# "Creepy men" at Walmart **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 27, 2019, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-men-at-walmart/836160 "2019-06-27T15:37:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2019, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-men-at-walmart/836160/61 "2019-06-27T19:08:56Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Being followed in a store, where there are aisles, where you go up and down? Again, not a crime. Neither is “looking creepy” . I repeat: > [@Kimstu](#): > > The meme is explicitly about being **“followed at a Walmart by some creepy dude”**. You seem to be insisting that what the author and sharers of the meme meant by that phrase is simply **“seeing some dude in a Walmart who looks creepy”**. But you have no authority to make that call. > > Of course you can argue that you think the author of the meme should have been more specific about the particular type(s) of creepy behavior that she thinks justify physical assault. But you are talking out of your ass when you try to declare categorically that what she actually meant was merely “looking creepy”. It is not clear exactly what situation the author of the meme meant by **“being followed at a Walmart by some creepy dude”**. But it seems to me that the people who approve of the meme are most probably interpreting it along the lines of **“being followed at a Walmart by some dude behaving in a definitely intimidating, lewd or criminal manner”**. Nobody at all, AFAICT, is expressing any support for physical violence merely on the grounds of **“seeing a dude in a Walmart who looks creepy”**. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2019, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-men-at-walmart/836160/62 "2019-06-27T19:13:44Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > Well no, we can’t just shoot black children because we feel threatened, which is why it’s such a big deal that cops can do it in exchange for a paid unscheduled vacation. SImilarly, smacking Rando with a can just because it’s easier than dealing with the baggage that makes you afraid of him is also bad mojo. And lastly, memes, however hypothetical, which celebrate violence against “creepY” guys (aka Rando who looks funny or acts sorta reminiscent of a bad boyfriend from 20 years ago) need to be crushed. People are fucking stupid. They eat Tide pods and take train track selfies because the internet says to. Stand your ground laws allow you to do just that. Shoot someone because you feel threatened. But not clock them with a can of beans because they might be creepy and you feel threatened. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2019, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-men-at-walmart/836160/63 "2019-06-27T19:15:11Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yes, that’s exactly what it does. It never alleges illegal assaults by the “creep”. It mentions looking creepy and “following around in the store”. No, it does not mention “looking creepy”. **Nowhere in that meme does the word “look” or “looking” appear**. You are reading a reference to “being followed at a Walmart by some creepy dude” and **deliberately imposing on that your own interpretation** of “seeing a dude at a Walmart who looks creepy”. It **might** mean “seeing a dude at a Walmart who looks creepy”, or it might mean “being followed at a Walmart by some dude who’s creeping on me in an outright criminal fashion”, or it might mean anything in between. I have now explained this point to you at least three or four times, as have other posters. If you haven’t managed to comprehend it by now, there’s no more help I can give you. > [@Jimmy Chitwood](#): > > **DrDeth** has entirely made up the idea that anyone is just looking creepy and getting beat up for it. He is making it up. It is not anything that has happened. It is not something anyone has said they support. It is something that several people have specifically said they obviously do not support, because of how stupid it is. You and he just keep pounding that drum. Yep. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2019, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-men-at-walmart/836160/64 "2019-06-27T19:17:00Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yes, that’s exactly what it does. It never alleges illegal assaults by the “creep”. It mentions looking creepy and “following around in the store”. And it sez that those are justification for choking a man out with a belt. Why are you looking to stir up outrage where no documented issue exists? Is your life so blessed that you literally have nothing better to worry about? