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
What ever happened to just talking to people? Why can't we change our language to fit the circumstances at hand instead of trying to find one size all solutions? Even among FTM or Non-binary individuals there's no agreement. Some are fine with pregnant woman, some what pregnant person/individual, some want to be referred to as a pregnant man! I dont need to agree with any of that to honor the person in front of me and use their preferred term. Just tell me! Don't assume malice where mistake is probably more likely.
I'm teaching my child to give others grace. Correct others who may mess up his pronouns. If they refuse to try to change then you can be offended. However, understanding that most people are just creatures of habit and don't understand how the other person feels goes a long way towards the end goal of mutual respect. Instantly chastising them and assuming ill intent does not. Speak up for yourself and try to be respectful until its clear the other person isnt willing to be respectful back.