Thursday, August 21, 2008
So I was at work yesterday doing a safewalk shift with another coworker. The shift requires 2 people at all times except for when doing exterior-door lockups. Now since my coworker hadn't done a safewalk shift in over 2 semesters, I had to show him how to do the lockups so we went to one of the buildings together to do so. On the way there, there was this Indian (apparently fijian) chick that walked right by us. I've seen her many times before but I've never actually spoken to her. I mean, what's the point, really? In case you're wondering, yes she's hot. And naturally, as we passed by her, we both made mention to her aesthetics.
So after we headed to the building, I showed him how to lockup the doors and then headed in the opposite direction to do the other half of the lockups. He didn't have a radio on him so when the supervisor tried to get a hold of him, there was no response.
Afterwards, the supervisor told me he needed to get a hold of him, so I went to the building he was locking up doors at and found him. He felt nervous that the SV wanted to speak with him, as did I, since not having a radio isn't exactly grounds for having a talk with the supervisor.
After he spoke with him, my coworker, Gidey, broke it down for me.
Apparently, the supervisor wanted to speak with him regarding the girl that we had passed in the hallway.
Here's a script of what Gidey said happened:
Gidey: Hi, I am gidey, what do you do here?
Girl: I coordinate the janitors to clean up the buildings. What about you? do you go to school here?
Gidey: yeah, I go to school here, what about you?
Girl: I am doing some receptionist program in vancouver. Anyways, I've gotta get going.
About 5 minutes later, since they were both in the same building, they ran into each other again ( it happens a lot)
Gidey: Oh, I forgot to ask you what your name was
Girl: oh my name is "(who cares)", where are you from?
Gidey: where are you from?
Girl: I am from Fiji
Gidey: okay, well how about you give me your number and I'll tell you where I am from over the phone.
Girl: okay, *gives number*. Anyways, I have to get to the library.
That's pretty much all that happened. Turns out, she filed a complaint against Gidey for stalking her. He was absolutely traumatized by the incident. It felt weird for me because I barely know the guy. We've both been here for over 1.5 years and never actually worked or spoken to each other, so I really didn't know how I was supposed to react. The thing is, I understand his position. He was attracted to her and wanted to get her number. But I disagree that he was following her since you happen to run into the cleaners a lot when doing the exterior patrols. That's just how it is.
All in all, he felt that his good reputation of working there for 2.5 years had gone down the drain. He was most upset at the fact that the security supervisor had to contact the csp supervisor and head supervisor about the matter. Neither the csp SV or head SV could believe that Gidey of all people would have been involved in something like that. Eitherways, it really sucks for him.
So after we headed to the building, I showed him how to lockup the doors and then headed in the opposite direction to do the other half of the lockups. He didn't have a radio on him so when the supervisor tried to get a hold of him, there was no response.
Afterwards, the supervisor told me he needed to get a hold of him, so I went to the building he was locking up doors at and found him. He felt nervous that the SV wanted to speak with him, as did I, since not having a radio isn't exactly grounds for having a talk with the supervisor.
After he spoke with him, my coworker, Gidey, broke it down for me.
Apparently, the supervisor wanted to speak with him regarding the girl that we had passed in the hallway.
Here's a script of what Gidey said happened:
Gidey: Hi, I am gidey, what do you do here?
Girl: I coordinate the janitors to clean up the buildings. What about you? do you go to school here?
Gidey: yeah, I go to school here, what about you?
Girl: I am doing some receptionist program in vancouver. Anyways, I've gotta get going.
About 5 minutes later, since they were both in the same building, they ran into each other again ( it happens a lot)
Gidey: Oh, I forgot to ask you what your name was
Girl: oh my name is "(who cares)", where are you from?
Gidey: where are you from?
Girl: I am from Fiji
Gidey: okay, well how about you give me your number and I'll tell you where I am from over the phone.
Girl: okay, *gives number*. Anyways, I have to get to the library.
