Rainbow badges at work - upset

[whatishappening123]

I work in a sector with vulnerable young people. A few years ago, we made the decision as a company to wear as part of our uniform, a name tag with the rainbow on as part of pledging our support to LGBT+
We have all received new name badges and for the first time ever- an option has been provided to have a red coloured one instead of the rainbow if staff 'do not agree with LGBT+'
I have raised this with HR and union and been told that staff are now allowed to choose and that is their right.
I feel really upset by this - colleagues I have known for years are now deciding against the rainbow badge.
We work with the most vulnerable- who are often LGBT. Some of our service users have asked staff directly why they are not using them- and they have lied saying " They'd run out , or the pin on the rainbow ones are crap, some staff are hiding the red ones.
It's not a majority by any means - it's probably about 11 staff in a staff of 60.
I just feel really really upset by it, but I can't quite put my finger on why.
I also don't understand how people can be 'against' LGBT
It's a protected characteristic.

I am pretty sure they don’t think everybody on the planet is transgender.

People should never have been compelled to wear the rainbow badges in the first place. That is authoritarian and dictatorial. Compelled agreement is coercive/abusive. Both options should have been available from the beginning and everyone allowed to choose.

I would quit before wearing an enforced badge like this. I was issued with a rainbow lanyard, I immediately swapped it for a plain one because I do not publicly show what groups I do or don't align with.

Let me guess you have to put your pronouns on your emails to be inclusive
A name badge should give your name nothing else

Ok.

I think the problem is that, by deciding to have rainbow badges to signal support, it has created a black and white implication that rainbow = for and red (or no rainbow) = against.
I don't believe that it's likely that anyone choosing a red badge is in any way a threat to the people they're supporting. There are many valid reasons why they may feel uncomfortable wearing a rainbow badge (it is a political symbol which doesn't have the innocent connotations it may have started out with for many).
However, An environment has now been created where vulnerable people feel even more vulnerable just because someone isn't wearing a rainbow badge. See how ridiculous that sounds?!
In short, this isn't an issue cause by red badges. Seemingly innocuous virtue signalling often has unwanted side effects and you're seeing this in action.

I think you're being a bit ridiculous here.

I just feel really really upset by it, but I can't quite put my finger on why.
I also don't understand how people can be 'against' LGBT

Wearing a red badge isn't being 'against' LGBT though is it? That is your interpretation! People should not be forced to wear a rainbow badge, if any thing they should be allowed to be neutral. I think your employers were very wrong and unfair in previously forcing everyone to wear this. I'm not at all anti LGBT but it pro LGBT shouldn't be forced.

I wish no harm to any group. I refuse to lie and if i am discriminating against trans people by saying I will not lie and pretend you are a woman when you are a bloke or vice versa then i am guilty of discrimination and quiet frankly i won't loose sleep over it but i sure as hell would if i lied.
Stop demanding people lie.

Not being pro something doesn’t mean that you’re anti.

Think about politics. The Don’t Know/Don’t Care people often make a significant percentage.

Has your organisation said that red = anti? I bet that they haven’t.

If you believe that males can be lesbians, same sex attraction doesn’t exist.

By gum, I think you've got it. I would like a grey badge please!

@whatishappening123 i feel so sad for all these vulnerable young people that you work with and hate / don’t support / don’t agree with - those with disabilities, pregnant girls and young parents , asylum seekers and refugees, immigrants, ethnic minority young people, Jews and Muslims, travellers , homeless people, those who are are care experience, gender realists, those whose political views differ from you own, vegans, vegetarians etc

How can you hate all these young people ? What kind of person are you to be so hateful ?

Because you’ve not worn a badge or lanyard that supports them, so you must hate them, right? That’s the only two options .

This is what I want to understand. I work in Comms and there is absolutely no way we would use that phrase. We would have said ‘There is a choice of lanyards available; a plain one and a rainbow one - please feel free to choose either’ and not included any indication of one signifying ‘disagree with LGBTQ+’.

@whatishappening123 was that really the wording used?

Op isn't coming back

Work places should not be giving out any rainbow badges at all as it just causes problems and where do you draw the line?

All badges should be a neutral colour.

I have worn the Rainbow in the past, but now find it isn't used to support inclusivity, but almost the opposite.

The red is surely "plain, non-rainbow" rather than against.

Neutral badge = inclusive of everyone

Rainbow badge = privileges a specific group

It sounds as though someone has advised HR that staff shouldn't be obliged to wear the rainbow lanyard. HR have disingeuously implemented this by saying that staff can choose to show either support or enmity towards LGBT people. I'd say that telling anyone who doesn't want to wear a rainbow lanyard that their only other option is to declare themselves publicly as hating LGBT people is itself discriminatory against, for instance, gender critical people or Muslim people (as they are likely to be disproportionately affected).

What is it they say about equality feeling like oppression when you are used to privilege?

This.

What a mad world I find myself in. A plain name badge is all that is needed

Utter madness.

THIS.
I volunteer at a christian based homeless charity . I am not religious but want to help the homeless. They ask if I want to pray with them at the beginning of each session (other staff members) I decline - that is fine . They are happy with that. I am not pretending to support something that I am not a believer of.

No, 'it's' not.
Sexual orientation is a PC
Gender reassignment is a PC
'LGBTQ' is not a PC. It may encompass the above 2 PCs but also a lot of other made up stuff which aren't.

I want a purple one in memory of all the animals killed in wars.

I think this is a risk when we start making a performance about supporting these things at work. It should go without saying that people are respectful of those they work with but they don’t need to wear that support around their neck.

I'd love the OP to come back and explain what exactly she has done apart from wear a colourful badge to "support LGBTQ"