A Serious Angry Rant

Serving beer is the easy bit.

Apart from the interminable removal of all traces of urine, vomit, stale beer and random detritus from the premises, dealing with drunken cloacas is the main chore of working behind a bar. As well as the slimey chat-up lines and inappropriate sexual innuendo that has to be endured on an hourly basis by any bar staff in possesion of a pair of breasts, and the aggressive drunks intent on destruction of themselves, someone else or both, there is occasionaly a customer harbouring more sinister intentions. A male who is both disrespectful of women and violent. A male who uses staggeringly abusive language and threatens bar staff. A male who rams his way out of a car park roaring drunk in his BMW despite the sober pleas of his friends. A male with a history of serious violence against women.

This kind of behaviour is unfortunately an occupational hazard for any bird behind a bar, and something that I did expect to encounter, given that I was working in an environment almost by definition dominated by drunk men, (not, I hasten to add, that this Bird has not encountered other birds being a right royal drunken pain in the arse, they just don't have behind them the full force of patriarchal self-righteousness and legal precedent, frequently combined with greater physical strength).

What this Bird was not expecting was the complacency of her employers and co-workers. Not forgetting for a moment the sole other female employee who continued to serve the above mentioned gentleman, despite his heinous behaviour, in a heart-warming display of female solidarity, other staff delivered such iniquitous comments as, "I don't want you to think I'm taking sides, and if you don't want to serve him, that's ok, but we'll continue to serve him until we see him misbehave ourselves." Marvellous, now the guy will feel justified in thinking the entire episode is a personal issue and that his behaviour is perfectly acceptable, and it's just that some up-tight bitch has a problem with him. Another: "Maybe we should put a sign up. I want to say a fair usage policy but that's not quite what I mean." Is it not? What sign? "No misogynistic assholes allowed in here, though if you come in we won't actually bar you"?

This Bird is angry; angry that due to not being taken seriously by staff and employers she now feels unsafe walking home; angry at the complacency that all women who are victims of male violence are forced to endure. This Bird will endure it no longer. Watch this space.......................