What motivates people to comment on a stranger?

[Whatafool123]

I was walking to the station this morning, carrying a cup of coffee, and as a man walked past me, he said: "Cheers, Bubba". There was nobody else around he could have been speaking to. He kept walking and by the time I had fully realised what he had said and that he must have been speaking to me, he was a fair way off.

As far as I can tell, the word "Bubba" when applied to a stranger at least, is a comment on their size. I am overweight, so that would make sense.

Why on earth would he have felt the need to say anything though? I did find the comment mildly upsetting, so he has made my morning slightly less pleasant than it could have been, for what purpose exactly?

I dunno, but it irks me too. I'm a fully grown 30-something mother with a husband and a mortgage and a middle aged woman in a shop the other day told me off for walking too fast (dad was in the car with baby, who was getting hungry and very fussy so I was quick footing it so we could just get home!). I wanted to tell her that she was not, in fact, my mother, and that I could walk at whatever damn speed I wanted but at the time I just couldn't believe this was something a fellow adult felt was appropriate to say to me. 🤷‍♀️

In this context I would just think he was being daft. Saw you had a coffee said cheers, and then a daft word. Bubba, babehh. I don’t mind this kind of random interaction. Telling people to smile or cheer up, commenting about looks or judging parenting etc…. You’ll get both fucking barrels from me.

Sounds to me like he was talking on a mobile. Why would he say ‘cheers bubba’ to you? ‘Cheers’ is another way of saying ‘thanks’ surely, and ‘bubba’ sounds more like a term of endearment than an insult to an overweight person.

I think I probably am being paranoid. This was one of the possible meanings I found, and none of the others made sense to me: "At times it may be used as a term of endearment for a person, especially a man, who is either overweight or seemingly powerful large body frame".

That said, I have since seen it can be used as a term for grandmother, so I think I will stop googling 😁.

Thanks again all, and just to say I agree that complimenting people is a nice thing to do. It's just random remarks and comments like those people have mentioned upthread that I don't really get.

That makes no sense. If he was insulting your shape or weight why would he add cheers to the front of it. What was he thanking you for anyway. Bubba is just a term of endearment. I use it all the time. You are over thinking this.

I don’t think bubba means fat… There’s a brand of pram that I can’t think of without shuddering “ickle bubba”.

I think he probably was on the phone.

But in general, YANBU, I hate it when men feel they have the right to comment on you. “Cheer up love” and the like.

I think he might’ve been on the phone too. Cheers is a way of saying thank you.

I tell women if I think they look lovely. I hope they don’t mind. I’m a woman too. I’ve only done it once with a man- he did look absolutely splendid in a variety of tweeds!

I wouldn't necessarily think Bubba referred to weight....blubber maybe....
In this instance I'd say it's not different to a 'alright luv' or a cheeky 'cheers darling '. Was he acknowledging as he overtook you?

As for commenting on strangers , I might do that eg Oh hes tall, but not to the person themselves. Not really sure why, just observing something outside of my normal and verbalise my international dialogue

I think in some regions bubba just means similar to babe/baby/love/honey/darling etc.

@SalviaOfficinalis the ickle bubba brand makes me cringe. Some of their stuff looks good but I can’t get past the name.

I would have assumed he was wearing a Bluetooth headset and talking on the phone. Sounds like the end of a phone call. I call my husband and children 'bub' and I don't really know why. I think it was originally a shortening of 'baby' for the children and then I extended it to my husband too. It's just a naff term of endearment.

Yes! Something similar happened to me in a clothes shop as well. I may sometimes see a woman looking really nice, and would tell them, but I am hesitant. I should just compliment them anyway.

Bubba is more like little one, baby... its a term of endearment.
Maybe he commented thinking that he would share a nice comment to someone,people rarely speak to strangers, and it just makes things slightly nicer if you can share a comment or two through your day?
TBF I make comments to strangers, if I think it may be helpful, or if I have something to say that would be a compliment. It's nice to be nice to people.

Round my way it's usually cheers bab...I would have taken it as a friendly comment and laughed or said 'get yer own mate'. Not sure it's anything to get worked up about. Around here people still speak to people.

I was walking along earlier today (with ear bud type headphones that are not not very visible) and just after I walked past a man standing on the street I felt a tap on my shoulder. I stopped, turned and took out my headphones and it was the man I had just walked past who then berated me because he had apparently said ‘Good afternoon’ to me and I didn’t reply.

I pointed out that I had headphones in and so hadn’t heard him but that didn’t seem to appease him at all 🙃

I thought bubba meant 'baby/babe'

Oops x post

He just wanted your attention to make himself feel big. Some men do this routinely. Usually unattractive low income yet physically fit men who are desperate for female attention and feel entitled to it.

I’d be creeped out by a random guy speaking to me but I don’t think it was about your size I think he was more trying to get a reaction (or possibly on airpods, but if so you’d have heard something else at some point otherwise not much of a conversation is it).