The Standard for a 'Good' Man Is Truly Very Low

In the original viral tweet, Reeves’s hand does flutter open behind his companion in each photo, suggesting he might be considering their personal space and not want to make anyone feel uncomfortable. See below:

Reeves is not on a high-profile redemption campaign and he wasn’t the one to publicly call attention to his hand-waving technique. But the way this tidbit has flared up into a full-blown news story, after weeks of coverage about what a great guy he is, is unsettling.

With all due respect to Reeves (who honestly seems…fine), respecting people’s boundaries by avoiding the small of their back is the bare minimum—a basic standard of polite human interaction. After all, even the most dedicated fan can still be creeped out having their body space invaded: as evidenced by the women have calling out Joe Biden for a pattern of unwanted touching or the freaked out viewers who watched the bishop at Aretha Franklin’s funeral grab Ariana Grande by the waist and slide his hand up to her breast. Just because it’s exciting to meet a person doesn’t mean you want to be touched by them; a floating hand is a no brainer.

Perhaps the media lights up stories like Reeves’ because the norm seems so dark and a semi considerate celebrity seems like a bright spot. Nonetheless, it’s weird to see how quickly “being nice” can become someone’s brand, and it’s especially jarring when that brand is projected on them by fans. Will we find out next week that Reeves recycles? Only time will tell.