5 ms·

I don't think most people would take kindly to a stranger trying to butt into their conversation. This alleged event makes me think no less of him.

• spike021 11y ago
  I'm not quite sure how just saying "hi" is butting into a conversation. I didn't shove my hand in his face and ask to have five minutes of his time immediately. That's rather extreme. Why not just say something along the lines of "it's alright, but I'm not able to speak right now"?
  • deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
  • brobinson 11y ago
    His response was probably a bit more aggressive than necessary, but think about how many times he gets propositioned/pitched to per day. Also, consider the venue: someone who comes up to you on the street and starts a conversation (especially in SF, I lived there for 7 years while working at startups) is likely asking for a handout, donation, trying to get you to sign a petition, trying to scam you, mentally ill, or some combination of the above. Someone who interrupts your conversation with another person on the street immediately comes across as rude regardless of their intentions. There was probably no way you could have successfully engaged him in a conversation, even a very short one, at that chance encounter. It just wasn't a good set of circumstances.
  • hugh4 11y ago
    >Why not just say something along the lines of "it's alright, but I'm not able to speak right now"? Because he probably doesn't have superhuman levels of patience and tolerance.