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2019, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-men-at-walmart/836160/65 "2019-06-27T19:18:49Z")
> [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](#): > > This is such a bizarre phenomenon. > > **DrDeth** has entirely made up the idea that anyone is just looking creepy and getting beat up for it. He is making it up. It is not anything that has happened. It is not something anyone has said they support. … > > Stories about a guy following a woman around and masturbating, and following a woman around and touching himself and then grabbing her ass, which have been brought up as examples of the kinds of things the obviously hyperbolic meme villain (that **DrDeth** was I guess referring to) was in response to, are not examples of someone just “looking creepy.” … In fact that meme specifically recommended it. And commenters on it supported it. “Stories about a guy following a woman around and masturbating, and following a woman around and touching himself and then grabbing her ass”… _have nothing whatsoever to do with that meme and the violence it was promoting._ That’s like sharing horror tales of crimes done by black men and using that to justify killing that black youth that “looked suspicious”. If that meme said “if a man sexually assaults you, here are some things you can do in a store to defend yourself” that would be entirely different. But nowhere were such assaults mentioned or even alluded to. It was simply a guy for\* looking creepy.\* \*\*Period. Full stop. Nothing at all about sexual assaults. \*\* So stop making up stories that this has anything at all do do with defending yourself from sexual assaults. Because it doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2019, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-men-at-walmart/836160/66 "2019-06-27T19:20:24Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > Stand your ground laws allow you to do just that. Shoot someone because you feel threatened. But not clock them with a can of beans because they might be creepy and you feel threatened. You’re being insensitive to (alleged) stalkers with legume allergies. Nice. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2019, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-men-at-walmart/836160/67 "2019-06-27T19:21:50Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Why are you looking to stir up outrage where no documented issue exists? If you found a meme that suggested violence upon black youth that “look suspicious” would you defend that meme? Or would you condemn it? I mean, “no documented issue exists” right? :rolleyes: It’s perfectly Ok to advocate violence upon someone based upon their appearance, right? :rolleyes: Well, \*\*I think advocating violence upon someone based upon their appearance is wrong. \*\* sue me. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2019, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-men-at-walmart/836160/68 "2019-06-27T19:24:28Z")
Evidently this needs to be repeated. Again. > [@Kimstu](#): > > No, it does not mention “looking creepy”. **Nowhere in that meme does the word “look” or “looking” appear**. > > You are reading a reference to “being followed at a Walmart by some creepy dude” and **deliberately imposing on that your own interpretation** of “seeing a dude at a Walmart who looks creepy”. It **might** mean “seeing a dude at a Walmart who looks creepy”, or it might mean “being followed at a Walmart by some dude who’s creeping on me in an outright criminal fashion”, or it might mean anything in between. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2019, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-men-at-walmart/836160/69 "2019-06-27T19:24:51Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > Stand your ground laws allow you to do just that. Shoot someone because you feel threatened. But not clock them with a can of beans because they might be creepy and you feel threatened. And to be clear, I don’t approve of stand your ground laws. Heck I don’t approve of being able to defend your property with lethal force. ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2019, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-men-at-walmart/836160/70 "2019-06-27T19:25:21Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > “Stories about a guy following a woman around and masturbating, and following a woman around and touching himself and then grabbing her ass”… _have nothing whatsoever to do with that meme and the violence it was promoting._ The first sentence of the stupid fucking “meme” that you refused to even show us when you dragged us in here to waste all our time with this crap is apparently: > [@](#): > > It I see one more “I was followed at such n such Walmart by some creepy dude" **Kimstu** has done your homework for you and showed some examples of those stories. They are as I described. What stories do you think your bête noire was talking about, if not those ones? You holding out on us? Being coy? ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2019, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-men-at-walmart/836160/71 "2019-06-27T19:26:07Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > You’re being insensitive to (alleged) stalkers with legume allergies. Nice. I stopped being a nice person when I was raped by my creeper boss. I should have had a fucking can of beans. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2019, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-men-at-walmart/836160/72 "2019-06-27T19:29:27Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > If you found a meme that suggested violence upon black youth that “look suspicious” would you defend that meme? Or would you condemn it? I mean, “no documented issue exists” right? :rolleyes: It’s perfectly Ok to advocate violence upon someone based upon their appearance, right? :rolleyes: > > Well, \*\*I think advocating violence upon someone based upon their appearance is wrong. \*\* sue me. Creepyness doesn’t have anything to do with the color of your skin. Why would you single out an already unfairly profiled minority as an example? