Should I try not to let this bother me?

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As I was coming out of work I had to cross the road to get to the bus stop. I had to rush a bit because I had to go to the crossing, as the road was too busy and I didn't have much time before the bus was due. I didn't run, just walked fast. When I finally got to the crossing two boys on those annoying electric scooter things came flying past out of nowhere, nearly knocking me over. Then one of them made a funny noise at me, like "wooh!" in a silly high-pitched tone.

I get really, really wound up whenever strangers in the street make noises at me as they pass, because it brings me back to my high school days when I was bullied by kids I didn't know on my way home from school and the feeling has stuck with me forever. Also I get the feeling that if a youngster makes a silly noise at you as they pass, it means you look weird. That's why kids picked on me when I was at school, because I looked weird. I get really self-conscious about how I look in public and I do not want to be portrayed as weird when I'm not doing anything to be weird.

Usually my body language only gives off nervous vibes if I am focusing on what I'm doing, but at this time I wasn't, I was focusing on getting across the road safety and not missing the bus.
Would the boy have made a silly noise at anyone or just me? I haven't had boys make silly noises at me since I was about 19. But now I'm going to be dwelling on this for weeks and might even make me feel too self-conscious to go out. It's easy for people to say to just ignore them, and if I didn't suffer with social anxiety and self-consciousness when out in public then I would ignore them easier.

First off, I absolutely get how a lifetime of being bullied primes one to interpret ambiguous stuff as likely bullying. I tend to do the same a lot unless I actively try to pick it apart.

That said I'd try to let it go, especially because there's another explanation if you consider it from the perspective of the rider.

I don't know about you but if I have a near-miss with something while walking or riding or driving there's a good chance some sort of verbal acknowledgement will occur even if I don't intend on it. Wow/woah/wooh would be pretty typical of that noise, although oww/ouch will sometimes come out instead.

With that in mind, I believe it's quite likely the sound wasn't about you in any personal way and instead was about the near-miss incident; he realized how close he came to plowing into you and made a noise while startled.

Well the first boy was the one who nearly rode into me. I saw the second boy coming along behind me but I was standing at the crossing waiting to cross by then and he rode past behind me, and he was the one who made a silly noise.

It wasn't what he'd said, it was the tone of it. He said it in a silly high-pitched voice, not a polite or passive "whoa" or "oops".

I just get paranoid that people pick on me because I look stupid and they're just making fun of me. I'm still dressed in my work clothes (a high-vis/florescent vest over my t-shirt), so I'm not wearing anything unusual. I hate those electric scooters, people ride them on the sidewalks and you don't hear them coming then they expect you to watch out for them as well. They're bloody dangerous, especially at rush hour when there's a lot of traffic about and people are crossing roads.

Agreed about the scooter things that get used on the sidewalk ….. And would try not to ruminate on the noise the second idea made … it is a matter of maturity , I feel regarding children . Especially ones feeling the power of a new form of transportation.

Yes but would he have made a silly noise at anyone who got in his way or just me? I always think people are targeting me personally, which is what bothers me more than the incident itself.

Probably anyone.

I don't think it's "you" personally.

Prolly. Would have done it to anyone that was there. Don’t let it occupy space in your mind..! It is already recorded ,
It is really not worthy of your time. Targeting situations can work on your head . And if in fact that was the case
You are giving them what thy want which is space in your head . And a interrupt to your day… not good to go there.

In answer to your question: Yes.

Probably, unless the person in your place would've been someone those boys considered intimidating, like some two meter muscled man or something. Kids and teens are often like that as far as I know. It's annoying, but usually harmless.

It's just if I've learnt anything from the type of bullying I faced in my younger years, it's that teenagers try to get your attention as a way of laughing at you. If you don't look weird in any way they'll leave you alone. Obviously when I was a teenager I was brought up to respect others, so I never made fun of anyone, even if they did look weird. I might have laughed but not in their earshot. We all laugh or judge sometimes, it's only human to, but when people (teens or adults) try to get your attention it means they are telling you that you are weird.

It's like someone I know who has downs syndrome gets targeted a lot. She got a snowball thrown at her once by some youngsters (not really kids) and she was probably targeted because she has downs syndrome so looks different.

One time my uncle was walking his dog along a quiet street. There was no-one else about, and no cars, except this one car that drove past and as it did he heard a girl scream out the window at him "F**K YOU!! !" He didn't recognise the car and he doesn't have any enemies so it's obvious that it was some stranger targeting him for no reason. He's NT but is a sensitive guy and so he was rather upset.

This is why I don't like going out in public much. Being out in public is an exposure to such judgemental people that think they can target you or judge you without knowing or caring what you could be going through. The kids at school that bullied me have no idea how they've basically turned me into a socially anxious, paranoid adult with trust issues. They're just getting on with their lives and have forgotten what they did to me at school and how they made me feel. But I haven't. The resentment is still there and I do not tolerate any BS from little s**ts now. I used to tolerate their BS but it hasn't helped. By ignoring a**holes the resentment just builds up instead without you knowing - until one day you just snap. And then it surprises people because they don't understand how it feels to be a victim.

Even though I've never been a bully myself, I can see how the mind of a bully works. Not all bullies want a reaction. Yelling something at someone in the street is enough to make their day, and they mostly expect the victim to ignore it, especially if they're an adult. But they (the a**holes) know that their victim heard them yell and that is good enough for the a**holes. Don't you see?

That makes sense ……too. Good conclusion.

Yeah well I don't go by these cliches about bullies, like when people say "they only want a reaction, just ignore them and they'll go away" and all that crap. I spent most my high school life ignoring bullies and it just made me look weak like I couldn't stand up for myself. The more I ignored them, the more kids joined in and laughed at me. And to me, I was more insecure than the bullies. The bullies had friends. Some were popular. Me, I had very little to know friends. I was unhappy, lonely, insecure. So all these cliches mean nothing to me.

I don't take much notice of bullies unless they are about to hit me....then i run!

people can be nasty sometimes petal, don't let it get to ya...

I've never been a miss popular pants and never will be, but I don't mind.

at least you have a boyfriend...im having trouble finding one of those x

boyfriends are a rare commodity apparently...

they are all hiding somewhere...
from me lol