The original post: /r/amitheasshole by /u/hadji629 on 2024-12-23 01:12:09.

So, I was at a bar with my friends, having a conversation, when I suddenly felt two hands grab my shoulders. The person whispered in my ear something along the lines of, “Stay youthful, and you’ll always feel free,” or something random like that. I turned around and realized it was a complete stranger around his 30s (im in my 20s).

My first reaction was to say, “Okay, but why are you grabbing me like that?” His response was, “I don’t know, I just saw you looking at me earlier.” I explained, “I turned around once because we were talking about something private, and I wanted to check if anyone was listening.” He then said, “Oh, maybe I mistook you for someone else.”

At that point, I felt really uncomfortable. The whole mood shifted for me, and my friend sitting next to me noticed and asked if I was okay. She later said, “Maybe you could have been more gentle in how you responded.” But I told her I felt violated—he invaded my personal space and crossed a boundary. I also explained that when someone does something inappropriate, I trust my instincts and respond firmly. I believe that if you call people out in a way that humbles them, they’re less likely to do the same thing to someone else. Also, if he just said hello and introduced himself i would have reacted very differently.

Even though I stood up for myself, I felt awkward and weird afterward. I couldn’t shake the discomfort, and I really just wanted to leave. Now I’m questioning if I was too aggressive or if there’s a better way to handle situations like this. Was I wrong for how I reacted?