I was reminded of a funny (and weird) story by a friend recently....
Many years ago, I was working for a company that had about 200 employees. It was a nice job, and I am still friends with a lot of people from that time. Other details of the job are unimportant for this story.
SO, a new guy started at this job. He seemed very nice and pleasant. Normal, for the most part.
I should say here though, he was... well, nerdy, but that was OK. Most of us at this job were that way. This guy kind of dressed like Pee Wee Herman though. He kind of went out of his way to be conspicuously nerdy.
Some of my coworkers kind of approached me and said there was something off about the guy. At first, I thought maybe they were being mean, and just didn't like the guy (they weren't like that though). A couple of coworkers said he gave them "the creeps."
Maybe those coworkers were just messing with me about the new guy. I would defend the guy each time- telling them that he seemed pleasant and professional.
WELL...
Something happened as things tend to do at companies. Someone made a formal sexual harassment complaint.
The complaint did not involve anyone I knew, and the new guy was not involved either. Still, there was a big company meeting featuring an expected and appropriate lecture from the company's president.
The president made it very clear that there would be zero tolerance for any jokes, innuendoes, or other comments that could be offensive.
If you have ever been through one of these meetings in your career, you know that the best thing to do is just to sit there and listen. No need for questions or commentary.
Well, during the president's speech the Pee Wee Herman lookalike aggressively raised his hand. The president tried to ignore him for a minute or two, but the guy was waving his hand like a 2nd grader needing to go to the bathroom.
Raising his hand was strange on its own. My coworkers literally looked over at me. One silently mouthed "WE TOLD YOU!"
The president finally asked the guy what was so important.
The new coworker then asked a strange question, making it clear that he thought a zero-tolerance policy was harsh. He said something like, "well what if it is just a little joke? I have been at other places where someone gets all bent out of shape about a dirty joke and I don't think that's right...."
The guy would have gone on longer, but the president firmly cut him off.
I had to admit to my friends that they were obviously correct about the guy. Literally trying to make an argument that dirty jokes should be tolerated during a companywide meeting like that did not go well for the new hire.
I did distance myself from the guy after that. I don't know exactly what happened, but he was out of the company shortly after.
