Chasten Buttigieg’s story of being confronted at work has Twitter sharing their own stories

Chasten Buttigieg hugging on the campaign trailPhoto: screen cap

Chasten Buttigieg shared a story about being confronted at work after a manager found out he is gay and it resonated across Twitter with LGBTQ people who’ve faced similar situations.

The replies to Buttigieg are both horrifying and inspirational as folks told their stories of overcoming prejudice to live their best lives.

Related: Ritchie Torres is proposing legislation that will include LGBTQ businesses in credit regulations

Buttigieg’s husband, out Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, became the first gay presidential candidate to win delegates to the national convention with early wins in the primary election. While the candidate didn’t win, Chasten Buttigieg surely did; he has become a powerful influencer on social media on behalf of LGBTQ rights.

“I’ll never forget when an assistant manager found out I was gay in the break room, marched out onto the floor, came right up to my face and said wait, is it true you’re a f**?’,” Buttigieg tweeted. “Now imagine if my manager didn’t like that about me either.”

“At the time, it would have been legal in far too many places in America for them to simply show me the door. It is time to codify true equality for LGBTQ people and pass the #EqualityAct”

The Equality Act is a landmark LGBTQ civil rights bill that would provide nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people in several facets of modern life – from jury selection, credit decisions, employment, housing, and more. It passed the House of Representatives last week, but faces an uncertain future in the Senate.

Buttigieg’s story quickly garnered replies from followers who shared their own stories.

“A shift manager found out I was gay not long after I was forced out of the closet and went ballistic on me, telling me I should kill myself,” Kellie Greenberg replied. “I ended up in a meeting with the owner of the store, who agreed with the manager and said I lucky to still have a job.”

“I was fired for being gay from a job I had while in college. It came out of nowhere,” Mike sent back. “I remember the manager also saying, “Let’s just say you are not the type of person we want around here.” It was a low point and I’ll never forget it.”

“Time from my first job to the first job I could be out at (current job)?” Meg tweeted. “1967-2010. 43 years. I fucking get it.”

“A former supervisor of mine (the good ole fashioned straight white male), before I was out, asked me if I was gay. I had to choose to either maintain the “fine working relationship” my boss said he had with me by telling him the truth, or protect myself,” user Ryan Nolan added. “I chose to protect myself and lie. I then had to keep up this lie and remain unauthentic for the rest of my time there. All because he NEEDED to know my sexual orientation, before I was ready to share it (with anyone)”

Jacob, however, pointed out that thankfully times are changing.

“I honestly feel lucky that the managers that I work with in my job don’t seem to be homophobic. I make no attempt to hide the fact that I have a boyfriend at work if he comes up in conversation. Nobody has treated me differently,” he sent. “I know that isn’t the case for some or most people in our community and my heart goes out to them.”