I work at a 3rd-6th public school in MA. I wore this hat to celebrate Pride month and last week of school. I am known for my 25 days of holiday hats I wear around the winter holidays. I do mostly Santa hats but also make sure to include secular hats/Hanuikka hats. No one has a problem with it and the kids LOVE it because the hats get progressively more outrageous the closer it gets to break.
So yesterday I get in the door and My Lead says “Do you have to wear that hat?” I replied “What? Its a rainbow hat for pride month?” And shrugged. Then my most vocal and conservative coworker came in and told me that “my hat is inappropriate”. I replied that d"iversity, tolerance, and inclusion is ALWAYS appropriate". She came back with " if it was just a rainbow hat but with the Pride sticker on there its not ok. You want tolerance and repect but you aren’t respected the other side. You know I dont believe in that and in front of the kids, its bad enough in front of us knowing we don’t believe in that." So I asked her if she wanted to bring it to HR. She said no and i offered to turn my hat around. Then My called HR who told her that my hat is fine. Lol.
The kicker is the coworker was wearing a Black Flag hat!
edit Black American Flag hat worn by conservatives in the US
Totally not the black flag you’re talking about but my mom after a pride once asked if there was a “heterosexual flag” and I hesitated before saying “There is. But you really won’t like it.” She pressed the issue saying she wanted to see so I brought up that black and white monstrosity and she got SO mad.
“How can they do this to us! That looks like prison stripes!” I had to tell her the LGBTQIA+ didn’t make that flag, it was a bunch of heterosexuals who didn’t like pride. She was ridiculously upset by that until I remembered the Ally flag was a thing and upon showing her she immediately cheered up saying something to the effect of “Those bigoted losers can keep their dumb ugly prison flag! What are they allergic to color? My flag has rainbows!”
I love my Mum.