I was just sitting at the mall taking a break from mall walking. A man walked over to me when I wasn’t even looking up. He said "I haven’t seen you here before. " I said I wasn’t really here to talk to people and got up and walked away. He said he would leave, he may even have said sorry. I said I was ready to leave anyway. In retrospect I think he may have just been slightly mentally challenged so I wish I had been a little softer, he did not turn out to be aggressive. Looking for suggestions on something still clear and firm but more polite? This scared me for some reason, I think how fast he walked up and sat down near me.

Editing to add a key detail, he sat down close to me which is probably what made me more nervous than I would have otherwise been. I appreciate all the thoughtful feedback I’ve gotten and interesting discussion.

    • feelings67@lemmy.worldOP
      51·
      15 hours ago

      I would never approach someone who was not looking up at me unless I really had to, like they had dropped something. I can’t think of a time a woman has approached me in this way.

    • velma@sh.itjust.works
      52·
      15 hours ago

      A woman approaching another woman and a man approaching a woman is different. Why are we pretending it isn’t?

      I would absolutely leave if a man approached me like that while I was alone. And it’s not wrong.

                • feelings67@lemmy.worldOP
                  2·
                  12 hours ago

                  I was afraid of men long before social media existed based on personal experiences receiving unwanted and inappropriate attention and comments. Note I’m not saying ALL men but this is based on personal experience, nothing to do with social media, what a stretch.

                • velma@sh.itjust.works
                  2·
                  12 hours ago

                  I think any man that approaches a woman who is alone and exhibiting body language that is not open to conversation and then proceeds to sit down near her and start a conversation rudely is a problem.

                  It’s not just any man.