Or maybe people have different levels of friendship and ways of showing that affection, and thus people really shouldn't judge others.
Giving me "noogies" the first time would elicit a firm, no-nonsense "please don't. Ever."
The second time, that person is not my friend. My friends don't attempt that. It's bullying.
Actually, none of my friends have ever made the first attempt. Friends don't need to demonstrate physical dominance over each other.
Physical dominance? Jfc, what the hell kind of messed up mindset do you folks have?
I had one who would jump onto his friends' backs and faux hump them.
I had another who would lick the cheek of his really good friends. You'd imagine it would make people feel uncomfortable, until he'd whisper something ridiculous in their ear to make them laugh.
Personally, I'd pick people up in a bearhug and spin them.
Understand this, if you pick up nothing else from this discussion, friends have weird ways of expressing their affection for one another. When you get to that point in a friendship, you have probably been friends for years, if not a couple of decades. They
know what is acceptable, they
know when to back off. They
know what would make someone feel welcome and what would make them feel uncomfortable. They also know that if they step over the line, its going to be a quick trip back over, because real friends let them know when they have crossed it.
People think a noogie is bullying? You're thinking of a coward holding someone down and pressing and rolling their knuckles into someone's head.
A friend noogies another friend? That's a hug and a hair ruffle.
Seriously, think about it, do you really think someone worthy of the title "friend" would want to hurt their friend?Like I said before. Friends are complicated. They all show love and affection. It may not be a hug, it may not be a kiss, but what they do, what they show, don't make the mistake of thinking that's not love.