Did we read the same article? After your accusations of “mind reading” I reread it, certain I must have completely missed something—especially after the way you doubled down in your follow-up comments. But at no point does the author tell us what the server was thinking; she only describes the girl’s body language, and the author’s own concerns about the girl’s obvious discomfort.

Scolding the author that she has no idea what she saw with her own eyes? That’s gaslighting. You’ve provided a perfect example of how sexually abusive men are protected and coddled by other men (whether they themselves are active abusers or not). Kostas, the server, and the author are presumably strangers to you, yet you’ve jumped on the author with both feet for simply stating her own observations, and mischaracterized that as “mindreading.”

What is it about men like Kostas, men who are larger and older and hold great authority over a young teen girl, that you think requires your furious defense? It really comes off as protesting too much