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35 People Who Wanted To Look So Tough, They Ended Up Embarrassing Themselves Completely
If you hear someone say, "I'm not scared of that," or, "I didn't want that promotion anyway," it doesn't necessarily mean they're mentally strong. In fact, there's a good chance it's just a facade.
To illustrate this, let's look at the subreddit which we at Bored Panda call "I Am Very Bad". From gun nuts to overly-protective boyfriends, this online community has plenty of examples to prove that overcompensation can be very, very obvious.
Here are the posts that got the most upvotes from the sub's 1.2 million members.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
The F**king Sun
To learn more about "I Am Very Bad" we contacted its moderators and one of them, u/ergoegthatis, agreed to have a little chat.
"Some of the most popular ['tough' people on the subreddit are the ones who see] injustice in the news (e.g. someone being insulted or bear up), and say, 'If that happened to me I'd so and so and so and so!' With everyone on social media having a platform to air any opinion they have, this is incredibly common," u/ergoegthatis told Bored Panda.
"Also in the US, there are many intense political/social statements related to politics and guns. For some reason, Americans are religiously addicted to expressing their opinions on everything, in every possible way (including car decals)."
RELATED:
#2
And Murdered By Words Of Another Vet
Demi Zwaan 3 years ago (edited)
Ah yes, the 'us' and 'them' mentality. Also the result of brainwashing. If someone cuts in line, say something. You don't immediately have to resort to violence like a little coward who can't communicate his feelings like a normal adult. (edited the bad word to coward)
#3
Vaping In Front Of A Water Service Vehicle Thinking It's A Cop Car
Foxxy (The Original) 3 years ago
Even though it's not a cop car, why would it matter if he was vaping in front of one. Is it coz he is possibly under-age or something?
According to the moderator, the subreddit's 'characters' usually overcompensate due to their fear of a scary, unpredictable, and hostile world.
"It depends on society too: we rarely see these ... expressions coming from Europe, the Arab world, Southern and Central America, Russia, China, Japan, etc. America is witnessing social, political, and economic implosions, so this seems to be a way for them to cope with that," they added.
The subreddit's community, on the other hand, is way more diverse. "It's heterogeneous, [and has] got all sorts of people," u/ergoegthatis said. "I don't think there's any common factor in our userbase, except the desire to have fun and laugh at people who take their purported [toughness] to comical levels in public."
#4
A Birthday Well Wish Escalates To ”there Will Be Consequences”
#5
Even My Local Police Department Had To Call Out This Guy's Bulls**t
Marcellus II 3 years ago
I'm wondering in this scenario, what's the motivation of criminal nr 1000 to go test the door, when there's already a stack of 999 corpses festering in the spring sunshine?
While acting tough may meet a person's needs in the short term by artificially boosting their ego or by getting others to back off, it's not a good long-term strategy. In fact, one study conducted by psychologists at Rutgers University found that guys who act tough may suffer serious consequences.
The paper, published in The Journal of Health Psychology, found that these men visit doctors less often. They're also less forthcoming about their medical symptoms when they see a male physician (interestingly, these same men were more likely to choose a male doctor because they believe male doctors are more competent than females).
#6
My Friend And His Wife Are Going Through A Mutual Divorce, Her New Boyfriend Is Wasting No Time Asserting Dominance
#7
If You Have To Advertise It, It’s Probably Not True
Dee Hunter 3 years ago
Doesn't "Alpha" mean a version that's full of bugs and not in a condition to be released to the public?
#8
She Always Told Me He Was Jealous But Dang
Daria B 3 years ago
Nah.... he makes sure she earns money by not doing additional shifts ♡ (kidding, obviously)
Load More Replies...
Skara Brae 3 years ago
He has no idea how scared he sounds if just a text message to his girlfriend can puff him up like that. I hope the girlfriend is safe.
Edison Michael 2 years ago
He is likely to burst a vein and pass away before ever getting into a fight if he gets off the rails that easily.
