Reddit: ‘High School Bullies Apologized To Me And I Told Them To F*ck Off’

(image via Depositphotos)
A thread on the AskGayBros Reddit raises some questions about being bullied in school and how to respond to an apology years later. One Reddit user posted, “My former high school bullies apologized to me for being homophobic and I told them to f*ck off. Yet for some reason my friends told me I’m being an a**hole. Why?” The post goes on to say the bullies “tormented” him through high school making his life “a living hell.” He adds that he landed in the hospital twice due to the bullies’ behavior, admitting one hospital visit was the result of a suicide attempt. When asked how the apology occurred, the poster shares that it came “out of nowhere.” According to the poster, the bullies “‘claim’ they’re no longer homophobic and they ‘claim’ to be incredibly sorry” for their behavior back in high school. The posters’ friends said they understood his anger acknowledging he didn’t “have to forgive them” but also that he didn’t “have to be an a**hole about it.” He concludes writing, “If you apologize with the expectation of forgiveness, you’re truly not sorry.” Responses on the thread were split. “You don’t have to accept their apology at all,” replied one commenter. “I do agree that grudges can hold people back. But are you thinking about this person all the time that it hinders your ability to function normally or grow? If not, then I don’t think it’s a problem.” “If you want to forgive do it for you, not because people or society made you feel bad for not giving your bullies the peace of mind they stole from you.” “You don’t owe it to anyone but yourself. If their apology made you feel better and if you would feel relieved forgiving then you do it. If you want them to f*ck off your life then you tell them, like you did.” On the other side of the equation, some folks felt the original poster’s response was over the top. “I agree with your friends,” shared one Redditor. “You do not need to forgive them, but you should’ve taken the high road in just telling them that what they did was wrong and you cannot forgive them for the pain they put you through.” “I agree with your friends,” said another. “You do not need to forgive them, but you should’ve taken the high road in just telling them that what they did was wrong and you cannot forgive them for the pain they put you through.” And this advice was offered: “You don’t want to be stuck in the past, or tormented by memories of the pain and humiliation you suffered. It is not good for you to hang onto grudges. By holding onto that pain and need for revenge, you are allowing them to continue bullying you. every time you revisit those memories, you are just injuring yourself over and over. You DO need to forgive them.” While we don’t have all the details as to the extent of the bullying the original poster experienced (at one point it’s shared that the bullying occurred 8 years ago), it does raise questions about how people move past bullying some LGBTQ people encountered in their young lives. Is it ‘holding a grudge’ to not accept an apology? One commenter pointed out that several people called the original poster out for being a “toxic person,” but said that is missing the point – that the original poster’s anger is a product of being bullied. Does hanging on to anger allow the bullying experienced years ago to continue to drag us down? Readers, what do you think? Have you ever had someone from your past who hurt you reach out years later with an apology? If so, how did you react? Let us know in the comments section. (source: Reddit)

Reddit Wonders ‘Is Gay Culture Too Sexual?’

As two men prepare to kiss, we wonder 'Is gay culture too sexual?'

As two men prepare to kiss, we wonder 'Is gay culture too sexual?' A recent thread on Reddit began with a question about ‘how sexual gay culture is.’ “I know people love sex and everything and more power to you but sometimes I feel boxed in when I’m not really a sexual person,” wrote Reddit user Gale2323. “Like I don’t have an issue with people being sexual but it just kinda sucks when interacting with gay guys it’s a lot about sex when I’m just looking for cuddles. Idk. Does anyone else have this problem?” The responses, as you can imagine, ran the gamut. Some took the position that it’s not just the gays that are ‘sexual.’

“I think people, in general, are very sexual.”

“Straight culture is just as sexual.”

“Seriously, I drive past billboards for strip clubs on my way to work every day.”

“Whenever people say pride is too sexual I tell them to drive to Indianapolis from Chicago and look at the billboards along the highway.”

And this from a self-described straight guy:

“Straight guys are as sexual if not worse. The only difference is in the other end of a straight relationship is a girl – which we, historically, regard as pure and discreet. We can’t be as straightforward as you guys; at least, “chivalry” or customs demand us to not be. We talk about girls and sex as often as gay guys talk about their men.”

