Neither.
It depends on where they are coming from. If they are just a common arse I will ignore it and not see them again.
I will also assess the situation for possible violent outcomes.
Comment on Discussion Thread 📷 Thursday 4 September 2025
tone212_@aussie.zone 1 day ago
If a stranger is being / sounding rude, do you match their rudeness in return or try to kill them with kindness? I’ve had two such encounters over the past few days, tried both approaches and felt unsatisfied each times.
Neither.
It depends on where they are coming from. If they are just a common arse I will ignore it and not see them again.
I will also assess the situation for possible violent outcomes.
I have what I call an “inner wog” that can be incredibly hostile under the right conditions. People being rude to me is one of them.
I rarely come across rude people but if I do I usually stare at them for a few seconds before I speak in an assertive tone.
I have said to people “Don’t speak to me like that. I didn’t speak to you rudely. You don’t speak to me like that”.
You are much more polite than me.
That’s the feisty arab in you.
I’ll fire back if I can be bothered.
You’re not wrong haha
I’m extremely hard to anger. I tend to empathise too much and if someone is being rude I’m pretty much just feeling sorry for them that they interact that way. I’d just try to de-escalate and politely stand my ground if they were trying to get something from me if it were unreasonable
I’m hard to anger, but can happy to shut rudely shut people down when needed… Generally I’m polite but will do a 180 immediately if someone acts up for no reason.
Match their rudeness, and exceed if needed. Generally brings them down to earth quickly.
It depends on whether matching the energy would come back to bite you
tombruzzo@aussie.zone 1 day ago
Depends on the context. I think it comes down to whether they’re being rude to you for no reason or if there’s a slight provocation.
I always give cars the finger if they get in the way on my bike at all. I want to drive home that anything they do wrong could have serious impacts for me no matter who was in the wrong.