No matter the workplace, it seems, drama abounds.
One man—committed to his years old locks—finds himself in a bind as an assistant manager endures chemo.
This guy is a 27-year-old gas station employee and he's at the end of his rope.
He reached out to Reddit for some advice in navigating the sensitive workplace moment.
AITA for not shaving my head alongside my coworkers in support of a coworker with cancer? : AmItheAsshole from AmItheAsshole
As he says in his post, he works in one of those gas station/Subway sandwich shop combinations. Between the gas station and the Subway, we're talking a staff of 18 people.
One staff member—the guy's assistant manager—has cancer and shaved her head when chemo began. Not uncommonly, employees decided to shave their own heads to express support and solidarity.
What is less common is that EVERYONE did it.
Everyone at work shaved their head except this one guy.
Now Randomname9991 is public enemy #1 at work. He's getting eye rolls, snide comments, passive-aggression, all of it.
Some Redditors weighed in on whether he's in the wrong and offered some real advice alongside the moral judgment.
"Instead maybe make a donation, or give blood, or volunteer. And if they bug you again, say 'I'm not shaving my head but instead I donated in honor of [name].' Donations go farther in cancer research than cutting one's hair, anyway." u/discombobubolated
"I'd even argue that shaving your head in solidarity is the laziest way to support someone with cancer. Give them a ride home from chemo or offer to cook/clean/etc for them some time." u/TwoSoxxx
"Cancer survivor here and my kid also has cancer. You don't need to shave your head to show support. I see so many videos of people shaving their hair off to raise 'awareness.' I'm pretty sure everyone is aware that cancer exists now."
"Someone mention blood donation which is way more needed for cancer patients or just needed in general." u/HappySam89
"This 'fully committed' crap is laughable - if they were so fully committed to supporting the co-worker, they'd pay all her bills so she didn't have to work while dealing with cancer." u/dischdunk
The comments pretty clearly hit on a debated issue: how can people be truly supportive in the fight against cancer?
6 ways to support loved ones and friends with cancer | Ilonka Meier | TEDxJIS youtu.be
Most of these Redditors, and plenty of other sources, agree that simply looking like the person enduring cancer only serves to pat oneself on the back.
Some have even called the gesture offensive, as it constantly reminds the person of their struggle.
When Life Throws You Cancer: The Patient is Still a Person youtu.be
Many advocate for small, direct favors that offer one's time or finances.
Things like doing the grocery shopping or accompanying the person to the park. Truly, shaving one's head only begins to be a pragmatic benefit if it's long enough to be donated for wig-making.
This usually means 8-14 inches, according to Cancer.net.
Surprisingly, plenty of the hair that doesn't make the cut for wigs ends up cleaning oil spills.
There's no telling if Randomname9991 ended up caving to pressure and shaving those flowing locks—which he regrettably didn't include a picture of—but it's clear he has plenty of options.
Reddit user RasheenHyuga asked:
"What’s something that’s better when it’s smaller?"
We expected—and skipped over—the talk about butt stuff. Nobody is here to shame the size queens.
We did not, unfortunately, expect nor skip over the stuff about spiders.
We had to read it, so now you do too.
Differing Dad Approaches
"Pills/capsules shaped medicines."
"I have this difficulties swallowing hard capsules/tablets, if I'm aware."
"My dad used to hide them into fruits so I was not too anxious about it and not too bitter if I had to chew them."
-laffinator
"As a child, my father said that I’d need to learn how to dry-swallow pills in case there’s a world war & clean water is rationed."
- jesusbabygirl·
GiphyTiny Pets
"Kittens and puppies. They’re so cute when they’re tiny and I just wanna pick them up and hug them all!"
-bobcatnat123
"Kittens, because when they grow up, they become bitches."
- MrFroggys
"I'm gonna get hate but dogs."
"I really like little dogs because they're like little wolves...but not! They're pocket companions and, if trained properly, can be well behaved and loving!"
"Yeah, having a large dog that can do stuff is awesome - but having a mini wolf you can shove in your back pack and take wherever is even cooler in my opinion. You'll never be alone because they're portable!"
"On a subway? Pocket dog."
"In a store? Pocket dog."
"Riding a bike? Pocket dog."
- CosmosFactor
GiphyUno!
"The amount of Uno cards you're holding"
-saikopasu_neko28
"I wouldn't mind a few more if they are all wild cards"
--nogoodusernames0_0
"Especially if it’s a plus 4 or plus 2!"
- Thecrazytrainexpress
"The amount of Uno cards you're holding - while also remembering to say Uno on the last card. Learn from my mistakes..."
- poopellar
GiphyBills, Bills, Bills
"Bills."
-Resistycometostrike
"A duck would disagree with you."
-smnow
"Hospital bills in the USA is the obvious answer."
- No_Comedian_9677
"With the hospital bills in the US right now, I totally agree."
"I got some old painkillers, tweezers, hydrogen peroxide, liquor, gauze & duct tape. I'll be fine."
- bleezzzy
GiphyThe Small C
"Cancer."
"It's never good, but it's better if it's smaller. I had a low grade Glioma (pre-cancer, caught it early) scraped/removed out of my skull, hell ya!"
"Statistically 60% of people don’t know they have one until they have the first seizure. That's what happened to me but I had other symptoms like light sensitivity, vision rainbows, exhaustion, insomnia, etc."
"I work on a computer everyday and I happen to have light sensitive eyes. One day I had a seizure."
"Lots of tests, MRIS, cat scans, pet scan, brain scans. They found a mass of brain that was explained as a “black mold” of brain matter."
