u/CrustFundBabe

I'm not proud to admit I've been struggling financially lately, and that because of that I've been taking advantage of the Taco Bell free reward sign up to at least have something to eat. But I don't think I can do it anymore for a while because I've been emotionally scarred. You see, I made the mistake today of clicking on someone's profile here on Reddit, and when I did that I was completely blindsided by their most recent post that was a photo of them showing off their prolapsed anus.

I wish I was joking. I had clicked on their profile from a sub about van living, so I was NOT at all expecting to see that. I wish I could burn this image from my mind because it makes me nauseous just thinking about it.

That happened hours ago and I just picked up my Taco Bell order, but I honestly can't bring myself to eat it because looking at this sloppy meat keeps reminding me of that damn image. I'm not trying to shame anyone, but I really don't think I can eat this because of that. I think I'm just going to give it to one of the homeless people that hang out at the gas stations, and I was really hoping someone would be willing to please help me out with a meal that won't make me puke just from looking at it. I'd really appreciate it.

Edit: Request fulfilled thanks to a kind stranger. ❤️

I recently posted in another sub about how I was conflicted on how to address a domestic situation I witnessed. Predictably, my post got a lot of performative “you’d call the cops if a man hit a woman, so why not the reverse?” comments. I largely ignored them because I’m well aware that this kind of “equality” rhetoric often isn’t pushed by people who genuinely care about male victims; rather, it’s pushed by people who want to dilute how seriously women’s experiences are treated in society.

Most of these commenters completely glossed over or ignored the fact that nearly my entire post was about what I saw happen to this man, and how I was specifically worried about him and his kid. And that immediately told me they weren't arguing in good faith to begin with.

On average, men are significantly stronger and more likely to cause severe injury or death in a physical confrontation. You know this. I know this. Everyone knows this. This isn’t some newly discovered fact, and, quite frankly, I refuse to entertain grown-ass adults who disingenuously pretend it doesn’t matter when they’re pushing this “men can be victims too” agenda.

No one is saying men can’t be victims who deserve support. However, “men can be victims too” should not be used as a rhetorical hammer to pretend gendered violence is symmetrical in its impact or danger. Unfortunately, though, that line is most often weaponized by misogynists who want to make women’s fear look irrational, as if they’re overreacting, or to pressure bystanders into acting like every violent confrontation is the same regardless of context.

Honestly, it’s the same tactic All Lives Matter supporters used to diminish the Black Lives Matter movement. And I say this as a white woman myself.

So consider this my PSA on remembering to always push back on these bad-faith tactics. Because at the end of the day, anyone can suffer, but that doesn't mean that suffering is the same across the board.

For context, I live in Florida. I was sitting in my vehicle at a gas station when another car stopped about 50 feet away. A young man and woman got out, and the woman was screaming and freaking out, and the guy was trying to calm her down. I started recording, not because I thought it was funny, but because if anything became violent, I wanted there to be video evidence. I’ve been in abusive relationships before and it sure as shit would've been nice if there had been video evidence of the shit that happened to me.

During all this, another vehicle drove by, saw the commotion, and stopped. An older gentleman got out and tried to calm them (her) down. The young guy was trying to explain what was happening and stayed pretty calm. The woman, though, was completely losing her shit, screaming at the top of her lungs. She even started screaming at the older man, telling him to leave. Then she charged at him, and the younger guy had to stop her, and of course when he did she started wailing on him again.

She was hitting him a lot throughout this ordeal, and he was trying to block it. I even heard him say “ow” at one point when I think she got him pretty good in the head. He NEVER once hit her, though. Even when he would try to physically restrain her, it never looked like he was actually trying to hurt her.

Unfortunately, she did eventually see me recording, even though I tried my best to be discreet about it. Thankfully, I had my car locked, because she came charging at my vehicle. She tried to open my door, and when she couldn't, she hit my car and screamed at me. When I looked at her face, though, it immediately reminded me of my bipolar ex during manic episodes. She just didn’t seem fully present. However, I do also understand that sometimes when people get extremely angry, they can get to this point of irrationality. After she hit my car, she walked back over to their car and got in and they drove off.

The worst part of all this, though, is at one point, a little girl stepped out of the car for a moment before getting back in. So I know there's a kid involved, and now I'm conflicted. I'm concerned for the child and the guy, and I don’t know if I should turn the video in to the police, especially since a child is involved. But I do know from experience how messy and complicated domestic situations are, and that I only actually saw a small piece of what happened. I truly don’t know if she has a condition like bipolar disorder, or if he's just a manipulative bastard and pushed her to that point. All I know is that the situation didn’t seem healthy.

So what should I do? Do I just let it go and move on, or do I send the video in anyway?

Edit: Here's part of the video.

Edit #2: Actually, I just checked my local sheriff's recent arrest records and it turns out she was arrested for battery a couple of hours ago right after that incident happened.

PLOT TWIST (Edit #3): So, because it was 4 in the morning and I was bored, I decided to dust off my old Facebook sleuthing skills I haven't used in years. And in that process, I learned that this woman is, in fact, ahem -Clears throat in Jerry Springer- NOT THE MOTHER! Nope. They've actually only been dating for 8 months. But I did find the mother of the child, and it turns out this guy and her have been separated for years.

So, for my final act in this shit show, I sent the mom a message explaining everything I witnessed, along with a screenshot of that other woman's mugshot, and, of course, the video I took.

I consider my part officially done and out of my hands now.