Got fired from my work effectively today without warning. There were time for some explanations but the decision was made even before I tried to reason out. So, I was scrolling through my phone and suddenly received a message from a social messaging app that contained an explicit image, which I didn’t know before opening. I found it surprising that some people would literally greet you their stuff without saying hello or hi. The way I reacted shocked my coworker which I was friends with, and showed them the message. When I received more of those from other users, I jokingly said “hey look, here’s mine” while showing him another photo at one point. Judging from my skin color and race, I thought it was obvious that they wouldn’t believe it was me. After that incident, they seemed cool with it, proceeds to ask me stuff about encounters, experiences, etc.
Fast forward last week, I caught them steal an item and told my manager. They’re close friends so they didn’t really do anything about it. Situation got serious between the two of us after that, with factors such as work performance and their attendance clearly affected how our department functioned, and I, who was just doing my job, got their attention because they see me as a threat, not allowing them to have their fun.
Now, I got fired for such reasons, said what I shared couple weeks ago really disturbed them and made them feel uncomfortable. Although I’m aware that these content isn’t allowed in the workplace, it’s not the first time we talk about these stuff so I felt okay talking about it and of course I would’ve behaved differently given I was with an unfamiliar person in that situation. I took the hit and admitted my mistake as I have no excuse for it, but the fact that they said whatever I’m gonna say would not matter anymore (as the decision’s been made) felt so wrong. Not even a talk between the involved parties. Though the HR listened on the first half of my explanation, as soon as I got to the part where I admitted I did it, they then proceeded to make me recall the company policy, etc. and got me fired. It all happened so fast that I did not have enough time to recall or collect my thoughts. If only they knew the context, I think it wouldn’t be this bad. Also, I could’ve dragged them down with me as stealing is a serious offense too but I’m not that type of person and for sure they wouldn’t take a “sexual abuser’s” word very seriously.
What advice do you have for me? I have no intention to go back and I originally planned to resign in three months actually. Not that devastated as it was just a normal job, I’m more worried about what other coworkers will think of me, knowing they won’t get to hear my side. I’m thinking to just use my energy looking for a new job rather than appeal and get nothing out of it still. Thank you.