Bias is bias, unconscious or not. . .

It’s important to remember one FACT:  Mr. Flanagan discriminatorily fired two gay men. TWO.  I and this other man stood up for ourselves and sued, because we had to, not because we wanted to.  They settled with him once it was proven he didn’t do what was alleged and in my case a 6+ years long lawsuit that I won in a jury trial. Both of us were able to prove we had been discriminated against and ultimately Mr. Flanagan was the one to make the decision to fire us both.

When Mr. Flanagan got on the stand the second time for the defense, he went on for about 10 minutes uninterrupted trying to prove he isn’t homophobic. His lawyer and the judge had to get him to stop because he wasn’t answering a question, he had a narrative he was trying to get out there – its 6 pages long in the trial testimony.

I shouldn’t have been fired, but Mr. Flanagan didn’t care and this was his chance to prove he was right and also let us know that he isn’t homophobic – because he had "lots of gay co-workers in the 80's." I believe this part of his testimony gives a glimpse of Mr. Flanagan’s unconscious bias, starting with all the gays he worked with and then going into the AIDS crisis:

This part of his testimony was very upsetting to me and I want to be crystal clear, gay people were not dying because they were living their lives as gay people per Mr. Flanagan, they were dying from a disease called AIDS.  Unlike Mr. Flanagan, AIDS didn’t and doesn’t discriminate, it also kills straight people.  Were straight people who contracted AIDS during this time or even today dying for living their lives or from the disease? That isn't a hard question, but a very important distinction.

This statement gives you a glimpse into how he views gay people and yah, that example is from 40 years ago but clearly, he still sees it that way as this is his freeform testimony, his own narration in 2024.  This bias is why I believe Mr. Flanagan executed the most extreme measure of discipline when it came to gay men.  The facts are there, two gay men fired by Mr. Flanagan – he spent 6 years lying that he wasn’t involved in the firing of the other gay man but finally admitted the truth on the stand - check my blog its there in his own testimony.  AARP and Mr. Flanagan still say our discriminatory terminations weren't a mistake.  Whether it be conscious or unconscious, treating gay people harsher than their straight counterparts is discrimination and it is what Mr. Flanagan did two times when given the opportunity.

While I know the jury did not hold Mr. Flanagan accountable for my discriminatory firing, I will always know he discriminatorily fired me and I am allowed my beliefs as I know the facts and this is my life and my story.

NOTE: You may or may not know what unconscious bias is, so I will share a definition of it here.  “We are, by definition, unaware of biases that affect our decisions and judgments: this is why they are called unconscious. For example, when most people hear the word “nurse,” they are more likely to picture a female, even if they don’t consciously believe that only women can be nurses. Because unconscious bias operates below our awareness, it can be challenging to acknowledge and manage.”