# Jim from The Office: total creeper right? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 9, 2015, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-from-the-office-total-creeper-right/712180 "2015-02-09T02:04:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-from-the-office-total-creeper-right/712180/1 "2015-02-09T02:04:17Z")
He was close friends with Pam, but couldn’t admit that he secretly liked her. He must be one of those creepy dudes who only pretends to be friends to get in girls’ pants. If he dare say he was in the “friendzone,” God knows he’s basically Adolf Hitler. When he confessed his feelings and was rejected, he couldn’t remain friends with Pam. What a self-entitled, misogynistic asshole. Total creeper, right ladies? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-from-the-office-total-creeper-right/712180/2 "2015-02-09T02:08:37Z")
You do know that Pam liked him right from the beginning just about as much as he liked her. If she wasn’t engaged to Roy, the (somewhat one way) flirting thing would have played out much faster. Also, why is it misogynistic to like a girl, even if she doesn’t like you back. I mean, guys like girls all the time. Would you be saying the same thing (but the opposite) if a girl had a crush on a guy, finally said something, was rejected and then avoided him going forward? ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-from-the-office-total-creeper-right/712180/3 "2015-02-09T02:17:39Z")
Pam was engaged. I wouldn’t confess any feelings I had towards an engaged woman, unless possibly if my feelings strengthened over several seasons … err … years, and her engagement seemed to be stalled. I’d have to weigh the creepiness factor against a lifetime of feeling regret. Rejection hurts. It’s not necessarily misogynistic to want some distance from the person who rejected you. If Pam had got married to Ray (Roy?), Jim might have been able to become her friend again in time. ---
**Author:** ![Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runs_With_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-from-the-office-total-creeper-right/712180/4 "2015-02-09T04:42:44Z")
Am I being wooshed? Are you serious? Jim doesn’t set off any warning bells but this post does. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-from-the-office-total-creeper-right/712180/5 "2015-02-09T05:06:55Z")
[Here’s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFRe7mEEdaM) the clip from when he told her he liked her, the next scene the kissed, she kissed him back. It should probably be kept in mind that she while she may have been happy at one point with Roy, her feelings for him were fading fast. Whether that had anything to do with Jim showing up in the picture, I don’t know, but IMO, he was rejected simply because she was engaged. When he asked her out again, she looked [pretty happy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUPFRGwg2dM) about it. I can’t a clip from when Michael told Pam that Jim liked her and Jim and to backpedal and say it was just a crush he had a while ago. I want to see her reaction. Something tells her face wasn’t saying ‘you swine, GFTO’. To further what Greg said, not only would I not say something to an engaged woman that I liked unless I had really strong feelings…I wouldn’t say anything to her, period. They only way I’d say something is if I knew she was in a situation like Pam’s. The wedding wasn’t happening, kept getting stalled and she was at the point where she was ready to jump ship. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-from-the-office-total-creeper-right/712180/6 "2015-02-09T05:10:31Z")
As this is about a specific TV character, I’m going to relocate this to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-from-the-office-total-creeper-right/712180/7 "2015-02-09T05:23:27Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > As this is about a specific TV character, I’m going to relocate this to Cafe Society. Either that, or he’s just making a metaphorical response to that nearby “friendzone” thread back in IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![gus28](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6de8d8/32.png) [@gus28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gus28)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-from-the-office-total-creeper-right/712180/8 "2015-02-09T06:42:07Z")
Big fan of the show, thought of Jim the first time I saw this - [https://screen.yahoo.com/sexual-harassment-000000677.html](https://screen.yahoo.com/sexual-harassment-000000677.html) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-from-the-office-total-creeper-right/712180/9 "2015-02-09T07:22:50Z")
> [@Stringbean](#): > > He was close friends with Pam, but couldn’t admit that he secretly liked her. > > He must be one of those creepy dudes who only pretends to be friends to get in girls’ pants. > > If he dare say he was in the “friendzone,” God knows he’s basically Adolf Hitler. > > When he confessed his feelings and was rejected, he couldn’t remain friends with Pam. > > What a self-entitled, misogynistic asshole. > > Total creeper, right ladies? If you want to see a total creeper, check out Gareth in the British version. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-from-the-office-total-creeper-right/712180/10 "2015-02-09T08:48:10Z")
> [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](#): > > Am I being wooshed? Are you serious? > > Jim doesn’t set off any warning bells but this post does. Maybe high school recess bells? ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-from-the-office-total-creeper-right/712180/11 "2015-02-09T19:06:11Z")
I side with the OP. And I will add that his portrayal of the nice guy deep in friendzone who actually wins the girls is inspiration for a lot of guys stuck in friendzone to think they have a chance to do the same, which in turn will creep out a lot of other girls. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-from-the-office-total-creeper-right/712180/12 "2015-02-09T19:23:15Z")
