“You’re so beautiful; if I wasn’t working right now I would follow you home.”
How tf are we supposed to react to insane “compliments” like this?
I was at the airport last month, buying a water in one of the stores, and the older (60s) male cashier literally said this to me. And it wasn’t in a threatening tone, he thought (???) he was complimenting me. Like being stalked and maybe murdered is a compliment? That was the most surreal part of the experience for me; those threatening words delivered so casually, with a smile and wink. I even made him repeat it, because I thought I had gone temporarily deaf. Nope, he happily repeated himself. I just stared at him and quick stepped it to the baggage claim.
I wasn’t going to do anything about it, but my husband and two of my friends were horrified and told me to report it, so I went to a police officer at the baggage claim and told him what happened. I was freaked out for a few days after that, though; not because of the initial encounter itself, but because I was worried the guy would retaliate. I used a credit card to pay for the water.
Many older men are like this, they think just because they are old they can say or do whatever they want.
Just a PSA that if you’re a dude, and you think “compliments” like this are flattering, stop. and being older is not a hall pass. It’s not cute.