Cougar?
- Wednesday, April 28 2010 @ 08:22 am
- Contributed by: Jet
- Views: 3,391
It's no surprise that when you take the plunge and email someone from an online dating website, occasionally you get a response from someone utterly lacking tact, grace, or good sense. I recently heard about one email, however, that made my jaw drop.
A woman decided to email several men that caught her eye (always a good thing – more women need to do first-contact emailing, really). One of them apparently wasn't interested – but rather than letting the email go unanswered, or sending back a “thanks, but no thanks,” he said this: “I don't date cougars.” The woman was 38. The man was 34.
There are several things wrong with this picture. First, I'll address the most obvious: a four-year difference, regardless of gender, is not a cradle-robbing situation when both parties are over the age of twenty. Maybe the guy has a problem with dating someone older, period; that's his prerogative, but his personal hang-up doesn't make her an old lady. Also, I have a sneaking suspicion that if a 30-year-old woman emailed him, he wouldn't consider himself an old man.
Then there's the second problem: someone clearly forgot the Golden Rule where you treat others as you would like to be treated. Who wants a snide response from anyone, ever? Now, maybe women don't email first as often; maybe this man is not used to sending rejection emails. That's no excuse for forgetting basic good manners.
It's a sad probability that you will occasionally run into uncouth buffoons on the Internet, same as anywhere else. The important thing to remember is that those occasional bad apples should not dissuade you from meeting new people; they're the exception, not the norm. And, regardless of gender, when you compose your next rejection email, remember that we've all had them. Write one you'd like to receive.
A woman decided to email several men that caught her eye (always a good thing – more women need to do first-contact emailing, really). One of them apparently wasn't interested – but rather than letting the email go unanswered, or sending back a “thanks, but no thanks,” he said this: “I don't date cougars.” The woman was 38. The man was 34.
There are several things wrong with this picture. First, I'll address the most obvious: a four-year difference, regardless of gender, is not a cradle-robbing situation when both parties are over the age of twenty. Maybe the guy has a problem with dating someone older, period; that's his prerogative, but his personal hang-up doesn't make her an old lady. Also, I have a sneaking suspicion that if a 30-year-old woman emailed him, he wouldn't consider himself an old man.
Then there's the second problem: someone clearly forgot the Golden Rule where you treat others as you would like to be treated. Who wants a snide response from anyone, ever? Now, maybe women don't email first as often; maybe this man is not used to sending rejection emails. That's no excuse for forgetting basic good manners.
It's a sad probability that you will occasionally run into uncouth buffoons on the Internet, same as anywhere else. The important thing to remember is that those occasional bad apples should not dissuade you from meeting new people; they're the exception, not the norm. And, regardless of gender, when you compose your next rejection email, remember that we've all had them. Write one you'd like to receive.
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