Night shifts can get kind of creepy. People have sharedhorrorstories of working alone at night and seeing all kinds of spooky ghosts or phantom spirits. But sometimes the creepiest thing you can see while working at night is a person.
Not just any human being, but an individual who doesn’t leave you alone and insists on askingoddquestions. A gas station worker found herself high on alert and decided to keep her camera rolling after a weird man approached her during her night shift. The interaction was bizarre.
More info:TikTok
Man strikes up an uncomfortable conversation with lone gas station worker late at night, says he dislikes police and keeps hitting on her
Image credits:67street. art (not the actual photo)
Tiktoker recorded her conversation with a random man who approached her while she was doing the overnight shift at a gas station
Image credits:Sami Jean
Even though the woman seemed uncomfortable and hesitant while speaking, the guy felt that she was being flirtatious and asked her out on a drive. She kept rejecting his advances, and he pushed on. Many women have had experiences where their friendliness or politeness was seen as “flirty.” In fact, a study found that 88% of women had been through at least 1 incident where a man misinterpreted theirfriendlinessand that, on average, it happened around 3.5 times yearly.
Image credits:Erik Mclean (not the actual photo)
During their conversation, the guy also mentioned that he was looking out for someone he called “Robocop.” He said that Robocop likes to clink shackles on him for doing things that are against his moral values. The man was likely talking about a policeman who had arrested him more than once. We can probably guess why.
You can check out the creepy interaction here
Although her heart was probably racing, this woman stayed super calm and composed during the creepy interaction she had with a random customer at night
Image credits:Ron Lach (not the actual photo)
It’s no secret that even when women try to say no directly or through their body language, menpersist. The customer who approached her asked her out thrice, and though she kept fobbing him off, he didn’t stop trying.Studieshave found that men interpret even silence as consent. In this case, since the employee was being polite and smiling, the creepy dude thought she was flirting back.
The worst part is that some men might even interpret this kind of behavior as “playing hard to get.” The media has taught people that even when awoman says no, it might not actually mean no. This is why creeps like the guy in the video might try harder even when the woman constantly rejects them.
Sami said that she kept printing the same receipt over and over in an attempt to make herself seem busier so that the guy would go away. Netizens told her that she should start concealing and carrying a weapon so that she could be safer during the night shifts. But in anupdatethat she posted, she said she was too clumsy to handle one and that it would not be to her advantage to do so.
Image credits:Jordan Koons (not the actual photo)
Apart from all the advice that the woman got, some commenters even told her to stop being so polite to the man. One person said she should be “less customer service Sally and more lunch lady Mildred.” The only problem with a woman being abrupt or not so polite to a persistent man is that, sometimes, it can lead toaggressionor a violent reaction. Psychologists say that dominating men may get angry at women and blame them for not consenting instead of realizing that they may simply not be interested.
Another thing to be aware of is what sociologist Mitchell Duneier refers to as “interactional vandalism.” This is a technique that some men use to make women feel uncomfortable. They keep asking questions, and since people are wired to respond to questions, it gets harder to ignore the person. These types of men treat conversations with women like a game and keep pushing so that they can retain attention. This is exactly what the man did, and he kept talking even when Sami said she was busy or that she had aboyfriend.
The woman’s intuition was clearly right in this situation. She probably realized how weird the man’s behavior was, so she started recording the video. Experts say that one’sintuitioncan be the most valuable safety tool. If you feel that something is off in the situation or that you’re uncomfortable around someone, it’s best to trust your gut and take precautions or avoid them.
Regardless of how any of us would have handled this experience, Sami’s calm demeanor and quickthinkinghelped keep her safe. It’s heartbreaking that women have to deal with such behavior, and hopefully, videos like this will help spread awareness. What would you have done if you were in Sami’s shoes?
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