asserting the right to appear as one wishes

[sandra-leigh]

It may not have been easy for you (I know I get nervous and anxious in such situations) so I applaud your courage and conviction.

Thanks. I wasn't nervous: I was fed up. And for medical reasons I'm less patient these days than I might otherwise have been. I would hope that if he'd said it in a joking tone that I wouldn't have been as blunt, but it wasn't a joking tone (regardless of the intent) so I didn't feel inclined to accept it any longer.

I don't know if this guy was serious or kidding. If he was serious he was treading into areas that are none of his business. If he was kidding there are few things worse than jokes that have gone stale.

I don't quite know myself: it wasn't shouted and it didn't have that extra resonance of a "command voice". But yeah, he is ex-military and my long hair might plausibly be at odds with his personal views as to what a man should look like.

The incident was a bit wearing, though: some people thrive on confrontation, but I don't.