At the beginning of the month, I wrote a post about a sexist and infuriating CPR instructor we had at work. He said some of the most insulting and disrespectful things I’ve actually heard first-hand, in my post second-wave feminist life, and I asked for contact information for his company to give feedback. I sent them an email, and sent it to my department management as well, just so they knew what I said.
My direct supervisor, a man I consider forward-thinking and a strong ally for equal rights, wrote me the following in response: “Your email was extremely well-written, balanced, and brings to light how inappropriate the instructor was during the training. Although I heard him say these things, it took you putting them down “on paper” to clarify how inappropriate they really were. Thanks for speaking up.”
I was really struck by his line: “Although I heard him say these things, it took you putting them “on paper” to clarify how inappropriate they really were.”
Even someone who is as strong an ally as my supervisor can sometimes benefit from others around him speaking up. I think this is really the first time I really stood up for something like this, alone, loud and confident I was right. Good feeling.
I Didn't Just Wake Up This Morning With A Craving 
It’s so important to speak up. Sometimes people don’t realize how they’re words come across and I think they’d appreciate knowing. Other times, they mean exactly what they say and need to hear how offensive they are.
Well, and of all my coworkers, I was the one the most angry about it. Sometimes, before people speak up (or me, at least) I need to know that people back what I”m saying. This was the first time that I didn’t care if they backed what I was saying: I knew it was wrong and would stand alone on it. Not that I needed to, but you get what I mean.
Thanks for reading!