Being drugged on a night out is nothing to laugh about, no matter if you’re built like The Mountain or like Sansa Stark. And the sad thing is, being drugged when you’re a man will quickly show you which of your friends are real and which ones you should rethink your relationship with. Because the latter are laughing at you and can’t see what the big deal is.

Imgur user HerculesSnoochSlammer proved that society has double standards when it comes to having your drink spiked when you’re a man by sharing what happened to them and how everyone reacted. It’s worrisome. And it needs to change.

Hercules opened up to Bored Panda that he’s feeling a bit better now. However, yesterday he was feeling pretty bad, as he assumed he “fell, quite hard.” The day after being drugged, he was “disoriented and almost in shock or disbelief,” wondering whether this really happened to him.

An Imgurian opened up about how their friends reacted to the fact that he got drugged at a bar

Image credits: HerculesSnoochSlammer

Image credits: HerculesSnoochSlammer

Image credits: HerculesSnoochSlammer

Imgurian Hercules told Bored Panda that he personally isn’t sure that there is a double standard at work here. “I believe it’s more dangerous for women just because of what we hear and see with the awful stories of what happens,” he said. Unfortunately, men arent taken as seriously just because most people think ‘we’re always down for a good time.’ Everyone enjoys fun, but I personally enjoy it under my control and in my parameters.”

Hercules urged everyone to be vigilant, know their surroundings, and always keep an eye on their drink. Having a friend around also helps stay safe. “People who do this sort of thing don’t always need a motive I’ve found out. Sometimes, they just want to see what happens and cause terror.”

Researchers from the University of South Carolina found that drugging is “more than simply an urban legend” after looking at data collected from over 6k students at 3 universities. Shockingly, they found that 7.8 percent of students reported incidents where they said they had been drugged. Meanwhile, 1.4 percent opened up that they had either drugged someone or knew someone who had done that to someone else.

Other Imgur users stood in solidarity with Hercules and shared stories of them or their loved ones being drugged as well

Hercules’ candid post on Imgur immediately went viral. In just 8 hours, it got more than 104.7k views, over 4.6k upvotes, and was commented on more than 600 times. Someone also thought that the Imgurian’s honest story was worth being awarded a green emerald.

Imagine if the situation were reversed and the victim was a woman, instead of a 6’4″, 215-pound man. Would people’s reactions have changed? Almost certainly, yes. It looks like, as a society, we only condemn the horrible act of drugging someone if it happens to some people but not others.

That’s a double standard right there. That shaming from his friends that Hercules had to go through might be one of the reasons why not as many men come forward with stories of vulnerability and abuse. Because they know that they might be laughed at for not being ‘manly enough’ and for being in a vulnerable position.

Losing an entire block of 12 hours of time sounds incredibly scary and it’s a wonder that Hercules managed to somehow get home almost safe and sound, barring some bumps and bruises and a 91-dollar charge to their card.

The Imgurian advised everyone, no matter their gender, to keep an eye on their drinks when out in public. After Hercules’ post, some other internet users shared their own stories.

As Hercules put it, we could all stand to be a bit more sensitive, especially when it comes to sensitive topics: “Just take things your male friends say seriously. If they joke about something dark, pry a little deeper. They don’t want to be a bother 99% of the time but are trying their best to swallow their pride and ask for help.”

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