How do you guys deal with normies?

I think my sarcasm detector is broken today.

Thanks for splainin. So could the OP eventually become normative dater?

ace degenerate wrote:

For example, if you're in the breakroom at work and Marge comments on how skinny you are or how you can eat donut because you'll run it off, how do you manage such a situation?

The next day I bring in a dozen donuts and loiter around Marge's cubicle while eating all the donuts. Then I ask Marge if she is interested in doing naughty things in the breakroom.

ace degenerate wrote:

When you're interacting with normies in your lives, how do you manage these relationships? For example, if you're in the breakroom at work and Marge comments on how skinny you are or how you can eat donut because you'll run it off, how do you manage such a situation? When you're out there crushing it due to all the other lifestyle benefits of running and the normies around you wonder where you get all the energy for it, how do you respond to these normies?

We’re better than them, who gives a crap.

Also don’t normalize what they do by calling them “normies.” I interviewed for a job and they had another ultra dude in their office and said “oh we have one of you already.” Oh so another person that’s dedicated to their niche hobby? Less than 2% of knitters have an Etsy store but Sharon in accounting is cleaning up, so I’m not sure who’s rarer but thanks for singling out the way that I make my literal body better as strange. They’re weird for treating their body like a dumpster. You can eat that donut because you’re literally better than them. You are in a superior health state.

A retort I’ve heard many use over the years - “you could run it off too if you tried” and then leave. Don’t engage with them, why waste your time. You’ll be alive longer, anyway, and we don’t want to be like Omni-man wasting our time with pets.

I say, "yeah damn right I can eat a donut and not get fat. Too bad you're too lazy to exercise and have a toxic relationship with food, baby. Perhaps you can sweat some calories off while I plug your holes in bed. You down?"

ecoAnPac wrote:

Also don’t normalize what they do by calling them “normies.” I interviewed for a job and they had another ultra dude in their office and said “oh we have one of you already.” Oh so another person that’s dedicated to their niche hobby? Less than 2% of knitters have an Etsy store but Sharon in accounting is cleaning up, so I’m not sure who’s rarer but thanks for singling out the way that I make my literal body better as strange. They’re weird for treating their body like a dumpster. You can eat that donut because you’re literally better than them. You are in a superior health state.

Great point!

You seem angry. So someone makes an offhand remark and you’re thinking about it for years with a whole ‘us vs them’ revengey-vibe going on?

You realize that anger and mental health state have a significant effect on your overall health and sense of well-being?

Also, I’ve gone my entire life without having one of these dreaded conversations about donuts or eating habits. If someone starts being annoying, I just say, ‘well back to work’ or change subjects. I’ve used the gym at work a lot and people will say stuff and I just say ‘curl fer grrlllzz’ and they guffaw and walk away.

You should probably grow up a bit and get over your superiority complex. You’d probably be happier.

I appreciate your concern, but it is grossly inaccurate. I promise, I’m not mad at the people who don’t try to improve their health and life through specific physical activity. Why on earth would I be mad at them - especially the people who might not be able to exercise daily due to scheduling, physical, or financial constraints, that *is* emotionally immature and inappropriate. I simply refuse to respect them or devote any of my emotional bandwidth to them. Allow me to explain, since according to you you haven’t been in one of these situations before.

I’ve unfortunately had a lot of these “water cooler” conversations over the years. Between working in legal, military, government, and corporate environments - I’ve encountered a lot of people that see being a thin guy obsessed with distance running as a liability as opposed to a benefit. “Running breeds cowardice,” “are you sure you can carry all that,” “don’t you have stuff you do with other people during your down time.”

I’m fine with answering questions, because maybe I can change their mind and help them choose to improve their lives. I’m totally on board with having a polite conversation that clearly establishes that I am a legitimately more valuable human being than them because I choose to improve my body. Because that’s the fact of the situation - Cheryl (completely invented hypothetical person) in accounting is 46% body fat. If she tries to talk to me about her color run, because I’m “the runner,” im gonna ask her who the winner was, and when her jowly face begins to stammer out that “we were all winners because they don’t keep track,” I’m going to already be back neck-deep in my spreadsheets disengaged from her entire existence.

Because she’s not the same as us. We’re in a sport that establishes a competitive hierarchy in a very specific and distilled task. We are factually and substantively more valuable on a societal level because of that.

I’m not mad at people like Cheryl, I just know where we stand on donuts and running and I know that unless she’s a 5’7-6’2 dude under 180 pounds I probably don’t have to worry about her in a race. Why would I spend any emotional energy on her? I’m already wasting my time with her completely worthless and futile attempt to develop camaraderie with me about running.

“Well, ecoAnPac, why wouldn’t you make friends with her? She’s just trying to be nice, and aren’t you a pacifist?”

