Porn talk in the workplace, part 2

The way of life of nearly everyone working there, bosses and employees, simply became too overbearing for me. The topic of conversation everyday was immoral. More specifically, it consisted of language like, "I wonder what she looks like naked" or "She looks yummy" or "I want her and her mom" or "Did you see her nipples?" or "Just three minutes, that's all I need" or "Look, look, look that at!" or "Hey, check this girl out on my phone" or "Wow, I almost had to sit down after looking at her." These are just a few examples from some of the conversations. Men and women were a part of this, mostly men, though, and nearly all of them were between mid-thirties and mid-fifties.

Just to give you an idea of just how filthy the conversation could be involving the women, let me share the following story with you. On one occasion wherein an argument took place between two employees, both in their early fifties, one an open homosexual (and school teacher!) and the other a woman. The argument was about which one of them had given the most "blow jobs." On another occasion the same woman bragged about how the previous day she had been with three men, because the first two just weren't doing her right. Another woman, a former school teacher in her early forties, made it perfectly clear to me that she wanted to have an affair with me [N.B., the writer is married, and has children -- RD], although never explicitly saying it.

After being in this environment for a year I couldn't take it anymore. But please understand that I did not, and do not, consider the things that I've mentioned to be sexual harassment. With few exceptions, my co-workers, all of whom totaled about twenty, were not trying to upset me or make me feel uncomfortable. Nor did I ever get the impression that I was not welcome there. How, then, did I understand the situation?

I understand it as the way our culture is. When the security officer showed me a picture on his phone of a woman who was practically naked, I understood it as part of our socio-cultural make-up. When one of the "temps" told me he couldn't wait to get an iPhone so he could have pornography on it, I understood it as part of our socio-cultural make-up. When the assistant manager said to me, "Man, she has some pretty titties," I understood it as part of our socio-cultural make-up. When it was visibly obvious that my boss and co-workers were undressing (and perhaps more) women customers, I understood it as part of our socio-cultural make-up. When a different assistant manager bragged to me about he and his wife went out to a strip club with his brother, I understood it as part of our socio-cultural make-up.

In short, I shook my head at them, kept quiet, changed the topic, went about my daily tasks, or walked away from the conversation.

The problem is not my former place of employment. The perfect customer service that greeted Rod every time he went in is proof of that. The problem is our culture, and it broke me down in the end.

I called the human resources manager and told that it was time for me to quit. Of course she wanted to know why and I told her. She wanted to know specifics, people, languages, dates, etc. I gave a couple but told her that it was not a matter of a specific issue or circumstances; rather, it was the way of life of the everyone there. She understood and offered to transfer me to another location where perhaps things would be different. I agreed but was not ever contacted again. I tried on two occasions to contact her. to no avail. I even had the manager at the location of my choice contact her, but again to no avail. Next thing I know, I got my check in the mail.

I have nothing to add to this testimony, except to say last week, I was walking through a pharmacy and saw on the magazine rack an issue of Cosmopolitan. One of the headlines was: "Your Orgasm Face: What does he see?", or something close to it. It struck me that this culture is morally insane.