Where Did All the Nice Guys Go?

Aww, man, I have to wholeheartedly agree with this.  Not only have I seen this in my own life experiences, but in observing many others as well.  This was stated so well, that I’m just going to copy and paste, as I can’t say it any better, so I’m really just adding my commentary.  I have to admit, that I’ve become a bit more cynical, evil, sarcastic, etc… than I was in my younger years.  I had to learn this very same thing.

This may not apply for all of you who are reading this, but if your flashing back in your memories, you just might be guilty!

Here’s the original url where I found this gem

http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/lax/483318927.html

I see this question posted with some regularity in the personals section, so I thought I’d take a minute to explain things to the ladies out there that haven’t figured it out.

What happened to all the nice guys?

The answer is simple: you did.

See, if you think back, really hard, you might vaguely remember a Platonic guy pal who always seemed to want to spend time with you. He’d tag along with you when you went shopping, stop by your place for a movie when you were lonely but didn’t feel like going out, or even sit there and hold you while you sobbed and told him about how horribly the (other) guy that you were fucking treated you.

At the time, you probably joked with your girlfriends about how he was a little puppy dog, always following you around, trying to do things to get you to pay attention to him. They probably teased you because they thought he had a crush on you. Given that his behavior was, admittedly, a little pathetic, you vehemently denied having any romantic feelings for him, and buttressed your position by claiming that you were “just friends.” Besides, he totally wasn’t your type. I mean, he was a little too short, or too bald, or too fat, or too poor, or didn’t know how to dress himself, or basically be or do any of the things that your tall, good-looking, fit, rich, stylish boyfriend at the time pulled off with such ease.

Eventually, your Platonic buddy drifted away, as your relationship with the boyfriend got more serious and spending time with this other guy was, admittedly, a little weird, if you werent dating him. More time passed, and the boyfriend eventually cheated on you, or became boring, or you realized that the things that attracted you to him weren’t the kinds of things that make for a good, long-term relationship. So, now, you’re single again, and after having tried the bar scene for several months having only encountered players and douche bags, you wonder, “What happened to all the nice guys?”

Well, once again, you did.

You ignored the nice guy. You used him for emotional intimacy without reciprocating, in kind, with physical intimacy. You laughed at his consideration and resented his devotion. You valued the aloof boyfriend more than the attentive “just-a-” friend. Eventually, he took the hint and moved on with his life. He probably came to realize, one day, that women aren’t really attracted to guys who hold doors open; or make dinners just because; or buy you a Christmas gift that you mentioned, in passing, that you really wanted five months ago; or listen when you’re upset; or hold you when you cry. He came to realize that, if he wanted a woman like you, he’d have to act more like the boyfriend that you had. He probably cleaned up his look, started making some money, and generally acted like more of an asshole than he ever wanted to be.

Fact is, now, he’s probably getting laid, and in a way, your ultimate rejection of him is to thank for that. And I’m sorry that it took the complete absence of “nice guys” in your life for you to realize that you missed them and wanted them. Most women will only have a handful of nice guys stumble into their lives, if that.

So, if you’re looking for a nice guy, here’s what you do:

1.) Build a time machine.
2.) Go back a few years and pull your head out of your ass.
3.) Take a look at what’s right in front of you and grab ahold of it.

I suppose the other possibility is that you STILL don’t really want a nice guy, but you feel the social pressure to at least appear to have matured beyond your infantile taste in men. In which case, you might be in luck, because the nice guy you claim to want has, in reality, shed his nice guy mantle and is out there looking to unleash his cynicism and resentment onto someone just like you.

If you were five years younger.

So, please: either stop misrepresenting what you want, or own up to the fact that you’ve fucked yourself over. You’re getting older, after all. It’s time to excise the bullshit and deal with reality. You didn’t want a nice guy then, and he certainly doesn’t fucking want you, now.

Sincerely,

A Recovering Nice Guy

 In addition to this, I also want to point out something that I mentioned previously that was mentioned by my good friend Jason on his blog a while ago.

DON’T shake the box! Sometimes when you get a gift you shake the box to see what’s inside. If it sounds like something you want to keep then you open it. If it sounds like crap you give it to your little sister. The thing is that most things that are best for you in life sound like crap when you first shake the box. Or, they will be wrapped in a way that makes them less attractive to you. But, looking inside is what really matters. And that goes for people as well. When you look inside a person and you see the goodness there you realize what you have. But, most people are too busy shaking boxes and moving on to the next guy because so-n-so doesn’t have rims on his car, doesn’t wear expensive cologne or clothes, isn’t 6′+ and have a set of shark white, straight teeth..

Here’s the link back to Jason’s blog for this entry

How to Find a Good Man and Other Things to do in Your Spare Time