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Hi everyone,

Allow me to be vulnerable for a moment. I have lived in the city for almost two decades and I still don’t always know how to handle rude people. Examples being people who don’t let you get off the subway before getting on, people walking right at you on the wrong side of the sidewalk, people being obnoxiously loud in the subway, restaurants, theaters, etc.

I’ve tried different approaches. I’ve tried ignoring it, stepping around them, trying to “tune them out.” I’ve called them out. I’ve shoulder checked. All with varying degrees of success. And I know anonymous strangers can’t tell me what is right or wrong for me. But I have found that being passive in these scenarios is very frustrating, but being aggressive doesn’t feel great either and is actually potentially dangerous. I’ve also found that when I am more aggressive in these scenarios, I overthink and sometimes feel bad about my behavior even though I know it was justified.

I’d love to hear from people (especially those who are more sensitive) about how they deal with this kind of stuff. It feels like it’s getting worse by the month… the entitlement, the aggression, the selfishness, the lack of awareness, the rudeness.

Thanks in advance to anyone who reads and responds.