A lot of people, especially in dating, use the term ‘red flag’. “He lives with his mom? Oh, that’s a red flag right there.” “She won’t stop texting? Bro, that’s a red flag.” “They’re talking about a serious relationship on the first date? Honey, stop and take a look at all the red flags.” Red flags everywhere.
Well, I’m actually not a fan of the term ‘red flag’. I played varsity soccer, where penalties were visualized by yellow and red cards (yes, cards, but I consider them practically the same to flags). Red cards signaled the immediate expulsion from the game. So, when I think of ‘red flag’, I think that the person was kicked out of the date by the problematic human, rather than the problematic human showing suspicious or weird tendencies.
You know what we should say instead?
‘Baby bear warning’.
As cute as that sounds, it’s anything but. If you are unfamiliar with bears, let me educate you on how dangerous spotting a baby bear is. When you see a baby bear, run in the opposite direction. For when you see a cub, mama is close by. Mother bears are known for being extremely protective of their babies, attacking if you so much as look at them. Cubs look super huggable, but are you willing to sacrifice both arms and half your face for that hug?
So when it comes to dating, I think ‘baby bear warning’ is far more descriptive than ‘red flag’. The ‘baby bear warning’, though it might look cute at first, is followed by a ‘mama bear consequence’.
Stay safe in the dating world, beautiful people. And try to stay away from ‘baby bear warning’s.
Hugs
Alexandra
picture courtesy of Yellowstone
Alexandra TG 