Female Uni Student Feels Cornered By Socially Awkward And Pushy Guy's Persistence, Gets Called The A-hole For Ignoring Him

At first, she only wanted to be nice because everyone was avoiding him.

May

• Published in Interesting
• December 26, 2023

No matter where we go, there's bound to be pushy people. Although attempting to steer clear of them is the best solution, it's tough when they're your friends, family members, someone you often see at school or work, or your significant other.

Politely but firmly saying "no" is a straightforward and effective way to handle pushy individuals without any unnecessary drama. The trick is to go with "no" over staying silent, giving a shrug, or avoiding a confrontation.

Today's story from the "Am I The A**hole?" (AITA) subreddit is about how a female Redditor handled a pushy guy. According to the original poster (OP), she encountered this person during a trip organized by her uni class.

The OP, along with her friend, encountered a socially awkward guy from another class who seemed eager to join their company. Despite the guy's quirks, the OP tried to be nice, while her friend was less accommodating.

But things became uncomfortable for the OP when the guy persistently sought the OP's attention, asking for her number and making inappropriate comments. The friend, instead of supporting the OP, encouraged the guy's behavior during dinner, leaving the OP frustrated and upset.

When the guy texted her later, the OP chose not to respond. Can you guess how the friend reacted?

She told the OP that what she did was too harsh. Now, she is wondering if her treatment of the guy makes her the a-hole.

The OP decided to ignore the guy who's making her uncomfortable, but her friend tells her she's the a-hole for doing so.

Someone in the class was being avoided, so the OP and her friend tried to be nice and socialized with him.

The guy is socially awkward. That's why nobody approaches him.

He kept pestering the OP and her friend.

The professors probably weren't aware, but they were encouraging the guy's behavior.

The OP told her friend a joke, but the guy creepily responded to it.

The professors further enabled the guy's behavior.

The guy just won't stop pestering the OP despite her constant refusal.

The OP became upset at her friend for not defending her against the guy when she's clearly uncomfortable.

OP asks the community if she was an a-hole for acting the way she did.

Redditors sided with the OP, but told her that she needs to be clear that she isn't interested rather than ignoring the persistent guy.

She can report the professors for enabling his behavior.

The friend succeeded in pushing the guy away at the OP's expense.

The various ways the OP could have refused the guy:

The community sympathized with the OP, and told her to block the guy.

The OP isn't the a-hole for displaying that kind of attitude toward a person from another class. If there's anything that the OP failed to do, it's setting boundaries with the guy and her friend.

Since she already feels uncomfortable about the guy's actions, she should've spoken up by saying a hard "no." She needs to stop interacting with the guy because it gets his hopes up.

May