Taking it like a man

My Boy got into an argument with his girl while I was in Shanghai. She bitched him out in front of her friends and he just took it silently. He later said that he had to “take it like a man”.

I disagreed, though I didn’t say anything because I didn’t feel like giving relationship advice.

A man should take pain he has to, in order to achieve a higher goal, without complaint. In his eyes, his higher goal is to remain with the girl and make the relationship work out. If instead he stood his ground and showed her his boundaries, I feel she would respect him more and not bitch out at him in front of her and his friends. Or, if she won’t respect him, then they’ll be broken up. But that means they shouldn’t be together anyway.

I asked him why he was with this Shanghainese girl, if he recommended I stay away after the incident. He said that he wanted to work out his life and stop leaving things half-finished. His last few relationships he bailed too early, he felt. I don’t think he should be forcing himself to be with a girl that’s not working out, but I respect his decision.