Yes Eric acted immature when he saw the text, but it's also on you for not initiating with Eric if that's what you really wanted. What I got from this is that you wanted to be interested in Eric, but you weren't really that interested in him, cause if you were you would have at least mentioned something off-hand to him. It doesn't even have to be a direct, "Hey do you want to go on a date?" It could have been an inference, bringing up the topic of relationships, etc.

I mean, to be fair, you talk about double standards but totally brush over one of the biggest ones: the fact that it's 100% up to men to initiate everything. If you want to even the playing field (which is admirable and I support it), this is a field that should also be leveled a bit too.