Definition: The phenomenon where someone confidently declares the hyper-violent, flawlessly executed ass-kicking they would have delivered in a traumatic situation they only heard about online. Rooted in zero actual experience but fueled by internet bravado and action-movie fantasies.
It highlights the absurd gap between imagined heroics and the complex freeze/flight/fawn responses actual trauma triggers. These digital locker-room boasts often shame survivors by implying their real reaction was weak or wrong, while the commenter remains safely anonymous. Actual trauma survivors just roll their eyes.
Example:
After reading about a subway mugging, a commenter declared he’d have disarmed both attackers instantly with “brutal efficiency” before they blinked.
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A survivor of an armed robbery just sighed reading online claims that anyone freezing was “weak,” knowing the paralyzing terror they actually felt.