Quote:
Originally Posted by meeera
Obviously you have a perfect legal right to say non-harrassing things to other people in public, even when they have signalled, non-verbally, their wish to have you not do this.
It is, however, rude and intrusive, and some people may be actively harmed by it (a number of my autistic friends have expressed this). That's the point of this conversation. And once the person has further signalled their lack of interest, your continued attention is outright boorish and may cross the line into harassment, particularly if it's a situation where it is difficult for them to leave.
There is certainly no law or rule of etiquette that entitles you to anyone else's attention or response.
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I know this may be hard for some people to grasp, but the fact that I'm arguing against the notion that people are entitled to privacy in public does not mean that
I'm someone who boorishly persists in pursuing clearly unwanted attention. It doesn't even mean
I'm someone who will instigate conversation with strangers in public on a regular basis. It also doesn't mean that there aren't times I myself want to be left alone in public. Look, I'm not blind to the fact that my mere presence in close proximity to someone may cause them distress. Mainly because I'm not an insensitive idiot. It just means that I don't believe people are "entitled" to any public privacy. And it means that I choose to not automatically see people who are quick to strike up random conversations with strangers in public (even if they're--heaven forbid!--reading a book (gasp)) as churlish and/or dangerous morons.