Employee turns tables on cruel coworker, faces HR meeting after he gets offended: 'He is just disrespectful and a bad person'

Coworkers are what make or break a job.

Who you work with can make an otherwise bad role almost enjoyable, or they can turn a professional dream into a nightmare. Unless you hire them yourself, you have absolutely no power over who your coworkers are; in that way, they're kind of like annoying siblings, but for work. While many workplace relationships do not extend beyond politely greeting one another in the hallway, they can also prove to be one of the best or worst things to ever happen to you.

Sadly, there are plenty of employees who find that those they work with are difficult people to be around. They experience a personality clash, or are unable to deal with the fact that they have very different styles of working.

There is also the unavoidable truth that some colleagues are just plain horrible, and they can't (or won't) make the effort to hide that for the sake of professionalism. These types almost always cause problems, and they usually make a few enemies during their tenure. However, it is not uncommon for bad workplaces to let this kind of behavior go unchecked, leaving many of their coworkers with no choice but to suffer or quit.

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In this story, one woman was sick of how one of her coworkers would continuously say offensive things to those he worked with. She decided to fight back, but this came with consequences.
The 26-year-old started a job at this company 6 months ago, and quickly realized that it was not a good environment to work in. In particular, many of the male employees seemed to act immaturely.
One man in particular had a reputation for being mean, and she reached her limit when he said unacceptable things to both her and an expecting coworker. She retaliated by insulting him back.
This resulted in her being asked to take a meeting with HR. She wasn't sure how she wanted to proceed, but she wanted some moral support.
Am I wrong for showing my coworker what 'just being honest' can be like?

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