Spiderpig wrote:
somanyspoons wrote:
I hate that shush noise. It goes right through me like a bullet. The last time someone did that to me, I looked right at them, and in a perfectly normal-volumed voice, I said "Did you just shush me?" And I gave them my best WTF!?! look.
They did not shush me again.
You must have been intimidating to them in some way. I learned long ago never to do anything like that, which essentially means taking respect for granted, because they could just as easily reply, with a defiant attitude, "Yes, I did—got a problem with that?", and I'd end up even more humiliated than before. There's also the less overtly confrontational approach (some would probably say the cowardly approach) of acting like your response is an obvious sign that you're mentally unsound, a fully generic reply weirdos like me get all the time and works flawlessly to invalidate us regardless of the situation or what we said or did.
somanyspoons wrote:
If it was an intimate partner, I might be more inclined to explain to them that its both a sensory issue, and to me, a matter of respect. Shushing is something you do to inferiors. Its not a friendly request, its a command. And that feels wrong to me in a relationship.
To me, it means, "I've decided you
are my inferior, because I have no need to respect you. Any kind of interaction between us will be based on this premise. If you don't like it, you'd better not expect anything good from me, and remember I can always decide to attack you in any way I like".
Actually, it worked pretty well. The intimidation factor only comes because they expected everyone to fall in line and I didn't do as they planned. In order to get marked crazy, you have to go on and on about it. One sentence isn't going to do that.
And if they come back with a "what are you going to do about it" I would just turn and walk away. I might even say, "nothing." But I would keep up the WTF look. They are the one acting crazy. At that point, it's really not worth it to escalate things further. If they are like that, they are likely not very well, emotionally and I don't want to be in the way of someone who's really wired. And if they are coming back at me like that and we are friends or spouses or something - well, that relationship needs to end. I don't do abusive relationships and what you are describing crosses the line.
There's this trick with people who have generally good intentions, but have said something f-ed up. You simply repeat back to them what they've said. "You just said that that man deserved to be murdered at a traffic stop." (at someone who comments that all these cop killings are justified) or "Did I hear you right that people with disabilities shouldn't be allowed at your work?" (at someone complaining about ADA requirements.) You just rephrase the awful thing they said. Often hearing it come back at them will make them think twice about what they've said. Also, it's harder for them to get offended because you are just saying the same thing they said. Its a de-escalation technique. And no, it doesn't work on real bullies. Its for people who are usually good people.