I am a pacifist. She’s harming me by wasting my time, initiating a pointless conversation, and continuing to pull me away from my work. The easiest way that I can disengage from that is politely ask a single, clarifying question and when she has the subtlest possible glimpse of my perspective and how few fcks I actually give she probably won’t bring it up to me again and we can continue an emotionless and exclusively surface level relationship like coworkers should.

Ok, I can accept that, but saying ‘we’re better than them’ is odd to me and I wonder if this is one of the hose situations where people pick up on it and it makes you a target.

Also, I didn’t say friends - just work colleagues. I thought it might make it easier for you to develop some offense so you’re not playing d all the time.

It's not normal social behavior to refer to "people who don't run as much as me" as normies.

Most people don't really comprehend the difference between a 5:00 mile and a 4:00 mile.

Anyone who is training and competing past college gets the same questions and answers:

1. I don't even drive my car that far.

2. Are you training for the Olympics?

3. Is someone paying you? Sponsored?

4. I knew someone who etc etc etc ever hear of Joe Lemay?

Alan

Do you use the term normie because you think youre somehow special aka an abnormie?

Coz you come across as a complete idiot asking how to be nice to regular people who want to interact with you.

Tommy2Nuttz wrote:

Do you use the term normie because you think youre somehow special aka an abnormie?

Coz you come across as a complete idiot asking how to be nice to regular people who want to interact with you.

You do realize the average American is 20-30 lbs overweight, deals with some kind of metabolic disease, and likely has somewhere within one standard deviation of 100 IQ. Being normal isn't good.

If you eat the donut, people will comment. If you don't eat the donut people will comment. The trick is not give a shizzz what people say. Office small talk is all stupid. I used to bring a bagel to early meetings and this one guy starting calling me bagel boy like he thought it was really clever. I just went with it and kept eating bagels in front of him. You become powerful when you don't cate what people think or say.

So you're not a chubby chaser then?

You need some eye candy in the office just to make your life bearable? And Cheryl just doesn't do it for ya?

You have my sympathy. I hope your situation improves.

Report Marge for sexual harassment. Commenting on your physical appearance is sexual harassment and body shaming.

Then sue the company for $20m for allowing that kind of culture.

Then you can run the rest of your life life full-time and never deal with normies.

You’re welcome.

Lmao no i don’t really care about where I work - including who I work with - I just don’t like having to explain myself to fat people who can improve their lives, choose to do nothing for themselves, and commit suicide in long form.

llort_vbo wrote:

Ok, I can accept that, but saying ‘we’re better than them’ is odd to me and I wonder if this is one of the hose situations where people pick up on it and it makes you a target.

Also, I didn’t say friends - just work colleagues. I thought it might make it easier for you to develop some offense so you’re not playing d all the time.

Why on earth would I make friends at work, especially people I see outside the workplace - the amount of liability I’m exposing myself to? Seems ill-advised.

We *are* better than them. This sport creates a hierarchy, and if they “run”/jog, they’re on it just as much as we are. Let’s say best case scenario Greg, in accounting, can do a 5:40 mile because he does CrossFit. He’s the closest to where we’re at on the food chain, and I’m supposed to respect these people as equals? If we’re at work, let’s talk about work - like you said. But if someone wants to talk about running, they’ve entered into that food chain. I don’t have to respect or value Cheryl as a human being because she’s never paid any time or attention to the way that her body affects her health. I can value her for her thoughts and deeds, but on a biological level I feel like I’m obligated to give as few craps as possible about her because of how much distance there is between people like them and people like us.

The fact that you feel weird about hearing the undeniable fact that you are better than other people is weird because of you, not me.

My standard response now to the workplace comment.

"Why are you so thin now /You have really lost a lot of weight"

I just say I have HIV or alternatively Cancer.

That shuts them up straight away.

I’m a bit surprised by posters getting annoyed by Marge-like people in your life commenting on how thin you are. I just usually smile it off as most such comments are rhetorical and don’t need an actual response. Marge is well meaning and intends it as a compliment. Nobody remarks on another person’s weight to their face unless they mean it as a positive.

Sometimes relatives I’ve not seen in a while would remark how they think I might be getting thinner over time — again well meaning concern and compliment — and I just tell them, no, I’ve been at the same weight for well over a decade now. No snappiness warranted.

Sometimes folks are curious and ask how I maintain my weight. My response is usually short but truthful: I don’t know, probably high metabolism. I started running later in life, not high school or college, but have always been skinny despite eating until satiation.

The only reason I can think of for why you might be annoyed is if you think being very skinny (but not unhealthy) is unattractive for men and feel like Marge is drawing attention to a chip on your shoulder. I’ve never felt that my weight, or lack thereof, made me unattractive although I’ve learned from many LR posters that they think skinny distance runner-type men should feel embarrassed about being unattractive to women.