Load More Replies...
Steffen Rehm 3 years ago
On the other Hand, samantha will never have to take shifts from coworkers again.
Maddie Star ⭐ 3 years ago
wow, walk away Samantha... no actually run run away from this d**k, he's taking way to many steroids.
Death Metal Kitty 3 years ago
Those are rookie numbers, brah. Anyone can reach that with 2 years of focus and dedicated training on the big 3.
Marilyn Holt 3 years ago
Whoa! Someone's feeling really insecure. And reading his gf messages?
Susie Elle 3 years ago
Imagine being that insecure that you need to show your stats to make a very stupid point
Martha Higgins 3 years ago
Another woman, like Sara (above), who needs to rethink her choice of a "man."
Sebastian Melmoth 3 years ago
I’ll never understand possessive people, they’re among the worst
Celtic Pirate Queen 3 years ago
What's up with all these people responding to messages not addressed to them? There is a sh*t ton of insecurity running rampant out there.
Iva Kazalova 3 years ago
Oh he failed to mention the 2” penis that must be the cause of all this bravado?
deanna woods 3 years ago
Why do these women keep getting with insecure little boys who think that they are tough?
Researchers suspect that delaying medical appointments and minimizing symptoms could be one of the reasons why men in the US die, on average, five years earlier than women.
If you want to see whether or not you have a tendency to act this way, this article by Inc. provides a 7-point checklist that could help in evaluating yourself.
If you're also putting up a fake exterior that helps you feel superior, consider the toll it may take on your life. Instead, try to invest in building mental strength, so the way you feel on the inside matches how others see you on the outside. As your mental strength increases, your need to act tough decreases.
#9
Comment On A Post About An Old Couple Having To Slowly Put Back Potatoes One At A Time At A Grocery Store Until The Price Was Low Enough Because They Are Poor
#10
If A Cop Is A D*ck You Are Legally Allowed To Beat Him Up Apparently
#11
You Never Know What Will Go Down At A Subway Sandwich Shop
#12
Bad**s Boomer Responds To Being Ok'ed By A Journalist He Yelled At About Climate Change
#13
High School Is A Hell Of A Drug
#14
His Daughter Took A Laptop Home From School To Message A Boy. So He Decides To Shoot The Laptop That Wasn’t Even His Property
#15
A Challenge From A Bad**s
#16
From A Live Stream Of Hurricane Florence
#17
Oh Man... Stay Away From This Guy!
#18
Shooting A Target From A Mile Away? Light Work
#19
Do Not Underestimate People With Multiple Font Tattoos
#20
Coronavirus Is Scared Of Catching Me
#21
Accidentally Added The Wrong Guy On Facebook. Guess I'm A Coward Now
#22
He Doesnt Need A Bed Just Sleeps In A Holster
#23
I Love My Friend But I Get These Often
#24
Vegans Can’t Even Make A Dent
#25
A Warm Welcome Back From My “Bad**s” Roommate
Dorothy Parker 3 years ago
Girlfriend is being held captive. Save that text and use it as reason to move out. . .
#26
Dysfunctional Veteran Leave Me Alone!
Demi Zwaan 3 years ago
Sure, because no one would call the police if they actually believed these were bodies. No, they'd go about their business and be nice and polite to the psycho killer.
#27
Covid Brings Out The Crazies
#28
School Dropouts Are Very Bad**s
#29
How To Prove You’re Older Than 14
#30
U Can Use Your Zip Ties To Make Sure Your Legs Stay Together In The New Wheelchair
#31
Walmart Patriot
#32
Shoot First, Ask Questions Later, I Guess
#33
Going To The Gym Makes You Invincible
#34
A Comment: "I Bet You Spent More On This Than Your Kids Since They Were Born"
Add New Image
What do you think ?
Troux 3 years ago
How about we do The Hunger Games, but instead of random kids, all the participants are people who made tough guy posts on the internet?
