My sweetie – who, like so many people over the last several years, is done being pushed around – posted this Facebook over the weekend:
Why do they always say to grow a thicker skin? Don’t be so sensitive, don’t let the jerks get to you… shouldn’t we be encouraging people to not be assholes instead?
She’s right, of course. That’s what is supposed to happen. Sadly, that’s not the way things are… yet. The person being an inconsiderate jerk will almost certainly push back. They’ll claim they didn’t know, or that they have some kind of social disorder (like being autistic), or that you’re somehow oppressing them, or some other excuse. The first three are simple to deal with. In order: