"It Really Isn't The Flex Some People Think It Is": People Are Calling Out Things People Brag About That Actually Signal They're A Terrible Person
While it's completely normal to brag during an interview, an annual review — or heck, even on Instagram about your OOTD — some people choose to brag about certain subjects that could signal a cause for concern.
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So when Reddit user asked u/Zanderhal asked: "What’s something that people brag about which signals a red flag?" people had A LOT of thoughts. Here's what they had to say below:
1."Bragging about how people are scared of them and no one will ever cross them because they know they will get beat."
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2."Bragging about a time they pushed moral boundaries in order to make a quick buck, and how 'smart' they are for what they did. For example, buying out all the generators from six neighboring towns, waiting for the projected hurricane to hit, then upselling them to desperate homeowners to make a profit. So cruel."
"Ah, the person at my job who bought up all the toilet paper during the pandemic so they could sell it to coworkers at an inflated price.
They can keep their Mercedes. I'd rather not be a monster."
3.“I don’t have a filter.”
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"Yes. This means: 'I refuse to consider how my words might affect those around me.'
4."How 'crazy' all their exes are."
"This is the relationship version of, 'If you work with a guy who's an asshole, then that guy's an asshole. If you work with 20 guys and every last one is them is an asshole, you're the asshole.'"
5."When a professor brags about how many people have failed their class."
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“'Over half of you will quit this class before the semester ends. The other half remaining will fail.' I had a professor say this and could only think: 'Man, you must be a shitty teacher. I searched him up and sure enough, most people quit because the way he taught was counterproductive and half the class time was spent talking down to them. I requested to be added to a different professor."
6."Bragging about successfully tricking people. Not like April Fool's harmless pranks, but stuff like stealing or cheating."
7."How quickly they cut people out of their lives. Sometimes it can be a good thing to cut people out of your life. There are definitely people who are toxic to you and you are better off without their influence or presence. But it should almost always be bittersweet to actually do this. People who actually brag about this usually are people who refuse to accept personal fault or to work on themselves at all."
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"That bittersweet bit is entirely situational.
I have cut a lot of people out of my life, and I have zero regrets about it, and am proud of myself for getting them out of my life, so I can move forward.
I think you are talking about the 'if you aren't useful, you don't matter' crowd."
8."I know someone who brags about not reading. They didn’t read when they were in school, they didn’t read any of the assigned books, only read three books ever, and still won’t read as a full-fledged adult. Refusal to read."
9."Firing their employees. It can be necessary to do so, but when you brag about it (real bragging, not just telling), it sounds like you love executing power over weaker people and hurting them."
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"An ex-buddy's new girlfriend was bragging about being 'the terminator' at work. Shockingly, we don’t hang out with them anymore, she was so incredibly toxic."
10."How much they 'don’t care what other people think.' If you have to constantly tell others and yourself 'I don’t care,' you totally do, you just wish you didn’t."
11."Self-victimizers who need to out-victimize everyone within a 100-foot radius. No one — and I mean no one — has ever had it harder than they did/do. One-uppers (or one-downers?) extraordinaire."
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"I have a coworker who is kind of like the first one. She is generally a one-upper, and she has had a really hard life. But you can't talk about yourself for more than 30 seconds before she has a story about either how awesome she is, or how much harder than you she's had it. It's exhausting."
12."They boast about how many drinks they can hold 'and still drive home without a problem.'"
13."The people who instantly have a solution for everything. Addicted? Quit. Depressed? Smile more. Broke? Get a better job. Tired? Sleep more. There is nuance to the issues of society. Major red flag if you're in your 20's or older and can't critically think."
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14."'I am (such a) a nice person.' If you have to point it out, it's probably not true."
"There's a difference between being a 'nice' person and a 'good' person."
15.“'Winning' the breakup."
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16."How they grew up in a time when raging abuse was the norm. And they 'turned out just fine'..."
17."The similar salty person who has to drag you beyond their saltiness because if you have any ounce of positivity it drives them insane."
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18."How much they work and how little they sleep. That's an unbalanced person and they're unlikely to have an idea of 'success' that includes other people."
"Yeah, I've been in the office since 4:30 a.m!'
Go home, Tammy, your kids haven't seen you in 3 weeks..."
19."'Owning' or 'triggering' people: 'I'm so difficult to get along with that I was able to annoy someone into an outburst with only a brief interaction.' It really isn't the flex some people think it is."
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"Getting a rise out of people isn’t particularly a difficult thing to do. People just do this because they like the feeling of control that they get like they can make someone else mad. I used to do this when I was younger, but then I realized I was just being an immature asshole."
20."Their luxurious material possessions and lavish lifestyle despite using debt and not having the money to support such a lifestyle."
21."Their investments. A particular crypto, MLM, a stock pick or trading strategy, etc. More than likely, they have an ego and got lucky — and it will crash before they pull their money."
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