Diving Into The Deep End Of Double Standards
Bigotry, Boyfriend/Girlfriend, Canada, Coworkers, Fights/Breakups, Jerk, Pool | Romantic | December 2, 2017
(I’ve recently graduated and have returned to my old pool job to pay off some student debt. A lot of my coworkers are younger, and they sometimes like to gossip about office romance. I stay out of it, but this one time I have to step in. Note, both [Coworker
#1 ] and I are female, while [Coworker
#2 ] is male. At the time this takes place, no one is in the pool, so we are doing some cleaning jobs.)
Coworker
#1 : “I can’t believe [Coworker
#3 ] already has a new girlfriend. He and [Coworker
#4 ] only broke up last week. It seems to soon.”
Coworker
#2 : “Did you know that he was seeing [Coworker
#5 ] on the side up until he met this new girl?”
Coworker
#1 : “What?”
Coworker
#2 : “Yeah, he does that a lot. It wouldn’t surprise me if he has someone new in week or two.”
Coworker
#1 : “How does he get all these girls? He treats them like crap.”
Coworker
#2 : “Hey, it’s not his fault. The girls make it too easy for him.”
(At this, both [Coworker
#1 ] and I stop and look at him.)
Coworker
#1 : “What did you say?”
Coworker
#2 : “Well, it’s beyond his control. The girls are making it too easy for him to get dates and he can’t help himself. It’s not his fault really.”
Coworker
#1 : “Do you even realize what you’re saying?”
Coworker
#2 : “What? I’m just stating the facts—”
Me: *interrupting* “I’m sorry; are you really saying it’s the girls’ fault that he’s an a**hole?”
Coworker
#2 : “What?”
Me: “You’re saying that it’s the girls’ fault that [Coworker
#3 ] treats them like crap.”
Coworker
#2 : “Oh, no, I was just saying that they are making it too easy for him.”
Me: “So, he’s exempt from blame and allowed to treat girls like trash because they give him a chance?”
Coworker
#2 : “Oh, no, I didn’t mean it like that.”
Me: “What did you mean, then? Especially when you said, ‘He can’t control himself; he can’t be at fault, really.’? Or even when you said, ‘The girls make it too easy for him.’?”
Coworker
#2 : “I just meant… I… uh…”
Coworker
#1 : “Dude, she’s got you there.”
([Coworker
#2 ] got a good lesson on double standards that day.)