Optimism and enthusiasm don’t come easily to everyone.
And that’s even more true now, in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, where loneliness and perpetual boredom threaten to overtake everyone on a daily basis.
But some people are still finding ways to discover joy in whatever small ways that they can, and if your instinct is to stomp all over that, it just might be time to ask yourself…am I the asshole?
Of course, that’s exactly what r/AmITheAssh*le is here for, and some Donnie Downer posed the question to the community earlier this week after being annoyed that his girlfriend got excited about ducks.
“My girlfriend (29) is a very lively and energetic person,” the post reads. “But sometimes her behavior is really annoying me (33). She wants me to share her joy for little meaningless things up to 5 times a day. It’s tiring.”
What’s tiring is this post. Already. Really dude? You can’t be chill with your gf being excited about life?
It doesn’t get any better.
OP asks:
“AITA for being annoyed by my girlfriend’s zest for life?”
He explains:
My girlfriend (29) is a very lively and energetic person. But sometimes her behaviour is really annoying for me (33). She wants me to share her joy for little meaningless things up tp 5 times a day. It’s tiring.
Yesterday we went on a hike and she was constantly admiring the nature.
“The grass has reached an impressive height.”
“These ducks have babies! Look! Three!”
“Nature is healing my soul. Look at this panorama. Breathtaking.”
She was obviously having the time of her life. I get it. There is a duck, there is some green grass and some hills where we were walking. But the hills are not that impressive and you can literally see them everywhere in our area. She made 3 or 4 comments about nature and it always included the imperative to look. But I just wanted to exercise and get the hike done as quick as possible. I know exactly where her behavior comes from. Her family does the same. “Look, James. The tit found a nest in our tree.” “Mary, look how beautiful your cake glazing turned out to be. Delicious!”I am so tired of looking. I don’t want to give her that attention and the things she is pointing out dont make me happy. They mean nothing to me. So I guess I was being rude by telling her “Please. Please let me walk in peace and stop asking me to admire all this stuff. I don’t want to!” She didn’t take it well and we ended up being quiet for the rest of the hike. I didn’t want to silcence her. I am sorry and apologized but she was angry and avoiding me in our apartment. She said “So what else am I supposed to talk about?”. I think she got me wrong. Am I the Asshole?
The original poster goes on to complain about a hike he and his girlfriend went on the other day, during which she constantly expressed her appreciation for nature, pointing out tall grass, baby ducks, and a gorgeous view.
But Mr. Grumpy Pants couldn’t stomach her joy.
“I just wanted to exercise and get the hike done as quick as possible,” he complained. “I don’t want to give her that attention and the things she is pointing out don’t make me happy. They mean nothing to me.”
Obviously, he opted to speak up and tell her to quiet down, and it didn’t go over too well. Now he doesn’t understand why on earth his girlfriend is avoiding him. Gosh, can’t think of any good reasons.
Not only was Reddit unimpressed with this douche, but the whole thing was so annoying that it even migrated over to Twitter for even more people to rip him apart.
https://twitter.com/MissaBean1980/status/1255189685875478528
I could live on a duck farm and raise ducks for a living and every single time I saw baby ducks I would still be like BABY DUUUUUUCKS!!!!
— i bless the rains down in castamere (@Chinchillazllla) April 28, 2020
Why are women still dating males https://t.co/HPM55w9bFM
— Gay Pregnant Anime Genius (@GayestKeyblader) April 28, 2020
i will punch this beautiful panorama located directly in front of my eyeballs right in the throat before i deign to look at it
— bajingo starr (@DeadliestGinger) April 28, 2020
The audacity of this post is hitting even harder right now.
So many people are quarantined by themselves and either unable to spend time with the person they’re dating, or unable to even pretend there’s a chance they’re going to meet someone any day now. But yeah, this guy has it tough because his girlfriend is happy and wants to share that joy with him. Poor dude.
Can you imagine you’re just trying to enjoy nature w your partner and he’s just annoyed at how positive you are ?? I would drop him like a hot plate https://t.co/2OQsSxGhSV
— Sokka’s Boomerang ♡\(-ω-ゞ (@spicyprincezuko) April 28, 2020
I love the term sunshine girlfriend, one day I want to be that happy
— ¤ Pennie ¤ (@Lenniesaurus) April 28, 2020
And yes, the OP did make things even worse in the comments.
In his original post, he places some of the blame on his girlfriend’s family, because they are apparently also enthusiastic about life and “exactly where her behavior comes from.”
But when somebody called him an asshole, he followed up by claiming it’s a problem with “mostly women,” and insisting he prefers to talk about “more important things like finances, politics or gaming and not about some ducks.”
Lol this guy fucking suuuuuucks https://t.co/2dTTMozE8L pic.twitter.com/I1fVlvxWkA
— Dana Schwartz (@DanaSchwartzzz) April 28, 2020
Imagine seeing some baby ducks and thinking “I would prefer to talk about finances and gaming.” pic.twitter.com/Z5yTI23sSM
— Anna Fitzpatrick (@bananafitz) April 28, 2020
Sorry bro, the verdict is in. You’re definitely the assh*le. Please, set your girlfriend free.
LOL I AM GONE YES MATE YOU ARE THE ASSHOLE https://t.co/5qCrB9ErUQ
— Zoe London (@zoelondondj) April 28, 2020