But others felt gay culture is way past where the heterosexual folks are on the ‘sexual’ scale.

“Yeah, the ‘straight people too’ thing is a bunch of bullshit. Gay culture lives and breathes sex to the point where people won’t even associate with you unless you’re attractive. Most gay men would rather sit on apps tracking down their next hookup than have any sort of meaningful bond with someone.”

“Honestly I think it’s kind of an inherent flaw in the idea of two men dating each other. Men are just way more sexual than women and so straight couples have some balance that we don’t.”

“This is the uncomfortable truth that nobody will admit. Everyone says “get off Grindr, it’s toxic” and yet ignore that they’re the ones playing the game which makes Grindr toxic.”

“Straight men may feel as horny as gay men, but straight culture and straight relationships take things slower and don’t fixate on sex so much. For example, for gay guys, it’s pretty much normal to sleep with someone on a first date. With straight people that happens but there’s also kind of a stigma around it and most people wait a few dates before having sex.”

Photo of two men kissing as we wonder "Is gay culture too sexual?" Then there was this straight-forward nugget:

“Straight culture is all about sex too. People like to f*ck.”

One Redditor blamed the sexual nature of gay men on having missed out in our teens.

“Gay culture has been so underdeveloped in the case of sexuality. We weren’t allowed to think or to feel or to act in accordance of our natural desire. We never had that teenage phase of dating or the first kiss. And understandably, now we’re hypersexual because of the lost time and the mental subjugation by this heteronormative society. I’ve been guilty of this. Yes. But I’m well aware that there needs to be a great balance between romanticism and sexuality.”

Others think the issue is one of perception on the part of society:

“I think what Gale may be getting at is that there is the perception that homosexuals are largely defined by whom they have sex with, rather than who they are. Gay men are so much more than their sexual proclivities, but society (and particular subsets of gay culture) tend to only focus on the sexual.“

“I feel the same way. I guess that the gay community has been all about sex since a real relationship was so stigmatized. I like sex just as much as any other guy but I’d like to have a normal relationship too. I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who has this problem!”

The original poster, Gale2323, who later shared that he’s in his teens, responded to the thread:

“I’m not saying that the sexual aspect in gay culture is wrong (I mean we are a community based on our sexuality) but I sometimes feel that we as a community focus too much on sex (talking about topping or bottoming etc) when I don’t think the romantic aspects of how we feel about men are talked about enough.”

What do you think, readers? Are gays too focused on sex? Or is being ‘sexual’ just part of being human – straight or gay? Maybe we just play the game a little differently? Check out the full thread on Reddit here.

Reddit Asks Straight Guys To Share ‘Gayest Thing’ They’ve Ever Done

A recent thread on Reddit, in the AskReddit section, queried “As a straight guy, what’s the gayest thing you’ve ever done?”

A recent thread on Reddit, in the AskReddit section, queried “As a straight guy, what’s the gayest thing you’ve ever done?”

In two days, the thread has received over 13,000 comments.

Now, this could sound like homophobic, ‘no homo’ territory, but there was a lot of humor involved as well as some touching shares.

Many of the submissions didn’t really qualify for actual ‘gay,’ but the kind of things straight guys are supposed to find uncomfortable.

For example, one Reddit user posted, “Lost my phone, thought my friend took it because he had a bulge in his pants, grabbed said bulge, handful of d*ck.”

“I’m a professional body piercer,” shared another. “I touch other dudes’ d*cks all the time.”

Since neither of those were sexually driven, I’m not seeing anything ‘gay’ there.

This did sound like fun: “My wrestling team and I used to have group nap sessions where we would use each other as pillows.”

There were several stories of having to kiss a guy because of drinking games or acting on a dare.

