You’re going about your day, doing chores, listening to music, or attempting to figure out what you can’t recall since you have a feeling you forgot something, when someone urges you to smile. Even if you’re feeling upbeat, the last thing you want to do in this scenario is smile. However in this story a woman intended to take vengeance on a man who upset her by urging her to smile and made him repent it. Read the story and do you agree with her reaction?
Source: Reddit
Last week, I was out and about, making a start on some errands I had. As I was walking, I was going through my long to-do list in my head. So I wasn’t frowning, I wasn’t smiling. My face was just in neutral.
A man starts heading towards me. As we pass, he tells me, “Smile, it could be worse.”
I stop, stare at him for a moment, and then I say, “My parents were in an accident. My mum died on impact. We’re turning off my dad’s life support tomorrow.”
The guy looked like a robot being suddenly shut down. His face fell. He looked like a deer in headlights. He stuttered and stammered. He was obviously trying to think of something to say, and when he couldn’t, he turned around, and speed-walked away.
My parents are both fine. There was no accident. But it annoys me when people think they have the right to dictate how people are feeling and what expressions they make, especially when they don’t know what is going on in their lives. It’s unhelpful and patronizing. Imagine telling somebody who was just been given a terminal diagnosis, “Smile, it could be worse.” Or somebody who has lost a child, been laid off, or is otherwise struggling and in a terrible situation…?
Here are a few comments on the story where it was originally posted:
