To be annoyed with a stranger telling me to 'cheer up'

[canwetalkaboutcake]

I've just been out for a walk to town. A man of about 60 passed me and told me to 'cheer up'.

I am not cheered up, in fact I'm pissed off. Why do strangers think it's acceptable to say this to someone - I could have just received bad news or be going through something terrible.

I felt like telling him to piss off but I'm too timid to do such a thing.

That's a very annoying and quite honestly, misogynistic thing for him to do. Would he have said it to a man - I doubt it very much.

Be annoyed but let it pass, it's his problem not yours.

I feel your pain, I have the resting expression of a pissed off shoebill so I get stupid comments like this fairly often, usually from old men.

I've taken to just giving the ugliest, widest, toothiest grimace I can manage in return.

Last time a man said this to me I let rip. My mum had just died and obviously I wasn't in the best of moods.

I agree that's frustrating but I think what he probably wanted to say was -

You don't look happy. I don't even know you but I care that you are unhappy. Please know that people care about you.

But he didn't have time so he tried to say something friendly to portray his care.

“It’s not Summer any more, Buddy Holly is dead, and the Working are no longer fools, just screwed over by Corporate Greed. What is there to be cheerful about, exactly?”

Bollocks he did.

He's a man and therefore feels entitled ro reprimand women about anything

The correct response is an exaggerated huge curtesy and "immediately, oh lord and master"

YANBU.

eye roll!

I don't get this anymore now I'm in my 40s. From this I conclude it's either a power play ("look happy for me") or old man flirting, either way YANBU.

A man of about that age said to me "Shouldn't you be running?" when I was building up to running again after having a baby and doing a run-walk.

Headphones are a fantastic invention.

@Graciebobcat I had that when walking my bike somewhere because it had a mechanical fault: " You're supposed to ride it, you know!".

Oh look another man bashing thread 🙄

Someone said it to me two days after my mother committed suicide.

Is behaviour like this acceotable? No.

LOL. No.

OP, he was a fucking arsehole.

Did he bollox. He wouldn’t have said this to a man, it’s sexist shite and my blood boils when men say this to me. Fortunately I’m now at an age where I’m only too happy to give them both barrels, and frequently do. Current favourite is “you first, you miserable looking cunt”. They don’t like that

On holiday once in Thailand a tailor outside a shop said this to DH, he was apoplectic, still goes on to this day about how dare he tell him what expression to wear. DH had a brief look inside a woman’s world that day. And he did not like it, one bit.

I'm sorry, should I just shut up and accept it? I was minding my own business, he wasn't.

It’s so inappropriate to say this. Nobody knows what’s going on on the lives of strangers.

Use your middle fingers to push the corners of your mouth up, like in Broad City

Oh poor sexist men, my head positively bleeds for them.

I used to get this shit and worse when young and I bloody hated it, that's why they do it. Jerks.

That's a very annoying and quite honestly, misogynistic thing for him to do. Would he have said it to a man - I doubt it very much.

Agree annoying but misogynistic come on!

I think if it was women telling us to 'cheer up' or 'give us a smile' in the street, we'd be every bit as angry.

Don't tell random people to cheer up. You don't know what's going on in their lives, it's embarrassing for them and it's rude. I don't give a shit whether you're a man, a woman, non-binary or an android from Mars - just don't do it.

I think it is saying "you look unhappy, i would rather see happy people. Pretend to be happy to suit me"

@isthesolution

Would he have said it to man? Doubt it.