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2019, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-men-at-walmart/836160/73 "2019-06-27T19:31:20Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Evidently this needs to be repeated. Again. Because it does. “by some creepy dude”. Does it mention going on line and looking up his criminal history? Come on, the only way you are saying that guy is “creepy” is based upon how he looks. “Suspicious black youth” = 100% appearance, not how he was acting. ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2019, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-men-at-walmart/836160/74 "2019-06-27T19:33:34Z")
“I was leered at, then groped, then followed into and chased through the parking lot by this guy today.” “Ew, sounds creepy!” “Oh, I don’t know about that! I didn’t get to know him very well.” ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2019, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-men-at-walmart/836160/75 "2019-06-27T19:34:53Z")
> [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](#): > > The first sentence of the stupid fucking “meme” that you refused to even show us when you dragged us in here to waste all our time with this crap is apparently: > > **Kimstu** has done your homework for you and showed some examples of those stories. They are as I described. > > What stories do you think your bête noire was talking about, if not those ones? You holding out on us? Being coy? Perhaps she could have quoted one? Or used _a man performing sexual assault_ instead of \* by some creepy dude\*? Yeah, and I \*“dragged us in here to waste all our time with this crap \*” by a shotgun to your head. It’s a fucking MB, dude, \*99% of it is time wasting crap. \* ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2019, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-men-at-walmart/836160/76 "2019-06-27T19:37:06Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Come on, the only way you are saying that guy is “creepy” is based upon how he looks. And again: > [@Kimstu](#): > > No, it does not mention “looking creepy”. **Nowhere in that meme does the word “look” or “looking” appear.** > > You are reading a reference to “being followed at a Walmart by some creepy dude” and **deliberately imposing on that your own interpretation** of “seeing a dude at a Walmart who looks creepy”. It **might** mean “seeing a dude at a Walmart who looks creepy”, or it might mean “being followed at a Walmart by some dude who’s creeping on me in an outright criminal fashion”, or it might mean anything in between. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2019, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-men-at-walmart/836160/77 "2019-06-27T19:37:35Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Well, \*\*I think advocating violence upon someone based upon their appearance is wrong. \*\* sue me. kayaker 123 Main Street Anytown, US 12345 DISTRICT COURT OF SDMB Land kayaker,Plaintiff, vs. DrDeth, Defendant) Case No.: 123456-123 COMPLAINT Plaintiff kayaker brings forth the following causes of action and alleges the following: 1. Plaintiff is an individual and resident of Anytown, USA. 2. Defendant is a corporation and at the time of this complaint, a resident of Anytown, USA. Plaintiff brings forth the following counts and allegations supporting his cause of action: COUNT 1 – NEGLIGENCE Defendant was negligent in his posting behavior. DAMAGES WHEREFORE, Plaintiff seeks compensatory damages in the amount of $6,000 together with attorney fees and court costs. Dated this 27th day of June, 2019 ETA: you have been served. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2019, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-men-at-walmart/836160/78 "2019-06-27T19:39:29Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > “Suspicious black youth” = 100% appearance, not how he was acting. Everybody knows this? Or just you, here, now, and for the record? ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2019, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-men-at-walmart/836160/79 "2019-06-27T19:39:38Z")
It’s a very reasonable demand. I’d settle if I were you. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2019, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-men-at-walmart/836160/80 "2019-06-27T19:42:59Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yeah, and I \*“dragged us in here to waste all our time with this crap \*” by a shotgun to your head. It’s a fucking MB, dude, \*99% of it is time wasting crap. \* The fact that we’re all ultimately just wasting time because it’s just a messageboard discussion is one thing. But your repeated attempts to defend idiotically illogical arguments within the messageboard discussion are wasting our time in a less excusable fashion. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-men-at-walmart/836160.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creepy-men-at-walmart/836160.md?page=5)