BasedWang 3 years ago
I can get behind this..... But rather have it Battle Royal style since thats where the hunger games stole the entire idea from
Load More Replies...
Foxxy (The Original) 3 years ago (edited)
Why am I not surprised that most of these are men. This is what toxic masculinity does, this is why we need to change things. These men may think they look tough, but the fact is majority seem like assholes. Assholes are not strong people, they are just weak pretending to be strong. Strength is not caring about showing care and compassion, strength is having empathy and able to show and express your emotions. Thankfully most men are decent human beings. Too bad we hear more about the f*****g wankers of the male species.
Mya Lugar 3 years ago
Yes, parents need to think carefully about how they raise their boys. In general, boys often don't get the attention that girls do during childhood, unless it's BAD (Negative) attention. Any child psychologist will tell you that children will do anything to get your attention if you're ignoring them. Often bad behavior is the trigger a parent is most likely to respond to.
Load More Replies...
Carol Emory 3 years ago
I stopped reading halfway through. I get tired of people that puff their chests out and act all macho. It's old...it's tiring..and it's pointless. Anyone who threatens violence like this just because they can...well you have some serious mental health issues that need to be addressed and you're not impressing anyone. All this shows me is that you are really insecure and you are starved for attention.
Demi Zwaan 3 years ago
So many people are so violent, even if it's just in their heads. It's not healthy if your go-to emotion is anger/rage.
Thorfin Wolfsbane 3 years ago
they did some studies where people like this who have underdeveloped forebrains get frustrated with their inability to deal with their problems with reason and logic (i.e. words), so they lash out in violent and aggressive ways very similar to a caveman.
Load More Replies...
Jo Choto 3 years ago
We lived next door to these devout "Christians". One time a parcel for them had been delivered to our door, so in about 3 feet of snow, I carried it round to them. Houses were maybe 50 feet apart. Only when I got on their doorstep did I see a sign they had on their door. It basically said, don't steal from us. We have lots of guns and will actually take pleasure in using them on you. We will not hesitate to kill you. Steal from someone else. So not only were they happily threatening murder, but they were encouraging this thief (coming through the front door) to commit a crime against some innocent person. Never did like them. Had nothing at all to do with them after that.
AndThenICommented 3 years ago
Wooooooooowwwwww it was funny for maybe 30 of them, then just felt sad
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
Imagine being so terrified that all humanity is not under your control that you have to throw down threats and absurdities like those.... And now be glad you're not one of those people.
Watching 3 years ago
In America, each and everyone of these men is known as Trump Trash. They are the most insecure men in our country. Still trying to dictate women's reproductive rights and can't take an ass whipping. Pray for us.
Pa4040 3 years ago
What is wrong with these people? How insecure must one be to carry 3 guns? To threaten to kill anyone for pretty much no reason at all? To believe they are above any laws or proper social behaviour just "cause I lift bro!". Is half of America fresh out of juvenile prison? I understand that most of these pictures are either trolls or like-bait on social media, but some are actual humans in real life. All of this looks just wrong, and what is worse these people will have children one day and they will carry on this legacy. I have never been a confident one but this tops me ten times over. Sure, instead of actually dealing reasonably and with common sense to everyday events, just take out your frustration to everyone and everything in your vicinity, then call yourself Alpha. Absolutely disgusting people, my condolences to the regular folks living in the U.S.
s. vitkovitsky 3 years ago
These are indeed unpleasant people, but hardly unique to the U.S.
Load More Replies...
Nikki Sevven 3 years ago
I find it really depressing to know that so many people are so wretchedly insecure that they must constantly hate and attack others.
Sur Mer 3 years ago
I gave up after the third one, not wanting to have the next few minutes ruined.
s. vitkovitsky 3 years ago
Yes, it's actually quite disturbing, the violent hatred of strangers, basically, coupled with the gross illiteracy and vulgarity of expression. What is the point of this article? To show there's lots of mean, irrationsl miseries in the world? I feel like taking a bleach shower and a big fergeddit pill.
