dealing with physically agressive men

[Verisimilitude]

Hey all,

I just came from a room where I was hanging out with some my friends, feeling like a complete failure. A couple minutes ago, one of the people in my social circle had just backed up and walked into me, hard. I didn't expect it. I moved back and it was awkward. And then everyone started laughing at me, and almost cheering for the other guy. Really embarrassing and humiliating. He pulled a, "Ah, I'm just kidding" and lightly punched my arm after, trying to preserve his reputation. I just rolled my eye and ignored, but it clearly didn't work. Now I'm not the only guy this has happened to. This guy acts like this with everyone. And I'm sick of it. I want to shut him down. The thing is, this guy isn't bigger or stronger than anyone else, he's just louder.

How would a dominant man handle this? I don't want to stoop to his level (I can take him in a fight, I lift more than him), but I don't want it to come to that. If you guys have any articles or advice on how to blow this jerk out of the water, I'd appreciate it. And yes, I'm in the process of switching social circles.

 

[Ryan]

This may help: https://www.girlschase.com/content/how- ... didnt-know

 

[Franco]

xcrunner,

I wouldn't let it get to you. Depending on how sharp your wit is, you can sometimes completely deflect things like that and actually gain reputation over him. For example, my immediate reflex response to that would have been something like:

It's okay. Women like to back into me too. *Sly smile*

It completely diverts the attention away from what just happened and more onto how clever the comeback was. However, the earlier you project this type of personality, the better. You don't want to become a doormat and then try to flip it around, otherwise people will see it as "high effort." Always keep things low effort.

- Franco