One of the more typical stories shared went along these lines (check the last sentence): “Once, my friend group decided to skinny dip and play truth or dare. The girls wanted to see how far us guys would go so they kept daring us to do shit like make out, touch each other’s d*cks, etc. For me personally, I made out with another guy, and one of the guys kissed my d*ck. I’d say that’s pretty far to go for all of us. We’re all straight.”

Or the all-too-familiar ‘hyped’ up group of guys scenario: “My friends and I were all in a bathroom together, and we were really hyped up for some reason, and we showed each other our wieners. Oddly enough I think it made us better friends.”

Sometimes it was language that caused some confusion: “Once I was hanging out with my friend and he was f*cking around on online dating. I wanted to ask him to stop doing that so we could do something else together. The sentence that came out of my mouth: ‘Why are you looking for a girlfriend online when you have me?’”

There were also some reports of unexpected spooning while sleeping: “I had a sleepover at my friends house when I was 13, and we laid out some blankets and fell asleep in his living room. I woke up first to him spooning me, and I didn’t move at all because I wanted to avoid any awkward moment in our friendship by having us both know of that cuddle moment, so I laid there as still as I could for maybe 30 minutes until he woke up and quickly but carefully got off of me. I then got up 10 minutes later, and that moment now doesn’t exist in our friendship.”

A few of the posts chronicled guys just being good people in stressful situations, like this: “In college I smoked some weed with my neighbor in the dorm. I got so high that I had a panic attack and to calm me down he basically had to cuddle with me and then put on Animal Planet.”

One of the most up-voted submissions came from a U.S. Marine:

“On deployment in the Marine Corps. I was laying in the desert next to my team leader under a perfect sky. All the stars were out and the air felt like the shade on a hot day. Him and I talked calmly about our families, our dreams, and how perfect the sky looked and how small that made us. ‘Hold my hand’ he said. I could feel, without touching, that his arm was extending. Over the course of the following second I contemplated my whole existence before half consciously reaching out to him. His hand felt nice and we said nothing. This lasted for maybe 10 minutes until we fell asleep.”

The thread was an interesting read, and there were some seriously funny responses to many of the posts. Check out the full thread here.

(h/t Queerty)

CNN Tracks Down Reddit User Behind The “Trump/CNN Smackdown” Video

Last night, I posted an apology that was apparently written by the Reddit user who created the now-infamous “Trump Beats CNN” video. You can read the full apology here.

Initially, when Donald Trump tweeted the video, the user – who used the screen name “HanAssholeSolo” – exalted in taking credit for the viral video.

But once the public became aware of who the poster was, anti-semitic and racist imagery was also discovered by the user and shared on social media.

The apology happened only after a reporter at CNN was able to figure out who the user was, and tracked him down.

From CNN:

The apology came after CNN’s KFile identified the man behind “HanA**holeSolo.” Using identifying information that “HanA**holeSolo” posted on Reddit, KFile was able to determine key biographical details, to find the man’s name using a Facebook search and ultimately corroborate details he had made available on Reddit.

On Monday, KFile attempted to contact the man by email and phone but he did not respond. On Tuesday, “HanA**holeSolo” posted his apology on the subreddit /The_Donald and deleted all of his other posts.

The user further apologized for calls for violence against the press in his statement on Reddit.

“The meme was created purely as satire, it was not meant to be a call to violence against CNN or any other news affiliation,” he wrote. “I had no idea anyone would take it and put sound to it and then have it put up on the President’s Twitter feed. It was a prank, nothing more. What the President’s feed showed was not the original post that was posted here, but loaded up somewhere else and sound added to it then sent out on Twitter. I thought it was the original post that was made and that is why I took credit for it. I have the highest respect for the journalist community and they put their lives on the line every day with the jobs that they do in reporting the news.”

The apology has since been taken down by the moderators of /The_Donald subreddit.

After posting his apology, “HanA**holeSolo” called CNN’s KFile and confirmed his identity. In the interview, “HanA**holeSolo” sounded nervous about his identity being revealed and asked to not be named out of fear for his personal safety and for the public embarrassment it would bring to him and his family.