Load More Replies...
V Martinez 3 years ago
Not sure how many of these are real or not, some sound fake. For those that are real, why can't ppl just be decent human beings? They're only a "bada$$" in their own mind anyway, and no one cares.
Sue Lynn Chan 3 years ago
Some of these sound toxic. For those who wants to show your tough side, DON'T............. It's not healthy for you. Just because you want to scare people does not make you a better person. It's ok to say you are afraid, but don't act like a macho all the times. There's always going to be consequences
Sue Lynn Chan 3 years ago
And please respect my comments.. I'm not usually good at giving advice or grammar
Load More Replies... 
Tre ball 2 years ago
I have seen one where he ripped up a coupon for 70% off of something and he didn’t even look at it then went on to buy the exact item and complained that the person in front of them who got the same item got it for cheaper and then complained it’s not his fault that he ripped up the coupon it’s what he does when people hand him flyers for stupid s**t that is not what he likes and also said he would beat up the cashier if he didn’t get the discount dude got escorted out by security and then took a swing at the security guards and hit a police officer who was just getting his lunch
Regina Granat 3 years ago
Ugh. All of these scream my asshole Q cousin who knows everything about everything and blah blah blah.
Random Anon 3 years ago (edited)
Nothing says I need attention and something to feel superior about more than these.
Jada Sherman 3 years ago (edited)
This girl was flexing on me “subtly” about how she’s a school dropout, and only boys are texting her.
Leah Dickerson 3 years ago
I've been bored with this site for awhile and checked it out tonight and was reminded why. Everyone feels validated in being shitty if someone else encourages them, this whole post is all about that, especially all the comments. Fight fire with fire is a phrase that comes to mind. F*****g dumb, find something positive to do with your lives instead of saying stupid s**t online.
Troux 3 years ago
How about we do The Hunger Games, but instead of random kids, all the participants are people who made tough guy posts on the internet?
BasedWang 3 years ago
I can get behind this..... But rather have it Battle Royal style since thats where the hunger games stole the entire idea from
Load More Replies... Foxxy (The Original) 3 years ago (edited)
Why am I not surprised that most of these are men. This is what toxic masculinity does, this is why we need to change things. These men may think they look tough, but the fact is majority seem like assholes. Assholes are not strong people, they are just weak pretending to be strong. Strength is not caring about showing care and compassion, strength is having empathy and able to show and express your emotions. Thankfully most men are decent human beings. Too bad we hear more about the f*****g wankers of the male species.
Mya Lugar 3 years ago
Yes, parents need to think carefully about how they raise their boys. In general, boys often don't get the attention that girls do during childhood, unless it's BAD (Negative) attention. Any child psychologist will tell you that children will do anything to get your attention if you're ignoring them. Often bad behavior is the trigger a parent is most likely to respond to.
Load More Replies... Carol Emory 3 years ago
I stopped reading halfway through. I get tired of people that puff their chests out and act all macho. It's old...it's tiring..and it's pointless. Anyone who threatens violence like this just because they can...well you have some serious mental health issues that need to be addressed and you're not impressing anyone. All this shows me is that you are really insecure and you are starved for attention.
Demi Zwaan 3 years ago
So many people are so violent, even if it's just in their heads. It's not healthy if your go-to emotion is anger/rage.
Thorfin Wolfsbane 3 years ago
they did some studies where people like this who have underdeveloped forebrains get frustrated with their inability to deal with their problems with reason and logic (i.e. words), so they lash out in violent and aggressive ways very similar to a caveman.
