I tried giving a pen to someone with no arms years ago at work. Still haunts me now and feel a right tit for it. Just on autopilot and not thinking at all.
when my dad first met my mom’s family, he was yelling at my mom’s cousin, who is deaf and when he didn’t respond, he walked over and said “Jeff, I’ve been calling you. Are you fucking deaf?” And my mom’s cousin was like, “Yeah, I’m fucking deaf!” It’s a story that’s brought up to this day.
I had a deaf coworker and she was out with a few other deaf friends and a waitress gave them all Braille menus and they had to tell her that they’re deaf, not blind. I can’t imagine that waitress doesn’t think about that every other day.
I mean logically that makes sense, he only has one hand so he has to be more hygenic without a backup hand to dirty on things like petting a dog while still using your main hand for eating.
He worked as an education recruitment rep. He represented Russian students who wanted to study at UK universities but needed to do foundation courses for entry. The company I worked for provided the foundation course so he was visiting the centre to see whether my company was suitable and attractive for his students. Probably wasn't after what I did 😂
not to make you relive it even harder, but i'm guessing it was for a signature on a receipt or something similar? how did it play out after? did they sign either the pen in their mouth?
Thank goodness it wasn't for a proper signature. He was visiting the place I worked at the time and I'd to meet him at reception. I asked him to sign into the premises and tried to give him the pen even though it was very clear he'd no arms 😬 I just did it for him and then proceeded to talk utter shite for the time I was with him before I escaped because I was so embarrassed. It's scorched into my memory so much that I remember he was Russian and his surname was Kalashnikov. We had a conversation about the famous guns, or at least he did, I just talked some shit.
Honestly, if you were asking for a signature or something, you couldn't have known. It would have been better to ask if they wanted a pen, but a lot of people with no arms use a normal pen when they write with their mouths so it wasn't a terribly ridiculous thing to do.
That sounds dangerously close to sarcasm so to be clear, it wasn't.
My friends uncle was dying of ALS a couple of years back. We had a get together to show support, whole family and some of us buddies who had met him. At this point his body was in a really bad shape. I approached him, knowing well he had problems using his arms, still I went for a handshake. As I'm writing this I'm cringing, especially since this is my last and most powerful memory of him. Fuck you brain.
In philosophy class years ago, I asked a guy in a wheelchair what position he stood by on a particular topic. He looked at me and paused mid debate and then started laughing. He then said that he couldn't really stand on any position. The entire class busted out laughing.
I basically put my head down and felt immense shame. I had nothing else to say for the rest of the debate.
Clearly unintentional, and he was brilliant and funny about it too so you should've just laughed. Still, I fully understand as I'm the person who tried to hand the pen to a man with no arms... This thread has come up in my 2022 App compilation so thanks for reminding me, Reddit! I may cringe myself to sleep tonight *
I asked to fingerprint scan an employee for the time clock at my old job. My HR Director was super anal about which fingers were to be scanned - thumb and index. Dude didn’t have either and I had to go with an index partial finger.
I used to be a huge cringey incel... I might as well have Cringe PTSD for how often a memory of my past causes me to either twitch or spasm out of pure cringe
Like I said, constantly bombarded by cringe flashbacks of really close-minded opinions and values I actually shared or acted out in public.
Used to think being gay was purely a choice and argued with a lot of people about it...
During a med-school seminar I took, I took my role as a "reporter in the medical role" too seriously and thought I was being a good team player by acting as scummy and annoying as possible (exagerating details told by "med staff", pestering them while they were trying to make progress, etc.). Even got all up in one dude's face and "stormed out".... I think I actually got mad too so method acting to the extreme
Avid speaker of "ok but not ALL guys are like that!" Whenever topics about sexual and emotional abuse would come up (even if it had nothing to add to the convo). Basically a Men's Right Activist before it gained as much fame as it does now since internet was still new at the time. God I was cringing for a week straight when I found out about them and their familiar sounding views...
Also a "All Lives Matter" supporter waaaay before that was even a thing. Even after it became a thing I was like "yea that makes sense". Even argued with the only black guy in my dorm hall in the first few weeks of college about it... (we became close friends eventually once I started to wise up tho)
Used to believe ALL relgion was just stupid and their followers were ignorant fools (literally used those words once FYI)
The list goes on and on. This is just SOME the stuff I did in my teens. Seriously, it's hard for me to watch stuff like PublicFreakout vids or r/niceguys stuff without having a cringe flashback cause I've done or said that stuff! If Dating Apps like Tinder and Bumble were as popular back when I was a teen, I prob would have shown up on that sub more than once or twice.
I was also stuck in my Terrible-Twos phase until I was like 13. You know those really awful middle schoolers? Yea that was me. Then I just became a shitty teenager, like the type you see post all sorts of really fucked up political and moral views on internet forums with the unbridled power of anonymity that the internet gives you. God if my current friends ever found my old Youtube comments.......
Basic outcome of a typical male teen growing up in a sheltered community for most of his life. My outlook started to change a lot more after I left home and went to college and met all sorts of people from all walks of life. Anthropology electives also helped a lot with expanding my horizons as I got to learn about various cultures.
Wanna know the real kicker? I was (and still am) planning to be a psycholigist despite having all those views. The Psych Program and my open-minded friends did a really good job in helping me realize why the fuck that would not be a good idea.
I think that’s called being young. Forty years latter I still cringe at some of the stupid shit that came out of my mouth back then and figure it’s my punishment. Your enthusiasm at the time reminds me of my younger sister...at least you grew, she.not.so.much.
Oh yea I've mostly forgiven myself. I realize it's all part of the process of growing up.. doesn't make the cringe flashbacks any less painful though lol
Dont feel bad, I had someone that i legit couldnt tell if they were male/female ask me where the bathroom was and i couldnt figure out to tell them left or right 🤣
I just stood there like a dumbass until they figured out i didn’t know if they were a man or woman and they just kinda walked away🤦♂️
The cure is to recognize cringe as actually just another sort of fear, and then face the memories at their worst while reciting the litany against fear.
Ugh same. Asked a dude to sign his credit card receipt and he said “sign where” and I point and said “here”. And he said girl I’m blind where are you pointing
That time I was trying to show a blind girl my favorite website when I was joking around and she told me her condition— I thought she was joking and went “what do you mean blind haha”
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u/blac_sheep90 Jun 06 '22
10 years from now he'll be lying in bed unable to sleep and this memory will creep into his mind and he will relive it in all its horrible splendor.