January 10, 2011 – Have you ever watched movies where the guy is a dog and the girlfriend finds him with another woman and then it’s the other woman that gets the beat down?

I find it surprising for the man to just get a slap on the wrist while the woman is ungraciously roughed up.

Probably the simplest explanation for this would be that the girlfriend is truly upset and believes the woman misled her boyfriend (which is the case sometimes). But most times, it is the man who might have insinuated to the other woman that he doesn’t have a girlfriend.

Then the other woman gets beaten without knowing why; a scenario that could happen to guys as well.

So now I am left wondering, who is to blame in this vicious cycle? I have a friend who believes that if it’s the person in the relationship who’s chasing you, then there is no harm in checking out the product he/she is selling. And so what happens in the situation where you know he has a girlfriend and yet he seems to be straying…is it still ok to check out the merchandise?

So my question is who’s to blame? Some say the other woman is to blame because she knows that he has a girlfriend and yet she continues to pursue him. Others would say it is the man because he should be able to control himself and if he really loved his girlfriend, he would tell off this temptress. Others have even dared to say that the other woman did the girlfriend a favour by bringing out the boyfriends’ player character.

It baffles me: which reaction would be the right one? I suppose it depends on your character but sometimes I think it’s important to know the truth before you jump to conclusions. In some cases, the other woman could be as clueless as you are.

However, I also feel that boundaries should be respected. If you know someone has a girl, if they are really interested, then they should man up and let their girlfriends know that they want to see other people so that they can be free to do so. So ladies, if you think something is going on, find out the truth…whether you are the girlfriend or the other woman.

‘It’s better to be told a hurtful truth than to be told a comforting lie’ – Unknown