A recent hobby of mine has been to steal people's straws in drinks at parties (a way to practice without being arrested when you fail :-) )- it's a fascinating thing to do: you have to observe how people behave, how they react when you talk to them, when you point at something with one finger, etc. I recommend trying it.
You don't know how protective someone is of their drink. Just because you might not mind if someone stole your straw does NOT mean that most people feel the same way. For many people, there is something very private about the drink they are holding.
Not only that, but the connotations of people who surreptitiously put their hand anywhere close to a drink at a party are NOT good connotations. I don't think these connotations need to be explained.
I don't mean to offend you, man. I rarely even comment on Hacker News. I'm just trying to help you understand why many people (I would say the majority) are extremely off put by this behavior. That said, I don't know what context you do this in. Friends are unlikely to hold a negative perception of this, but people you just met in a bar or party situation could hold dangerously negative perceptions of it.
p.s. I notice that you are French. I have no idea how my advice applies to French culture, so this may be a cultural difference. But in American culture, at least that of college age and older, I think most people will agree with this comment.
I would certainly not follow you, point a finger and yell "you stole my straw, give it back" but I would certainly think you are strange and just steer away from you in the future.
If I saw OP do his thing, I'd laugh and say "give me my straw back you weirdo", he'd explain and that would be that.
> If I saw OP do his thing, I'd laugh and say "give me my straw back you weirdo", he'd explain and that would be that.
I would do that but depends on the context and how he acts. If he is nervous and acting weird I would probably refuse to say anything and just go and talk with someone else. If he was already interesting and funny I might assume he is just joking. If he is already a friend and is known to do this then I wouldn't care probably.So it really depends on the context.
Excitement lagging at party? Grab a friend and start "observing the humans". Its endless fun.
It's a blog by Bob Arno, a once stage pickpocket, who now wanders around the world looking for thieves of various sorts (and then interviews them)