hand on his shoulder after I had only been there a couple weeks and he recoiled. “I’m sorry, Fred, does that bother you?” Well, Jim, yeah, it kinda does.” "I’ll stop it immediately and I apologize." I can be crude and profane, but I really really do not knowingly make other people feel bad deliberately.
This was Fred’s lesson that if you have a problem with Jim, all you have to do is ask him to stop the behavior and he will. So after this, it looks like he decided to record every single time I said something sexually suggestive I ever said for the next six months, and enlisted his buddies to do the same. I feel they did not even want me to stop, but keep on being me and keep on digging my hole ever deeper every time.
I never ever considered the possibility that R rated language amongst a group of males in the 25-54 demographic could be construed as sexual harassment.
Now, I probably walk past or am near these 3 people about 10 times a day each. 30 possibilities a day for me to be my nasty vulgar self and they got me for a frequency of once a month. So once every 600 “harassment” opportunities were me saying something vulgar. (600 = 30 possibilities a day *22 work days a month) That’s a little less skewed towards the full time sexual predator some of you seem to think I am. And when George and Igor were here for their 3 or 4 remaining months this language probably went on now and then between the three of us with 2 of my antagonists within earshot at least some of the time. They would never even think of busting Igor for this. He’s their generation and seemed to be mutually friendly.
I feel if I was asked to stop ONCE, none of this would have happened. I also feel if my young friends had asked me to relate to them like 13 year old children I would have been happy to oblige. And my main protagonist used the F word within earshot of me three times yesterday.
The “authorities” on their side are all women and I feel they are thinking of how they would feel if this were happening to them. I didn’t even think male to male sexual harassment was even possible, except for rape or assault.
There’s only about 25 people on the shop floor. I would say I am of average age. The young men all get along fine with the other older people here. I do too. I wonder what the remaining people will think of my three antagonists when they all find out why I was let go?
-90% jimmy
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