SweetErika
Fingers Crossed
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2004
- Posts
- 13,442
CA, there's absolutely nothing wrong with what you posted here. You're right, the OP's bf's behavior is troublesome and many abusers follow the same pattern. And as I pointed out earlier, they also prey on people who have low self-esteem, so it's perfectly reasonable to consider the possibility that this guy is abusive in at least some ways. Like you said, we don't have enough info and it's not fair to assume, but I'm glad you brought it up. Even if it doesn't help the OP, it might help someone else who's reading or lurking.I know, OP is sick of the jerk comments but the only other scary thing about his jerkiness is that abusive men do the same thing. They keep apologizing over and over, gifts/flowers and all and they say they love you. Not assuming anything because there really isn't enough information to judge.. I'm just throwing that out there. Many men are just like children and storm off when they're mad or upset and he could just be one of those.
The fact that you even brought up abusiveness has really upset me. I've gotten a lot of help from this thread but that was too far. So yeah, I doubt I'll be replying again after this and I'll think twice about asking for help here again if people are going to jump to conclusions about my boyfriend.
Why is that? CA clearly stated she was not calling your bf an abuser. She said she did not have enough info to do so and she wasn't going to make assumptions. She was just drawing (a very valid) parallel. Why is that so upsetting to you?
Why would you still be upset if it's wildly inaccurate? Even if someone calls my husband an abuser (again, no one has called your bf an abuser, they've just said that men who behave so poorly can also be abusers), I'd laugh and totally write it off because that's such a far cry from the truth. Now if my husband acted in the same way as your bf and someone pointed out that it's a red flag for abuse, I would evaluate their observations fairly.It was too far and I'm still upset over it.
It's fine. I should never have even mentioned that. I didn't know that it was going to make people assume such horrible things about the man I love. I haven't see him since I posted this, we live 2 hours apart so it's sort of long distance.
You have every right to your feelings, but your response to our observations that your bf's behavior was unacceptable and the point on abuse seems disproportionate for things you claim have absolutely no merit. I'd imagine if the observations were as false as you're claiming, you'd simply refute them and move on, rather than continue to be so upset and defensive about everything. I'm very sorry to say that your reaction to the comments in this thread give a good amount of credence the opinions that seem to upset you so much. You're not responding in a way one would expect from a woman who is being treated well by her partner. And that may be what at least some people are reacting to--not to make you feel bad--because they're concerned for you.
Something else to consider: So what if people say your bf is a jerk, he behaved horribly, or even if someone claims he's abusive? Maybe those points do have merit, maybe they don't, but even if they don't pertain to your bf/relationship, they certainly do apply to other people and their relationships. We're here to give honest advice and information. Hopefully that helps OPs such as yourself, but even if it doesn't, you can safely assume it's going to help others who read the thread. Perhaps a woman with very little relationship experience will read the responses you've received and learn her future partners should communicate with her and boost her self-esteem, rather than act like a jerk when she's trying to do something nice for them. Maybe it'll open her eyes to the fact that abusers often behave in certain ways, and she'll avoid/exit a bad relationship because of it.
Overall, you need to take what's valuable to you and leave the rest for others who might find the comments you don't care for helpful. Hell, you'd do very well to file away the info we're putting out here for your own future reference, just in case you need it at some point (hopefully you won't, but there's a good chance you will). You can put your energy into getting/being upset, or you can invest it in finding the value in what people are saying, even if those things don't apply to your specific situation right now.