Thank you for reading, Shelly Williams. Yes, we all want to be acknowledged and valued — perfectly human desires. But the expectation that strangers indulge these needs under false pretenses is such a waste of anyone’s time. And it simultaneously disadvantages the good guys because we’ve grown so weary trying to differentiate. It’s hard enough to tell if a new man you’re attracted to is a Good Guy while simultaneously (politely) thwarting the advances of men you’re not even attracted to in the first place. Hence the exasperated middle finger :) Some days we just can’t anymore.