Stay Quiet or Fight Back?

Walk away and laugh....unless it's my partner who is the only person I truly give a s*** about.

It would be humorous to go back and do this life again, never casting an opinion or viewpoint in any direction.

I'm pretty sure I would've pissed the world off so much that I would've wound up dead back in my early twenties.

I used to be submissive but this year I pact with myself to not be spoken down to or belittled. My first big challenge was with my employer, we now have a much better understanding of each other and a better relationship. Sometimes you just gotta make a stand otherwise the belittling become a force of habit if left to continue.

Depends on the situation...i would normally use sarcasm
Or i may put my intelligent head on and out wit them with a rapid succession of clever quips.

When it was with my ex, I would grin and sarcastically reply with "Yes", " Yep", "You Betcha!". It would piss him off more and then he would leave. I'd have the place to myself for a few hours, so it worked out well.

With a stranger, I stay calm, smile and usually laugh and let them freak and rant. It makes them look like the asshat in front of others and I get a HUGE chuckle out of it. I through in a few sarcastic answers and then something that shuts them up and ends the 'argument'.

If it's someone I know well, I'll give it back as much as they dish it out.

I hate this, actually. I'm a fighter too, I don't back down easily. But I try to diffuse a situation if someone is getting really pissed. No use beating each other senseless!

I think I should be right thanks the person I use has had a frontal lobotomy she'd have to to be married to me but then,she's still as mad as me anyway, maybe it was me who had the lobotomy??arrrgggghhhhh.

I get in their face. I'm not one to back down from someone being a s***face. Once i say my bit i then leave them too it, as people like that are mental and can only hear their own voice.

I am very passive, have been known to be passive agressive but this job I started forced us to move from passive (or agressive)to become assertive. I ma pleased to say that at last I have made slight progress towards standing up for myself. Difficult for me but I have realised a few times where I have stood up for myself when people were taking the mick out of me publically at class- so I snapped back- but more appropriately than shouting

I always have my say. Even if it's hours later, when they have calmed down. I'm always going to fight back. Or die.
I'm very serious about that.

I have learned that screaming matches accompolish nothing; other than to add fuel to the fire, and fan already angry feelings.

If afterwards they continue with their attempts at trying to talk down to me or treat me as a lesser person, I know they don't take me seriously. Or care about me at all. So nor do I then them; and sever them from my life. - But you always, ALWAYS stand up for yourself. No matter what!

Earlier this week, I had a workshop on communication styles and I'm still looking at things a little differently as a result.

I'm not a receptionist but I'm a "public servant" of sorts so I have similar issues as you. What I've found is that there is a third option...you can try to diffuse the other person.

Focus on what exactly their issue is and what would calm them down. Do they want more information? Sympathy? An acknowledgment that a mistake was made? Etc.

It's complicated sometimes and takes a lot of effort but I suspect it's worth it. The lady presenting the workshop seemed to think so and she's been doing it effectively for years.

Sorry if that seemed like a lecture or anything...I'm not necessarily responding to just you but your post seemed like the perfect springboard.

Daddy, would you like some sausage?

Pig!

Too much meat makes my tummy hurt. Stop playing with sausage Dave!

I usually just laugh.