I didn't know where to write this. I'm mad, sad, and feeling a bit hopeless. I come to the sub often, and it's honestly kept me going during a lot of what myself and my family have had to deal with.
Today, I realized I'm in a situation where I can't win. I work for a company that doesn't believe in doing the right thing, but chose instead to do the "right" thing. We had a meeting today where the president of the company declared that the US president is over-reaching and that vaccine mandates are unconstitutional and my company will not abide by these mandates, even if it means going to court. He told people to practice their freedoms and make decisions on their own. At THIS VERY SAME MEETING, he announced that in order for us to have reduced healthcare prices, we had to subject ourselves to blood screenings to go along with a physical. They clapped during one moment, stayed completely silent during the next. The irony was completely lost on all of them.
I've been very unhappy here lately; not at the job. I love the job, I was promoted through the company to do engineering work and I never stepped a foot inside a college. I've received multiple raises due to the kind of work I put out so I know I'm doing a good job. No, I'm unhappy at the people. I still wear a mask to work and when walking around the building. The only time I don't is when I'm in my office. People snicker and make fun of me when I do. HR doesn't see it and I can't prove it so they don't care, and this is even after I was stopped in the hallways and told "I hope you like bloodclots," for wearing a "I'm Vaccinated" shirt. I've also informed them at the start of this pandemic that my wife has an auto-immune disease that puts her at risk (she's one of the people who were at risk of the vaccine; please note she still got the vaccine as well as her booster, and though she got extremely ill for a couple days she said she'd keep doing it until life got back to normal). At first they seemed to care, they gave me a modified shift where I worked around less people. I found out later the only reason I got this was because a co-worker who aligns with my beliefs had to get the ADA involved in order for him to be able to work from home. When state restrictions eased I was told to come back. I was ready to, to be honest, but I came back to a nightmare. At Christmas they had a Christmas protest so that they could have the party as usual, stating that if BLM can use the word "protest" to "riot and burn down cities" then we can use it to eat and be merry. As my family marched at a few BLM protests, this didn't sit well either. Side note: seven people got COVID after this party.
Anyways fast forward to today. I'm sitting in my office and I'm writing this. I have a resignation letter opened on my second screen debating on turning it in. I can't work for a company that claims we are all family, but dismisses my fears and spits in my face. Yet at the same time the money I make here, in a position I don't qualify for but earned through work, can't be replaced without completely starting over. If I stay, I have to swallow what little pride I have left and continue to put my wife and children (at least the child that can't be vaccinated) in danger of getting COVID. At the same time, if I leave I will be putting my family into a financial hardship that will create so many more issues.
I know I'm probably going to delete the resignation letter and suck it up. At least I hope I know. But I needed a place to vent without putting a burden on anyone in my life. Thanks r/HermanCainAward for giving me this place. Hopefully this post doesn't violate the rules of the sub.
Lastly, to all those people who have claimed that r/hermancainaward is where people who want to bully republicans, anti-vaxxers, and the like, need to walk a day in my shoes, where I can't go from my office to the bathroom without someone mocking me for wearing a mask.... So tired of hearing, "Why are you wearing a mask if you got the vaccine?"