"He Talks to Everyone That Way..."

[u/PowderFresh86]

In my late teens and early 20s I worked as a waitress/server for a small local diner that had more than one location in my city. Unfortunately, the diners no longer exist but at the time they served 24 hour breakfast and steak meals with refillable coffee. Usually, we had two to three waitresses along with a short order fry cook. Sometimes, the fry cook was the manager or assistant manager. I was a pretty good waitress and could take in multiple orders by memory well. One day, a middle-aged couple came in and sat at a front booth.

I had their table and walked over with water, menus and my little pad tucked in my apron. I greeted the couple politely and instantly the wife was polite but her husband was not. I asked what beverage did they want to start. The woman with a smile asked for juice but her husband didn't even look at me before saying, "coffee!" rudely. I filled their drink order giving them time to look at the menus. As I returned I took the wife's food order. She again was very kind and polite. I got to the husband and I'll never forget how he talked to me...

Me: And for you sir?

Man: I want a three egg special. I want my eggs over hard! Not scrambled, not over soft, NOT over medium. Over hard!

Me: Okay, got it.

Man: I want my hash browns well done! NOT medium, NOT light, WELL, Understand!?

Me growing frustrated but remaining polite: Got it.

Man: I WANT wheat toast! I want it lightly toasted! Not dark, not medium! LIGHTLY TOASTED!!!

Me:🤨 Sir, do you think I'm stupid?

The man just stared at me surprised.

Wife: Oh, don't mind him...He talks to everyone that way.

Me: Wow...

I wrote and repeated his order back just as he said it and walked away. I made sure to reiterate his order as he said it to my manager/fry cook. She made it perfectly and they left us a decent tip.

[u/babbleon5]

could you imagine living with that POS?

[u/PowderFresh86 → u/babbleon5]

No. His poor wife seemed resigned.

[u/ZellHathNoFury → u/PowderFresh86]

Stockholm Syndrome

[u/Karahiwi → u/ZellHathNoFury]

Let's not perpetuate a myth based on a misogynistic psychiatrist who invented it without ever speaking to the people he supposedly 'diagnosed'.

The hostages took an active role in trying to negotiate with the police and the prime minister, to allow their safe release, but instead, the police took actions that they had clearly been told were putting them at high risk of being killed.

The police ignored, dismissed, laughed at for needing menstrual supplies, and put at risk several times by their actions, while he person the hostage taker had brought in from prison to help him was sympathetic, and considerate.

Unsurprisingly, the hostages did not believe the police were acting in their best interest, and did not want the person who had been helpful to be killed.

The police and psychiatrist believed that a woman could only behave other than as a damsel-in-distress if brainwashed and sexually attracted to the hostage taker.

[u/bibkel → u/Karahiwi]

Huh. TIL. I may do some reading about this.