Scary Monsters, Super Creeps

Cue another rant. I'll try to write something funny next time, but tonight I just have to get this off my chest. I've seen an increase lately in the number of creepy guys who have stepped into my life or revealed themselves to be not as nice as I once thought. I'm hoping that for some of those who I used to trust that it's just a phase. I have hope for them because I know deep down they're good people, just a bit troubled at the moment. One even seems to have recently recovered and become his normal nice self again, although I don't hang out with him often so who knows. Fortunately there have also been some consistently really nice guys, and plenty of supportive friends of both genders. I've noticed though, that creepy guys always get an attitude with you if you don't give them the attention they think they deserve. I know that this isn't a new discovery or anything, but I'm frustrated so I'm going to put my two cents in. Instead of thinking "oh, she didn't text me back because she's busy or maybe because I'm acting inappropriately", or taking the hint when I've implied that I'm really busy (which I honestly am much of the time, it's more of a convenience than a blow-off) or that I want some alone time, instead they either keep bugging you until you firmly part ways with them or bluntly tell them they need to stop. Sometimes if you ignore them, they take that as an invitation to keep trying, which is unfortunate and also not the normal response to someone not responding to you. Social skills, people. Learn them.

Now, I think we're all guilty of a little creepiness every once in a while. Goodness knows I've done my fair share of "facebook stalking" and staring, and if I weren't so shy when it comes to interacting with crushes I would probably be that annoying person texting all the time. But we all do that to a certain degree, especially when you really like someone (even if you just really want to be better friends with them). And I can usually take a hint. If someone doesn't respond, I'm not going to keep bugging them every 15 minutes for an hour. I'm going to assume they are busy or don't feel like talking to me and find something else to do. That's when it starts to get creepy. When you don't let it go. When your actions, which in a different context might be perfectly acceptable, become tacky and inappropriate in certain scenarios. For example, suddenly talking to one of your very recently ex-girlfriend's very close friends way more than usual and making flirtatious comments is not appropriate given the context. I'm not going to be rude unless I have to, and I try to give people the benefit of the doubt whenever possible, but that doesn't mean I'm not suspicious. And that doesn't mean I'm going to fall for your little nice guy act when I know you're not a nice guy. I may be slow on the uptake in social situations sometimes, but that's usually because I'm sleep deprived, and regardless of how well-rested I am, I learn new things every day.