That's pretty much all that happened. Turns out, she filed a complaint against Gidey for stalking her. He was absolutely traumatized by the incident. It felt weird for me because I barely know the guy. We've both been here for over 1.5 years and never actually worked or spoken to each other, so I really didn't know how I was supposed to react. The thing is, I understand his position. He was attracted to her and wanted to get her number. But I disagree that he was following her since you happen to run into the cleaners a lot when doing the exterior patrols. That's just how it is.
All in all, he felt that his good reputation of working there for 2.5 years had gone down the drain. He was most upset at the fact that the security supervisor had to contact the csp supervisor and head supervisor about the matter. Neither the csp SV or head SV could believe that Gidey of all people would have been involved in something like that. Eitherways, it really sucks for him.
Comments:
That's a pretty shit deal and I feel for the guy, but with regards to other people, there are some real creeps who work security just as there are some people who are oversensitive biatches.
I think they need a better filtering process. From the stories I've heard from Mai and some of the guys who work security at the Museum of Anthro, it's surprising how some of these quasi-stalkers get in; not to mention, they ruin it for the good guys who harmlessly ask for a phone number.
It wasn't her fault and I do somewhat blame my coworker for having done what he did. He could have chosen a better opportune moment to have done that; however, given the fact that he is a decent guy, it's hard not to feel really bad for him.
I'm sure your coworker is a decent guy and didn't intentionally harass anyone. I'm curious though - you and Gidey are security guards, right? You'd be surprised at how much being in that position makes a difference - guys who initiate contact are far more likely to set off "harassment" alarms if they are in a position of authority, whether that authority comes in the form of being able to hire and fire, or in the form of being charged with safeguarding.
As Reuben mentioned, I've seen a fair share of iffy cases. A kind fellow named Theo, nice-looking decent guy I consider a friend, got slapped with harassment charges for consistently buying one of my coworkers coffee on the job and doing other things that people do when they have developed a harmless crush, except he did them while in uniform and while she was stuck in the shop and couldn't walk away. Another guard, Dave, slipped me his email while we were working and asked me for my phone number (I refused), and then kept asking why I haven't emailed him yet. It was really uncomfortable for me whenever we were both at work, and I avoided taking on shifts on days I though he could be working; it was a psychological barrier that prevented me from working to the best of my ability. I never filed a complaint though.
If, however, Dave and I had been at a staff party or ran into each other outside of work when he'd first asked me for my contact, I would have felt much less uncomfortable. "This guy, who works as a security guard, is hitting on me" is much less intimidating than "this security guard is hitting on me", because in the former situation there is no power imbalance. So, even though the intentions on his part may be identically innocent in both situations, you might see how in one situation it would feel like harassment to the girl, while in another it might be fine.
As Reuben mentioned, I've seen a fair share of iffy cases. A kind fellow named Theo, nice-looking decent guy I consider a friend, got slapped with harassment charges for consistently buying one of my coworkers coffee on the job and doing other things that people do when they have developed a harmless crush, except he did them while in uniform and while she was stuck in the shop and couldn't walk away. Another guard, Dave, slipped me his email while we were working and asked me for my phone number (I refused), and then kept asking why I haven't emailed him yet. It was really uncomfortable for me whenever we were both at work, and I avoided taking on shifts on days I though he could be working; it was a psychological barrier that prevented me from working to the best of my ability. I never filed a complaint though.
If, however, Dave and I had been at a staff party or ran into each other outside of work when he'd first asked me for my contact, I would have felt much less uncomfortable. "This guy, who works as a security guard, is hitting on me" is much less intimidating than "this security guard is hitting on me", because in the former situation there is no power imbalance. So, even though the intentions on his part may be identically innocent in both situations, you might see how in one situation it would feel like harassment to the girl, while in another it might be fine.
It's sad that we live in a time where a man can't even speak to a woman without fear of being labelled a stalker or accused of harassment. This is one of the many reasons why it's so difficult for guys to approach women.
Fuck that really pisses me off to hear something like that...
Post a Comment
Fuck that really pisses me off to hear something like that...
