Update: AITAH for telling a woman at the gym that she's embarra*sing herself?
The original poster (OP) was asked out by a woman at his gym, Andrea, following some non-romantic interactions. The OP declined her invitation, after which he began avoiding her due to a strange feeling he got from her behavior. Andrea confronted the OP twice about being avoided, and during the second confrontation, the OP responded rudely by telling her she was embarra*sing herself.
This initial exchange led to physical escalation when Andrea stepped on the weight stack of the machine the OP was using, causing him to drop the weights suddenly. After this incident, which led to the OP reporting the behavior to gym management, Andrea persisted in asking the OP out, leading to further arguments. The core dilemma for the OP is how to handle this increasingly aggressive and persistent unwanted attention from Andrea, especially after the situation escalated beyond simple rejection.
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According to Dr. Casey Ward, a specialist in boundary enforcement and social conflict, 'Repeatedly pressing a person who has clearly indicated disinterest shifts the interaction from courtship to harassment, regardless of the initial intent.' The OP's initial reaction—turning down Andrea and then avoiding her—was a standard attempt to establish a boundary. When Andrea confronted him twice, his subsequent rude comment was a reactive, albeit poor, conflict management technique stemming from feeling cornered. However, Andrea's actions moved the situation from a social discomfort to a tangible safety risk. Stepping on the weight stack was an act of intimidation and physical endangerment. The subsequent incident where she deliberately pulled the treadmill safety tab, leading to the OP's injury, moves beyond harassment into actionable assault or severe misconduct. The OP correctly escalated the issue to gym management when physical safety was threatened. While the OP admits a slight satisfaction when Andrea was banned, the professional assessment is that the OP acted appropriately by reporting physical threats and safety violations to the appropriate authority (the gym staff). Andrea's behavior demonstrates a severe inability to respect personal boundaries and a pattern of escalating aggression when faced with rejection, which the gym ultimately handled correctly by issuing a permanent ban after the final instance of verbal abuse toward an employee.
REDDIT USERS WERE STUNNED – YOU WON’T BELIEVE SOME OF THESE REACTIONS.:
The internet jumped in fast, delivering everything from kind advice to cold truth. It’s a mix of empathy, outrage, and no-nonsense takes.
The conflict between the OP and Andrea clearly escalated from unwanted romantic pursuit to physically unsafe and aggressive behavior from Andrea. The OP’s attempts to establish boundaries through avoidance and direct rejection were repeatedly ignored, leading to dangerous actions on Andrea’s part, including tampering with gym equipment while the OP was using it.
The situation resolved with Andrea facing a permanent ban following her unacceptable outburst towards staff. The central question remains whether the OP's initial rude comment justified the subsequent escalation, or if Andrea's aggressive response, culminating in physical harm and harassment, was entirely unwarranted regardless of the OP's initial reaction.