That Opinion Belongs Nowhere

(This is the day after the tragic Orlando, FL, shooting where one man targeted patrons at a gay nightclub. My coworkers and I are discussing the event. Three of the five of us in the discussion are openly gay or bisexual, including myself.)

Shift Lead: “I can’t believe someone would just get so upset that they felt the need to kill so many innocent people.”

Coworker: “They were just getting rid of people that don’t belong in this world.”

(The four of us just look at this one coworker in shock.)

Shift Lead: “Wait, what?!”

Me: “That’s REALLY wrong for you to say! What do you mean, ‘people that don’t belong in this world’?”

Coworker: “NONE of them belong here!”

(I had to leave the room because of how upset I was feeling. Word quickly spread up the chain of command of this coworker’s comments, and she was heavily reprimanded. She had to make a formal apology to me and the other LGBTQ coworkers, and basically remained on thin ice with the administrative staff for some weeks after that.)