Should you correct strangers who think something of you that isn't true?

[Tog Driver]

Should you correct strangers who think something of you that isn't true?

 

This is completely hypothetical and did not happen to me.

Example:

You are in a store and get reminded of an unpleasant experience from the past, without realizing it, you start mumbling profanities and insults, you quickly realize what you are doing and stop, but then you notice there is someone else in the isle with you who may have heard what you said, they go to the next isle and you hear them say to their friend: "Hey! someone was mumbling insults at me!"

 

Remember, This is completely hypothetical and did not happen to me.

 

So should you correct them? go to the next isle and say "oh sorry! I wasn't talking about you, I was talking about someone I used to know, I didn't realize I was saying it out loud." Or what should you do?

Just don't do anything and hope it doesn't come back to get you?

Should you take the risk of them not have been talking about you and think you were rude to listen into their conversation?

Please post your thoughts below!

 

Also, Taking suggestions for a more accurate thread title.

[Anjelllo]

I don’t have tourets so that wouldn’t happen to me but i’d probably only apoligize if they said something

I only really care what people think of me depending on their relevance to my life

[AshleyAshes]

14 minutes ago, TheClueLessMajority said:

This is completely hypothetical and did not happen to me.

 

Remember, This is completely hypothetical and did not happen to me.

This has only convinced me that this is TOTALLY happened to you.  In fact, if you were in the grocery store RIGHT NOW trying to make a decision, waiting for the internet to guide you, I'd believe that.

[Tog Driver]

1 minute ago, AshleyAshes said:

This has only convinced me that this is TOTALLY happened to you.  In fact, if you were in the grocery store RIGHT NOW trying to make a decision, waiting for the internet to guide you, I'd believe that.

Implies I'm in this situation, Doesn't give any advice.

[Arika]

depends. do you care about what random strangers think of you that you will likely never see again?

 

i wouldn't find my self in that situation since I know how to filter thoughts out and dont turn them into words. but lets say it did, i dont care what randoms think of me, so i wouldn't care

[Tog Driver]

1 minute ago, Sierra Fox said:

depends. do you care about what random strangers think of you that you will likely never see again?

 

i wouldn't find my self in that situation since I know how to filter thoughts out and dont turn them into words. but lets say it did, i dont care what randoms think of me, so i wouldn't care

You wouldn't worry about it coming back to bite you? I kind of care, I'd rather people not think I'm an asshole, especially because of a misunderstanding.

 

And it looks like over-stating the fact that this is hypothetical and not something that happened to make people think this happened so I wouldn't have to say what actually happened is working.

[Arika]

2 minutes ago, TheClueLessMajority said:

You wouldn't worry about it coming back to bite you

no? why would i?, I'm not going to see those people again

[Tog Driver]

Just now, Sierra Fox said:

no? why would i?, I'm not going to see those people again

It's not like they could ever come to that store again or anything, but point taken, the thing that happened is a bit more likely to come back to bite me then the example, but I'm probably just being paranoid.

 

Thanks for the input!

[Arika]

1 minute ago, TheClueLessMajority said:

It's not like they could ever come to that store again or anything,

well living in a city of 110,000 people reduces that chance by quite a bit. I also dont standout in the looks department, i'm fairly generic 20-something year old

[Tog Driver]

1 minute ago, Sierra Fox said:

well living in a city of 110,000 people reduces that chance by quite a bit.

Yeah, to many people in one city means you can't go to the same store too many times /s

[theninja35]

18 minutes ago, TheClueLessMajority said:

Implies I'm in this situation, Doesn't give any advice.

That's Ashes for you.

 

If they say something and I wasn't supposed to hear it then I won't engage. If they look at me or say, "What did you say to me," then I would apologize. I'll probably never see them again anyway, unless we were in a tiny town.

[Crunchy Dragon]

I probably would correct them, honestly. Doesn't matter what the odds are of running into them again, but I don't need people spreading stories about me bring a jerk around.

[ARikozuM]

Nah, let them be. Anyone that thinks their first encounter is always a clear indication of real character isn't worth explaining yourself to. 

 

[Tog Driver]

5 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

I probably would correct them, honestly. Doesn't matter what the odds are of running into them again, but I don't need people spreading stories about me bring a jerk around.

My thoughts as well, Every one else: "I don't care if people think I'm a jerk"

 

But as it turns out, my hypothetical situation appears to be a bit too far from what happened to get directly usable advice.