"Surgeon suggested removing it sooner rather than watching it slowly grow over time."
- TastelessDonut
"My cancer was caught on a mammogram when it was too small for even my doctors to feel, and it was right under my skin."
- notthesedays
GiphyNo Good Stones
"Kidney stones."
"I've never had one, just figured bigger object through peepee = more pain."
-Manekosan
"Fun fact I learned from experience: smaller kidney stones are way easier to pass, but the pain of them getting to that point can be far more severe because they're more likely to be jagged in structure."
"Suffice to say I agree with this one, but only just barely cause nonexistent is the best size for a kidney stone. That sh*t hurts. lmao"
-eltanin_rastaban
"Aaahh, human pearls."
- KrAzY_TsEnG
GiphySpeaking Truths Over Here
"Potato wedges are crispier and have an overall better taste when they're smaller."
-CLTalbot
"First answer I have read that isn't just making a bad thing smaller but rather is increasing how good something is"
-MrGoogabonomon
"Yes. See? A real answer. Something I can apply to my life. Unlike philosophical moral truths and magic shrinking debt."
- CombustibleA1
GiphyLiteral Small Packages
"I'm a postal worker - packages. If it fits in your box, fuck yeah. Time saved."
-BeechCow
"I replaced my street side mailbox a few years ago. No real need to but I put in a much larger box."
"My postman stopped one day and thanked me for doing it."
-richg0404
"F*ck yeah, I love it when my postal worker fits their package in my box."
- Kerrigore
"That reminds me of a jazz song called 'I'm Your Mailman' "
"It's about postal workers and yes, there's LOTS of innuendo."
- BeechCow
GiphyYummy
"M&Ms"
"Mini m&ms are so much better in my opinion."
-ArkhamBookworm
"Damn I used to live mini M&Ms but they stopped selling them in my country."
"The tube they used to come in now comes with the regular size m&ms, which makes no sense cause you barely get any. What the hell is up with that?"
- crnhs
GiphyNo Anus
"Spiders and all arthropods"
-Background_Egg1364
"Are you sure? Demodex is a genus of tiny mites that live in or near hair follicles of mammals."
"Around 65 species of Demodex are known. Two species live on humans: Demodex folliculorum and Demodex brevis, both frequently referred to as eyelash mites, alternatively face mites or skin mites."
"They have no anus so they just live in your eyelash follicles until their own sh*t makes their exoskeleton burst and they die."
"You probably have some living on you right now, they're just too small for you to see."
-doublestitch
GiphyOK, you know ... we were all good until the poopsploding mites that live on your eyelids.
Somebody always has to make it weird on Reddit.
I'm starting to wonder if it's a secret by-law or something.
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"What is something you cannot find hot or attractive no matter how hard you try?"
People discuss the looks and behavior that are off-putting to them.
Know-It-All
"Everyone's typing sexual shiz, but here's mine: Ego. When someone thinks they're just a top of the line kinda person and know everything about anything? No, just no."
"Had a guy I had just started dating awhile back ask me about my job at the time. I was telling him about it, but he would interrupt me to try and CORRECT me on things he clearly had no idea about (and was also wrong about every time he opened his mouth lol)."
– NuckingFutsWinx
Puckering Up
"When girls put lipstick above their lip line to make their lips look bigger."
– JackEyedPees
"I don't respect people that can't color within the lines, didn't in first grade and don't now."
– Zerole00
Lip Augmentation
"Those huge pumped up lips on a woman."
"Gross."
– fishnwirenreese
And To Top It Off
"The female equivalent of a toupee."
– jfq722
Negative Behavior
"Bad attitudes."
– ForExpToronto
"I feel like that's the kind of thing that's alluring because it conveys confidence until you actually get involved with someone like that and realize they're just an a**hole."
– Turkey__Puncher
There's a certain way adult couples speak to each other that others find annoying and more fitting for a nursery room.
How Infantile
"Baby talk."
– Dendad6972
"If you think it’s bad coming from a girl try hearing it from a guy. !!"
– Watermelonito
Missmatch
"Girls doing baby voices, I was once fooling around with this very cute girl and she used a baby voice sounding like tweety bird and sh*t and I couldn’t recover, I had to cut her free, hope she found the right guy who’s into that."
– santichrist
"That" Couple
"My ex would often talk in this very childish way of speaking, like trying to be funny and cute, and honestly I thought it was, until one day we were hanging out with her ex and her ex started talking like that and I was like….ohhhhhhh….I see."
– Vila_VividEdge
When it comes to the bedroom, these activities were ones Redditors could do without.
Getting Anal
"Scat."
"Truth be told, I had an ex who loves being f'ked in the a**. But it wasn't till the 20th ish time I realized she only wanted it up the poop shoot If she had diarrhea. And unfortunately it ended up all over me. Then she'd lick it off. Every single time I went immediately limp and couldn't finish. I tried, but, no.""I tried because she was into it."– oO_SbowWulf_Oo"Beep bobbly dee doot dah dah bup ba boodle doodle hee bat NOPE!"
– Alewort
It's A Fecal Thing
"Scat play. I'm not here to kink shame, but... Miss me with that sh*t."
– TheCantrip
Leave It For The Gastroenterologist
"Unsolicited internal organs shots."
– yeet_onfleek
Here's A Pisser
"Golden showers."
"She asked, I obliged, we broke up within a month."
– MelantorBoost
We all have our preferences that draw us towards certain people.
What others find repulsive, others find totally sexy. That's the beauty of dating, though, isn't it?
There's someone for everyone.
For those of you who are single and still looking, don't lose hope.
Your unicorn is out there.
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