CNN is not publishing “HanA**holeSolo’s” name because he is a private citizen who has issued an extensive statement of apology, showed his remorse by saying he has taken down all his offending posts, and because he said he is not going to repeat this ugly behavior on social media again. In addition, he said his statement could serve as an example to others not to do the same.

CNN reserves the right to publish his identity should any of that change.

So what have we learned here?

That these trolls on the interwebs are basically looking for attention and reactions for their icky statements. As long as they get to be anonymous sitting behind a keyboard.

But when you pull them out into the light, suddenly they “didn’t mean any of it” and “have the highest respect…”

Good on CNN for finding the troll.

Redditor Who Allegedly Made “Trump/CNN Smackdown” Video Apologizes

The guy who allegedly created the Trump giving a smackdown to “CNN” has posted an apology on Reddit.

“My fellow redditors, First of all, I would like to apologize to the members of the reddit community for getting this site and this sub embroiled in a controversy that should never have happened. I would also like to apologize for the posts made that were racist, bigoted, and anti-semitic. I am in no way this kind of person, I love and accept people of all walks of life and have done so for my entire life.

“I am not the person that the media portrays me to be in real life, I was trolling and posting things to get a reaction from the subs on reddit and never meant any of the hateful things I said in those posts. I would never support any kind of violence or actions against others simply for what they believe in, their religion, or the lifestyle they choose to have. Nor would I carry out any violence against anyone based upon that or support anyone who did.

“As time went on it became an addiction as to how far it could go with the posts that were made. This has been an extreme wake up call to always consider how others may think or feel about what is being said before clicking the submit button anywhere online that an opinion is allowed. Free speech is a right we all have, but it shouldn’t be used in the manner that it was in the posts that were put on this site. Just because you are behind a keyboard doesn’t mean you can’t hurt someone with your words or cause a situation such as this one where a simple meme is misconstrued as calling for violence.

“I do not advocate violence against the press and the meme I posted was in no way advocating that in any way, shape or form. Our first amendment protects the press from things like violence, and we as American citizens should respect that even if the opinions of the press are not in line with our own. The meme was created purely as satire, it was not meant to be a call to violence against CNN or any other news affiliation.

“I had no idea anyone would take it and put sound to it and then have it put up on the President’s Twitter feed. It was a prank, nothing more. What the President’s feed showed was not the original post that was posted here, but loaded up somewhere else and sound added to it then sent out on Twitter. I thought it was the original post that was made and that is why I took credit for it.

“I have the highest respect for the journalist community and they put their lives on the line every day with the jobs that they do in reporting the news. The Internet and social media is capable of many great things, and this is an example of the not so great things that it can do. Trolling to get a reaction out of people is not the best way to make a point, the way to do it is to present your facts in a manner to convey the message that will not invoke anger.

“To people who troll on the Internet for fun, consider your words and actions conveyed in your message and who it might upset or anger. Put yourself in their shoes before you post it. If you have a problem with trolling it is an addiction just like any other addiction someone can have to something and don’t be embarrassed to ask for help. Trolling is nothing more than bullying a wide audience. Don’t feed your own self-worth based upon inflicting suffering upon others online just because you are behind a keyboard.

“We as redditors and as Americans are better than this. So to the members of this community, the site, the media (especially CNN), and anyone offended by the posts, again I apologize. This is one individual that you will not see posting hurtful or hateful things in jest online. This is my last post from this account and I wanted to do it on a positive note and hopefully it will heal the controversy that this all caused. Peace.

“The more you know yourself, the less judgmental you become” ― Aniekee Tochukwu Ezekiel”

Lewd Reddit troll identity exposed, loses job

Michael Brutsch, aka “Violentacrez,” was Reddit’s biggest troll until Gawker exposed his true identify, revealing to the world the man behind questionable forums, such as r/creepshots — a space dedicated to pictures of women unaware that their photographs had been taken. Now that the 49-year-old from Arlington, Texas, has been outed, his behavior has caught up with him. According to The Daily Dot, Brutsch was fired from his position at a financial services company less than 24 hours after Gawker editor Adrian Chen’s exposé went live. (via HuffingtonPost)