[Crunchy Dragon]

2 minutes ago, TheClueLessMajority said:

My thoughts as well, Every one else: "I don't care if people think I'm a jerk"

 

But as it turns out, my hypothetical situation appears to be a bit too far from what happened to get directly usable advice.

I would say if they confronted you about it, use words and try to avoid getting in a fight.

[ARikozuM]

2 minutes ago, TheClueLessMajority said:

My thoughts as well, Every one else: "I don't care if people think I'm a jerk"

 

But as it turns out, my hypothetical situation appears to be a bit too far from what happened to get directly usable advice.

Were you or your friend having a bad day? Just explain you're outside of your normal behavior. 

[Tog Driver]

1 hour ago, ARikozuM said:

Nah, let them be. Anyone that thinks their first encounter is always a clear indication of real character isn't worth explaining yourself to. 

 

Oh well, Too late now (to act on what happened, not the hypothetical one) I'm just going to hope that the odds being in my favor work out and I never see them again and they don't spread stuff around.

 

1 hour ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

I would say if they confronted you about it, use words and try to avoid getting in a fight.

Oh well, they should have easily been able to tell I could hear what they were saying, guess I'll find out soon enough.

 

Spoiler

Three years later: REMEMBER MEEEE? Me: Uh, no?

 

[TetraSky]

Strangers? Why should you care what they think of you. Chances are, both of you will have forgotten the other existed within a few minutes.
I would only bother correcting them, if it was someone I would be certain to see a lot, like say, the cashier at said store, who might think I'm saying that about them.

 

Btw, spouting profanity to yourself about "some guy you used to know", in public out of seemingly nowhere, is a good way to get a one way ticket to an asylum. 

[Tog Driver]

3 minutes ago, TetraSky said:

Chances are, both of you will have forgotten the other existed within a few minutes.

I haven't yet, hopefully they have.

 

4 minutes ago, TetraSky said:

Btw, spouting profanity to yourself about "some guy you used to know", in public out of seemingly nowhere, is a good way to get a one way ticket to an asylum. 

Maybe, Good thing it didn't happen, you know, Hypothetical and all.

[TetraSky]

Just now, TheClueLessMajority said:

I haven't yet, hopefully they have.

Only because you're thinking about it, upgrading the memory of the encounter from short term to long term memory.
But do you clearly remember their faces? Would you be able to pick them out in a crowd? I've seen plenty of crazies and other than the ones I regularly see, I wouldn't be able to tell if those crazies I've seen once, were sitting right next to me on the bus on the next day.

Things like speech can have a lasting effect if you keep thinking back on what was said, but if you can't put a face on those words, then you may as well have forgotten.

[Tog Driver]

1 minute ago, TetraSky said:

Would you be able to pick them out in a crowd?

No, I didn't really see them, just as the first one's back as they walked away, the memories of their voices probably aren't accurate now, At this point I'm probably just being paranoid.

[TetraSky]

9 minutes ago, TheClueLessMajority said:

At this point I'm probably just being paranoid.

Yes. Yes you are. Ain't nobody got time to care for what some random NPC that has nothing to do with your own world might think of you. Life is too short to care for that, you could get hit by a car tomorrow and lose it after all.
(Yes, I totally did call another human being as a NPC. You're the main character of your life, make the most of it. Everyone who doesn't have a direct relationship with you(friends/family/lover) is just an NPC that is there as a background character in your game of life, just like how you're an NPC in their game, and that's ok too.)

 

... I feel like I'm preaching here, am I preaching? I'll stop here...

[Tog Driver]

Just now, TetraSky said:

Yes. Yes you are. Ain't nobody got time to care for what some random NPC that has nothing to do with your own world might think of you. Life is too short to care for that, you could get hit by a car tomorrow and lose it after all.

When I read NPC I laughed.

 

2 minutes ago, TetraSky said:

You're the main character of your life, make the most of it. Everyone who doesn't have a direct relationship with you(friends/family/lover) is just an NPC that is there as a background character in your game of life, just like how you're an NPC in their game, and that's ok too.

Wouldn't want to accidentally piss off a Boss.

 

But anyway, it's waaay to late to do anything about it, was curious what people would say, maybe they would have something use full to say for later.

(NPCs can give some use full advice)

[Drak3]

Unless there is potential legal trouble, it's not worth the time or effort.

[ARikozuM]

8 minutes ago, TheClueLessMajority said:

(NPCs can give some use full advice)

"useful advice"