Life Musings

Earlier, I talked about this unfortunate experience I had when I gave a friend of mine some flowers for her birthday. Basically, she reacted with mild thanks... but later that evening, she went wild when two other guys gave her a bunch of cheap bouquets. She acted as though these were the greatest presents in the world, and even asked me to take a photograph of her with these presents. The message that conveyed was "I really, really like these presents! The flowers I received earlier? Eh. No big deal."

I also talked about how some guys tore into me, stating how ridiculous it was for me to feel any hurt at this incident. "She thanked you, didn't she?" they asked. "What more do you want?" One person even said, "I would not want to accept a present which had so many strings attached."

These folks didn't get the point. I wasn't giving the present with any strings attached, nor was I expecting anything more than mere thanks. In fact, her original "thank you" was perfectly fine. The problem was that she offered me mild gratitude, whereas she positively gushed over these other guys' presents--even though theirs displayed a lot less thoughtfulness, effort and attention.

I guess some people feel justified in ridiculing those who would admit to feeling hurt under these circumstances. They like to think that they're superior -- that they're above such reactions. You know what, though? I bet they would have reacted with hurt under the same circumstances.

I like what one anonyous Internet poster said: "I feel like everyone needs to get up on their high horse in threads like these. And no one is willing to admit that they feel the same way. In the ideal world, yeah, maybe you give a gift and never think about it again...but we're humans and when we give gifts we like acknowledgment. And yeah it would piss me off - and hurt - in the situation you described."

'Nuff said.

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