Not me, I'm far too considerate for such nonsense. DH's family does this - they insist that you really don't know what you need, so if they offer any help, however trivial, and you say "Oh, thanks, but I'm fine," what you actually mean is "Yes, please help me, even though I've done this a thousand times before I am suddenly rendered entirely incapable of independent thought and action," and they keep insisting you accept their offer until they wear you down.
Similarly, there's the woman at the shops who kindly offered me a tissue to wipe DD's houmousy hands, saying "I could see you were struggling" (er, no I wasn't, I was having a jolly time with my daughter but thanks for your kind offer). Why did she think it was okay take offence to my polite refusal? "It's alright, the tissue's clean," she said in a peeved voice. Wtf? How did a smiley "No thanks, I'm fine" turn into "Hands off my precious child, you filthy mutt!"?
It's very kind to offer help, of course it is, and I regularly do so to others if I think they might need it. But surely the help offerer should be prepared to back off and respect the wishes of the person they're speaking to?
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AIBU?
If I offer you help, you OUGHT to take it. Is this really so unreasonable?
25 replies
SpeedyGonzalez · 18/05/2011 16:02
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