I seriously wish ALL men understood how stressful interacting with them even casually can be. Here's a breakdown of my night. I was closing alone tonight and some dude was smoking outside on our patio, but I needed to stack chairs to bring them inside for the night
I stack ones farther away from him because I figure give him more chill time. He offers to help, I'm polite about it and thankful even if I didn't really want it. Favors aren't always free. He starts asking questions:
"how are you doing? What are you up to tonight etc" I'm polite because I don't want to piss him off but also I am very aware he's positioned between me and the open door of my shop, which is empty
I'm doing the mental risk assessment in my head: what if this guy forces himself into the store, to rob us, what if he pushes me in the store to attack me. This is not a casual conversation to me I'm hyper aware of him & his movements while trying to not be rude
I'm trying to get my job done but also not rushing it so that I look scare or flustered. I'm not really scare during this but I'm definitely in low key fight or flight mode
He moves to sit on the bench by the door which is still stressful but I'm at least almost done dragging chairs in and soon I can head inside and lock the door. He asks me for my phone number, now I have to decide to admit I'm gay, say no, or say I'm dating someone
Any of these answers could get me killed or assaulted. There is no good answer. Ultimately he's fine and I'm able to end the conversation safely. But there was not a single second in those 7min I wasn't worried about dying
This is my life 
I guess if this thread keeps blowing up, you can read my other comics about sexism and "please don't murder me" stress, plus much more at m.tapas.io/series/ydiw or buy this struggling queer barista a ko-fi ko-fi.com/swinku
Also $1 gets you the ebook of my mini comic all about "my future murder" gumroad.com/l/Kdnfw
Thank you to the people who've been buying my comic & buying me ko-fis. I'm touched people have been reading my comics, after that crappy shift last night & the fact I'm missing a lot of work for a convention this weekend. I really appreciate it! 💖💖💖😭
