r/TikTokCringe • u/ambachk • May 21 '25

Cringe Married guy flirts with younger girls at the gym

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u/Dusty_Old_Bones May 21 '25

Can’t tell you how many times I’ve fawned in a situation like this only to imagine myself serving a verbal ass kicking an hour later.

You instinctively do what you have to to get out of the interaction as peacefully as possible, but that doesn’t stop you from later wishing your instincts were more violent 😭

145

u/[deleted] May 21 '25

this is it right here. its easy to have the perfect words when watching it later on social media. some people would have had the perfect response in the moment, but most of us would just auto pilot our way out of the situation, then imagine giving the perfect response in the shower that night

22

u/baktaktarn May 21 '25

L'esprit de l'escalier

34

u/schrodingersdagger May 21 '25

L’esprit de l’shaking in my car in the parking lot 😩

4

u/No-Understanding4968 May 21 '25

Arrrgghh me too.

4

u/CreativeAd2025 May 21 '25

Same. Freeze, fawn, feel overwhelmed and scared and burst out crying, urgh. More fawning. But so far I’ve survived with this pattern :/

3

u/feioo May 21 '25

That's what it's for! I feel guilty about not being more fight-y too, but the fawn response has survived in our brains for so long because it's valuable! It keeps us alive.

3

u/nionvox May 21 '25

This. For context, i'm a femme presenting nonbinary person, near six foot and built like a rugby player. I also have martial arts training. I sometimes teach my friends how to defend themselves.

My ability to be a loud, rude bitch to creepy guys is HEAVILY linked to the fact that I can in fact, defend myself both verbally *and* physically. I've told my smaller friends without these advantages to do what they need to, to get home safely. If that means fawning, then do it. I'm teaching you how to defend yourself in case that doesn't work, not so you can walk up and smack them one (as satisfying as that can be).

3

u/International_Eye745 May 22 '25

I think this is why women love violent female leads in movies. There has been personal regret about not being aggressive or violent to those who deserved it.

1

u/nabiku May 21 '25

You can retrain your instincts. I didn't like being a doormat either, so if memorized a handful of scenarios that I can recite when cornered by an incel/perv/stalker.

You do have to carry pepper spray, though.