Load More Replies... Jo Choto 3 years ago
We lived next door to these devout "Christians". One time a parcel for them had been delivered to our door, so in about 3 feet of snow, I carried it round to them. Houses were maybe 50 feet apart. Only when I got on their doorstep did I see a sign they had on their door. It basically said, don't steal from us. We have lots of guns and will actually take pleasure in using them on you. We will not hesitate to kill you. Steal from someone else. So not only were they happily threatening murder, but they were encouraging this thief (coming through the front door) to commit a crime against some innocent person. Never did like them. Had nothing at all to do with them after that.
AndThenICommented 3 years ago
Wooooooooowwwwww it was funny for maybe 30 of them, then just felt sad
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
Imagine being so terrified that all humanity is not under your control that you have to throw down threats and absurdities like those.... And now be glad you're not one of those people.
Watching 3 years ago
In America, each and everyone of these men is known as Trump Trash. They are the most insecure men in our country. Still trying to dictate women's reproductive rights and can't take an ass whipping. Pray for us.
Pa4040 3 years ago
What is wrong with these people? How insecure must one be to carry 3 guns? To threaten to kill anyone for pretty much no reason at all? To believe they are above any laws or proper social behaviour just "cause I lift bro!". Is half of America fresh out of juvenile prison? I understand that most of these pictures are either trolls or like-bait on social media, but some are actual humans in real life. All of this looks just wrong, and what is worse these people will have children one day and they will carry on this legacy. I have never been a confident one but this tops me ten times over. Sure, instead of actually dealing reasonably and with common sense to everyday events, just take out your frustration to everyone and everything in your vicinity, then call yourself Alpha. Absolutely disgusting people, my condolences to the regular folks living in the U.S.
s. vitkovitsky 3 years ago
These are indeed unpleasant people, but hardly unique to the U.S.
Load More Replies... Nikki Sevven 3 years ago
I find it really depressing to know that so many people are so wretchedly insecure that they must constantly hate and attack others.
Sur Mer 3 years ago
I gave up after the third one, not wanting to have the next few minutes ruined.
s. vitkovitsky 3 years ago
Yes, it's actually quite disturbing, the violent hatred of strangers, basically, coupled with the gross illiteracy and vulgarity of expression. What is the point of this article? To show there's lots of mean, irrationsl miseries in the world? I feel like taking a bleach shower and a big fergeddit pill.
Load More Replies... V Martinez 3 years ago
Not sure how many of these are real or not, some sound fake. For those that are real, why can't ppl just be decent human beings? They're only a "bada$$" in their own mind anyway, and no one cares.
Sue Lynn Chan 3 years ago
Some of these sound toxic. For those who wants to show your tough side, DON'T............. It's not healthy for you. Just because you want to scare people does not make you a better person. It's ok to say you are afraid, but don't act like a macho all the times. There's always going to be consequences
Sue Lynn Chan 3 years ago
And please respect my comments.. I'm not usually good at giving advice or grammar
Load More Replies... Tre ball 2 years ago
I have seen one where he ripped up a coupon for 70% off of something and he didn’t even look at it then went on to buy the exact item and complained that the person in front of them who got the same item got it for cheaper and then complained it’s not his fault that he ripped up the coupon it’s what he does when people hand him flyers for stupid s**t that is not what he likes and also said he would beat up the cashier if he didn’t get the discount dude got escorted out by security and then took a swing at the security guards and hit a police officer who was just getting his lunch
Regina Granat 3 years ago
Ugh. All of these scream my asshole Q cousin who knows everything about everything and blah blah blah.
Random Anon 3 years ago (edited)
Nothing says I need attention and something to feel superior about more than these.
Jada Sherman 3 years ago (edited)
This girl was flexing on me “subtly” about how she’s a school dropout, and only boys are texting her.
Leah Dickerson 3 years ago
I've been bored with this site for awhile and checked it out tonight and was reminded why. Everyone feels validated in being shitty if someone else encourages them, this whole post is all about that, especially all the comments. Fight fire with fire is a phrase that comes to mind. F*****g dumb, find something positive to do with your lives instead of saying stupid s**t online.
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