Most of the time, people don't challenge you, because most people are conflict-averse. It's like your parents used to say "They're more scared of you than you are of them!"
Typical stuff:
- People lock eyes with you as you're walking by. They notice, and their eyes get wide.
- A couple people nearby notice, and you see them turn to one another and whisper, then they do a 'double take' at you.
- You hear a couple people behind you gasp and get quiet. Then you hear them laugh. You look, and they're staring at you.
- You're paying for something, and the sales person looks you in the face, their eyes get wide, and suddenly they're trying to look at anything but in your eyes. They're trying to look like they're not staring, but unfortunately they're really conspicuous about it. I just try to smile sweetly to cut through the awkward.
It's all pretty harmless, but it tests your confidence.
I remember being openly intimidated once:
I was walking home after a party, downtown, pretty late at night. I wasn't worried because it was a busy part of town.
Two quite drunk homeless guys (they could barely walk and were pushing a shopping cart) stopped me on a street corner. One of them proceeds to tell me a joke:
"Hey, why don't men go into the women's bathroom?... Because it says 'Whoa - man'!"
Then he gave me a squinty-eyed sneer. The message was pretty clear.
All along, his friend keeps staring at me with a really intense smile on his face (google "Kubrick stare"). It sent shivers down my spine.
I just said something like "That's nice... I gotta go" and walked off.