The creepy part is when guys act like jerks because they are in the friendzone or entitled to a “turn” at a girl because they waited around. Jim never did anything creepy or misogynistic at all. ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-from-the-office-total-creeper-right/712180/13 "2015-02-09T19:31:16Z")
… I don’t know. Remember when they did the Secret Santa, and they had to swap presents because Michael got a crappy one, and Jim had made a somewhat eerie set-up of a teapot with pictures of them inside or something to give Pam, and when Pam wanted the ipod he kept acting whiny and pressuring her to get the teapot? Jut one step away from being a stalker, in that one. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-from-the-office-total-creeper-right/712180/14 "2015-02-09T20:41:25Z")
It’s almost as if the way people behave in sitcoms is different than how they behave in real life. ---
**Author:** ![PeskiPiksi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e495f1/32.png) [@PeskiPiksi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PeskiPiksi)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-from-the-office-total-creeper-right/712180/15 "2015-02-09T21:07:49Z")
I don’t think Jim was a creeper at all, just a guy desperately in love but trying really hard not to be. He tried, multiple times, to move on and forget about Pam. He asked out Katy when Pam and Roy made up and made out right next to him on his desk. On Valentine’s Day he got up a party and didn’t let himself mope over her. And the biggest one, obviously…moving away to Stamford once he knew for sure that given all the information, Pam still chose to stay with Roy. What would have been creepy is if after Pam said no, he had stuck around, trying to convince her. Or just acting all hurt and offended that she had dared to reject his love. She said no, he accepted it, and did what he thought he needed to do to move on with his life. He didn’t try with her again until she had made it perfectly clear that she would welcome his attentions. Pam’s the one I get mad at, re-watching old episodes again. She, on some level, knew how Jim felt about her and was often cruel in the way she strung him along. And I say that as someone who identifies A LOT with Pam. I sympathize with her, but she carried a lot more blame in the way things played out, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-from-the-office-total-creeper-right/712180/16 "2015-02-09T21:11:58Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > The creepy part is when guys act like jerks because they are in the friendzone or entitled to a “turn” at a girl because they waited around. Jim never did anything creepy or misogynistic at all. Didn’t he move to Stamford because he couldn’t handle his unrequited crush on the office secretary? That’s a pretty creepy overreaction outside of television. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-from-the-office-total-creeper-right/712180/17 "2015-02-09T21:27:12Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](#): > > Didn’t he move to Stamford because he couldn’t handle his unrequited crush on the office secretary? That’s a pretty creepy overreaction outside of television. It’s been a while since I’ve seen these episodes, but here’s what Wikipedia says happens in Season 2, Episode 21 “Conflict Resolution,” the episode before he transferred to Stamford: > [@](#): > > Dwight becomes even more furious that his voluminous complaints against Jim have gone ignored, and tells Michael that either Jim gets fired or Dwight will quit. When Michael reads all of Jim’s pranks on Dwight, Jim begins to regret how much time he has wasted at the office. Dwight taunts Jim with a notice of a Dunder-Mifflin position in Stamford, saying that Jim should look into it because Dwight will still be working in Scranton by next week. Michael surveys the angry, divided office and silently nods to a watching Toby, acknowledging his efforts were a disaster. He then defuses Dwight’s anger by saying he will make his decision but needs indeterminate time to do so, which placates Dwight. > > \During the procedure, Jim admits to Pam that he had registered the complaint about her wedding planning, and Pam looks shocked. The next day, Jim secretly sees Vice President Jan Levenson (Melora Hardin) for an interview about a transfer. So Jim partly moved because it was difficult for him to be around Pam and seeing her plan her wedding, but also just wanted to be in a new office. There were times that Jim maybe slightly stepped over the line into be a bit too much with his crush, but I think that most of the time he was on the correct side of the line and wasn’t a creeper. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-from-the-office-total-creeper-right/712180/18 "2015-02-09T22:42:03Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](#): > > Didn’t he move to Stamford because he couldn’t handle his unrequited crush on the office secretary? That’s a pretty creepy overreaction outside of television. There is nothing creepy about moving away from someone, moving to follow someone would be creepy. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-from-the-office-total-creeper-right/712180/19 "2015-02-09T22:50:18Z")
The unrealistic part is that because it’s a TV show, we the viewers see both Pam’s and Jim’s points of view. So we, the viewers, KNOW that Pam is interested in, even while conflicted about, Jim’s attentions. That takes the creeper element out of story, pretty much. In real life? If a person is still pursuing a coworker because he/she claims to KNOW the attention is welcome even though the other person is saying otherwise … well, yes, that’s creepy. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-from-the-office-total-creeper-right/712180/20 "2015-02-11T00:55:39Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > There is nothing creepy about moving away from someone, moving to follow someone would be creepy. Moving after a disastrous marriage of 5 years ends wouldn’t be particularly creepy. But moving because a woman you flirt with a work decided to not dump her fiance for you? That’s creepy. On the other hand I agree with **Sam Lowry** that you can make a tenable case that Jim wanted a fresh start for reasons other than Pam.