Ode to the Nice Guys

This is a tribute to the nice guys. The nice guys that finish last, that never become more than friends, that endure hours of whining and bitching about what assholes guys are, while disproving the very point. This is dedicated to those guys who always provide a shoulder to lean on but restrain themselves to tentative hugs, those guys who hold open doors and give reassuring pats on the back and sit patiently outside the changing room at department stores. This is in honor of the guys that obligingly reiterate how cute/beautiful/smart/funny/sexy their female friends are at the appropriate moment, because they know most girls need that litany of support. This is in honor of the guys with open minds, with laid-back attitudes, with honest concern. This is in honor of the guys who respect a girl’s every facet, from her privacy to her theology to her clothing style.

This is for the guys who escort their drunk, bewildered female friends back from parties and never take advantage once they’re at her door, for the guys who accompany girls to bars as buffers against the rest of the creepy male population, for the guys who know a girl is fishing for compliments but give them out anyway, for the guys who always play by the rules in a game where the rules favor cheaters, for the guys who are accredited as boyfriend material but somehow don’t end up being boyfriends, for all the nice guys who are overlooked, underestimated, and unappreciated, for all the nice guys who are manipulated, misled, and unjustly abandoned, this is for you.

This is for that time she left 40 urgent messages on your cell phone, and when you called her back, she spent three hours painstakingly dissecting two sentences her boyfriend said to her over dinner. And even though you thought her boyfriend was a chump and a jerk, you assured her that it was all ok and she shouldn’t worry about it. This is for that time she interrupted the best killing spree you’d ever orchestrated in GTA3 to rant about a rumor that romantically linked her and the guy she thinks is the most repulsive person in the world. And even though you thought it was immature and you had nothing against the guy, you paused the game for two hours and helped her concoct a counter-rumor to spread around the floor. This is also for that time she didn’t have a date, so after numerous vows that there was nothing “serious” between the two of you, she dragged you to a party where you knew nobody, the beer was awful, and she flirted shamelessly with you, justifying each fit of reckless teasing by announcing to everyone: “oh, but we’re just friends!” And even though you were invited purely as a symbolic warm body for her ego, you went anyways. Because you’re nice like that.

The nice guys don’t often get credit where credit is due. And perhaps more disturbing, the nice guys don’t seem to get laid as often as they should. And I wish I could logically explain this trend, but I can’t. From what I have observed on campus and what I have learned from talking to friends at other schools and in the workplace, the only conclusion I can form is that many girls are just illogical, manipulative bitches. Many of them claim they just want to date a nice guy, but when presented with such a specimen, they say irrational, confusing things such as “oh, he’s too nice to date” or “he would be a good boyfriend but he’s not for me” or “he already puts up with so much from me, I couldn’t possibly ask him out!” or the most frustrating of all: “no, it would ruin our friendship.” Yet, they continue to lament the lack of datable men in the world, and they expect their too-nice-to-date male friends to sympathize and apologize for the men that are jerks. Sorry, guys, girls like that are beyond my ability to fathom. I can’t figure out why the connection breaks down between what they say (I want a nice guy!) and what they do (I’m going to sleep with this complete ass now!). But one thing I can do, is say that the nice-guy-finishes-last phenomenon doesn’t last forever. There are definitely many girls who grow out of that train of thought and realize they should be dating the nice guys, not taking them for granted. The tricky part is finding those girls, and even trickier, finding the ones that are single.

So, until those girls are found, I propose a toast to all the nice guys. You know who you are, and I know you’re sick of hearing yourself described as ubiquitously nice. But the truth of the matter is, the world needs your patience in the department store, your holding open of doors, your party escorting services, your propensity to be a sucker for a pretty smile. For all the crazy, inane, absurd things you tolerate, for all the situations where you are the faceless, nameless hero, my accolades, my acknowledgement, and my gratitude go out to you. You do have credibility in this society, and your well deserved vindication is coming.

4 comments:

Sicreci said...

+Wow, that juz got me, hehe, well, I noe a nice guy, a really really nice guy, n he is my best fren, but it is not the way how thgs are wif us, ther's no chemical sparks wotsoever, many may not blv that a guy n a girl can be the best of frenz without either one crushing on the other, but, that's how it has been wif us, n I'm lucky 2 hev him b at my side, n yea, hopefully he will find the one 2 be wif him, it rly ain't about girls not appreciating the nice guy, 2 me, it rly doesn't matter, it's wot u feels that matter, perhaps, like it is said, they hev yet 2 find the right girl 4 them...n girls do prefer guys that will cum true 2 themselves, so if the guy likes his girl fren, he shud go after her, n not giv up juz bcoz she thks of him as a fren n not more, ppl change, feeling 2...

Joe said...

i really dont know how to reply this. i had beent thingking over 15minutes to reply ur comment..

u must be lucky to have a boy being ur best friend without any feeling..

i also belive that men and women cannot be best friends..

my attitude towards women also change recently. i dont want to make them feel so easy on me..

i belive, the harder u tried to get sumthing, the harder u will lose it..

that's y usually a men like me tent to be friend first with women out there rather than just go and said "u r cute, can we make a date?"

but women usually thinks that ppl like this so easy going, easy to find, not adventureous, not worht, and bla...

sumtimes iam so tired about this matter and the women.. single is da best. cheers!

Sicreci said...

+Hmm, hehe, thx 4 the reply, n hmm, dun rly get wot u mean by the harder u try to get sth, the harder u will lose it? More specific perhaps?

+I rly thk a relationship started off as friendship can be maintained longer than the ones started off as crushes, well, I've seen 2 many cases of my friends, which explains y I am still single, haha, n for my sister n cousins are gud examples, for their relationships are built based on a strong foundation, they all started off as friends that know each other well, and so they will not be pretentious infront of the other one...instead of the usual crushes, trying hard 2 impress the one they admires...

+It's rly hard 2 say about women, well, we are, a complicated subject, even my best friend that noes me well finds it hard 2 comprehend me sumtimes, we are afterall, unpredictable weather, hehe...

+There's actually no terms & conditions apply on the perfect boyfriend, I trust my heart more than I would my mind, that is, sum girls may go 4 the money, the looks, the personality, but in the end, it is the feelings that will make them stay on wif the guy, n 4 those women that goes after anythg other than the heart, I'll say u deserves better, =)

+It rly doesn't matter what she thinks, wot matters is wot u thks about her...^^

The sleeper said...

joe; always i am so tired about that matter and the women and the man.. single is da best damn thing. cheers!