TikTok has sarcastically decided to crown one man “boyfriend of the year” after he sat back and watched his girlfriend get attacked by muggers while the pair were backpacking in Columbia.
The whole dreadful interaction was caught on camera as a man approaches the woman with a knife in hand. He then tries to snatch the backpack off of the American tourist’s back while she struggles to fight him off. Eventually, some locals intervene and scare the attacker away.
However, the video, which was shared by the New York Post, clearly shows the woman’s male companion, whom many have assumed to be her boyfriend, quickly dart away and stand well back from the fight between his girlfriend and the man trying to mug her. At one point he positions himself behind a wall, well out of the way of the attacker, and periodically looks to check how the fight is going. Unfortunately for him, there was a camera which caught everything, and the footage has since gone viral online.
The man gets called out on TikTok
The video would no doubt have been swiftly forgotten if not for the man’s decision not to intervene. People were quick to draw attention to what they perceived as cowardly behavior from him and some even went as far as to suggest that he was hoping something terrible would happen. One TikToker, “Tallgirl6234,” implied that he would have used the story of his girlfriend dying (had the attacker been successful) for sympathy with other women on dating apps.
She claimed it was yet another example of “why it’s better to be lonely and single than date a man.” A bear certainly wouldn’t have a problem eating a guy with a knife. Another TikToker expressed her shock regarding the situation too.
Others on TikTok joined in, scorning the man for his inaction. “Maybe it’s just me because I listen to crime podcasts but it all seems kind of sketchy.” One person agreed. “I wonder how long it will take her to see exactly who he is.” Pondered a second individual. “Having a boyfriend is a humiliation ritual,” quipped another in response to the video.
Let’s be fair to the guy
Of course, we can’t know exactly what was going through the man’s mind at that moment. In all fairness he could have frozen in the heat of the moment, it is a frightening situation after all. We also don’t know for sure what the relationship between these two tourists is.
Despite that, it seems the entire internet is in general agreement that he could have and should have done more to defend the girl. At the very least he could have yelled for help, but it doesn’t seem like he even tried that. His decision not to intervene could have had a tragic ending for the woman but luckily it only resulted in a few jokes at his expense.
