It’s commonly said that the typical man tries to solve problems instead of simply empathizing and sympathizing with a typical woman. Right? They want men to connect with them “through sharing and understanding the concept of dry mouthedness.”
Yes, I get all my relationship advice from “White Men Can’t Jump.”
But there’s another disconnect of needs that’s slightly different and no less annoying. This time, it’s when people (usually women) try to put an artificially good face on every situation. I call them the happy people.
The conversation usually goes something like this:
—
weeklyrob: Damn, I didn’t pay that ticket and now I’ll have a fine on top of it.
Happy Person: Well, maybe they won’t notice!
WR: Oh, it’s all computerized. I’ll definitely have to pay.
HP: Well, you never know. You might not have to.
WR: (eye roll) I guess. But I bet I will.
HP: (to self) Gee, this guy is MISTER NEGATIVITY.
—
And here’s how I want the conversation to go:
WR: Damn, I didn’t pay that ticket and now I’ll have a fine on top of it.
P: Oh man, that sucks. Wanna grab some lunch?
—
I guess that’s more sympathetic than my typical response
“Well that was stupid. You should pay more attention to the world around you.”
OTOH, mine provides helpful advice, so it’s more of a (typically male) problem-solving approach, instead of your example’s (typically female) “I feel your pain” bit with the constant focus on shopping, food, etc.
You must not have many friends.