Repeating bad behavior

I was in line at the post office yesterday and watched a toddler keep pulling the Velcro apart on her dad's flip flops. He was trying to do his transaction so he ignored it for a bit while others in line watched her and laughed. I have to admit I did too. It was cute - especially when he tried to walk off with a shoe undone.

The man ignored her and we encouraged her, so I'm sure she'll keep doing it.

Then it hit me. I'm not sure some people ever grow out of bad behavior. It may start out cute, but how do you stop it when they're grownups and the adrableness is lost? Ignoring it doesn't seem to work. And the people who giggle and tease and egg it on definitely don't help.

There was the woman last week who kept trying to untie a guy's shoes at my friend's house. He had to get pretty forceful with her to make her stop.

Take a look at the situation where I have to walk past the leery-eyed waiters at the Italian restaurant. I've ignored those guys' stares and comments for a year now and it still hasn't worked.

Can a girl not wear a cute top in peace?

And on Saturday night at my friend's birthday party another guy made me so uncomfortable with his stares I had to walk away. He's someone I hung out with just before Christmas - until he was a total douchebag to me. He decided to invade my small group right at the end of the evening. He couldn't take his eyes off of me - well off my tits at least. All of my bits were safely tucked away inside this top, so there was no reason to get excited. Then he had the nerve to lean down from his 6'4" and tell me how amazing I looked.

"Thank you," I said and walked away.

After we left the party, we sat down for an early morning breakfast at a local diner (without 6'4" guy). I picked up my phone and there was a text and a Facebook message from him. I was afraid to read them.

One said, "I know I have no right to say anything, but I have to say you looked absolutely amazing tonight. I know it is not enough to bridge what we have been through. But I just had to say you looked amazing."

What? We haven't "been through" anything. He was a dick, has no respect for women, and I moved on.

I see this guy in the neighborhood once a week or so. When I see him, I'm polite. I say hello but that's it. I ignore him. But this isn't the first time he's come back to me with comments and messages like this.

My good friend's boyfriend saw it all happen so he and I talked about it the next day. "I was that guy before I met her," he said and pointed to my friend. Then he gave me a pointer. "The best thing you can do for someone like that is ignore him."

I've tried that and he just repeats the bad behavior. Now I regret not giving him a piece of my mind that night. My theory is, people who repeat bad behavior have to be treated more like dogs (with all due respect to dogs!). You have to  discipline them right in the act, otherwise they're just too ignorant to ever get it.

Love to the single girls,
Addison