# Has anyone here ever seen someone in public and....... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 10, 2013, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-here-ever-seen-someone-in-public-and/658011 "2013-05-10T17:15:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-here-ever-seen-someone-in-public-and/658011/1 "2013-05-10T17:15:50Z")
…spent every minute of the rest of the day talking about them? :rolleyes: 😕 I’m mentioning this because there are a lot of people who are hesitant to go out in public, or take their kids out, because they believe people will do this. :dubious: I have never personally done this. I have also never seen a crowd of people following a woman around the grocery store while she shopped, laughing at her, and I worked in a grocery store for 3 years, and 4 years at Target. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-here-ever-seen-someone-in-public-and/658011/2 "2013-05-10T17:27:00Z")
Never. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-here-ever-seen-someone-in-public-and/658011/3 "2013-05-10T18:03:49Z")
Uhhh…I’ve never known anyone who has ever described feeling like this, or doing/not doing what you describe (both the seeing someone and talking about them part, and the not going out because their afraid of the former.) Honestly, if someone seriously thinks that going outside is going to cause people to talk about them for the rest of the day, or what have you…or think a crowd of people follow them around at the grocery store laughing at them, that’s a sign of mental illness. Could be something like agoraphobia, or even possibly schizophrenia. But I’m not any kind of mental-health expert, so take that with grains of salt, but seriously…that’s not normal thinking. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-here-ever-seen-someone-in-public-and/658011/4 "2013-05-10T18:07:27Z")
It seems to be almost universal among mothers of children on the autistic spectrum. Contrary to their experience, I have also NEVER seen a crowd of people around a mother with a child of any age having a meltdown, telling her that she needs to beat him into submission. Usually, people move away when they see this, in my experience. Maybe I lead a really sheltered life, but I rarely see really horribly behaved kids in public, whether something’s “wrong” with them or not, and when I do, the parents are almost always acting worse than the kids. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-here-ever-seen-someone-in-public-and/658011/5 "2013-05-10T18:12:32Z")
My last girlfriend has kids on the spectrum, and she never said anything like this. She was always out and about. But we were all mortified when her daughter threw a gigantic tantrum in a nice restaurant. Yes, everyone looked. No, no one said anything to us about it. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-here-ever-seen-someone-in-public-and/658011/6 "2013-05-10T21:04:57Z")
I think there are some out there who were so hovered over by helicopter parents and constantly told what special snowflakes they were that they never got the memo that they are NOT the center of attention for anyone outside their own family and possibly friends. ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-here-ever-seen-someone-in-public-and/658011/7 "2013-05-10T21:14:00Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > …spent every minute of the rest of the day talking about them? I have done this… but if you could see the woman working at the Roger’s store across from my Starbucks, I might be forgiven. In my defence, I only gushed for two or three hours at the most! :o ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-here-ever-seen-someone-in-public-and/658011/8 "2013-05-10T21:17:43Z")
Um… what? ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-here-ever-seen-someone-in-public-and/658011/9 "2013-05-10T21:20:36Z")
When did this board become less about fighting ignorance and more of a support group for the mentally ill? ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-here-ever-seen-someone-in-public-and/658011/10 "2013-05-10T21:24:02Z")
Likewise, I have never seen someone follow a mother around at a Kids R Us, setting fire to everything she touches, and screaming “Be Thou Cleansed!” ---
**Author:** ![colander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@colander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colander)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-here-ever-seen-someone-in-public-and/658011/11 "2013-05-10T21:34:42Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Likewise, I have never seen someone follow a mother around at a Kids R Us, setting fire to everything she touches, and screaming “Be Thou Cleansed!” well, of course not. that’s really more a craft store thing. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-here-ever-seen-someone-in-public-and/658011/12 "2013-05-10T21:45:53Z")
> [@colander](#): > > well, of course not. that’s really more a craft store thing. Yeh, see, I’ve _heard_ that. I don’t frequent craft stores though. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-here-ever-seen-someone-in-public-and/658011/13 "2013-05-10T22:14:27Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > . . . there are a lot of people who . . . A lot of people? Personally, I haven’t encountered one. > [@msmith537](#): > > When did this board become less about fighting ignorance and more of a support group for the mentally ill? This. But sometimes I wonder whether it’s always been that. ---
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-here-ever-seen-someone-in-public-and/658011/14 "2013-05-10T22:27:41Z")
I -have-… But only when it’s something positive. When I see someone being awesome, or doing something really nice, I’ll gush. Sometimes for more than a day. So… Yes? ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-here-ever-seen-someone-in-public-and/658011/15 "2013-05-10T22:52:32Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > When did this board become less about fighting ignorance and more of a support group for the mentally ill? Everyone in this thread has said, ‘‘no, never have I felt that way.’’ Where are you getting mental illness from? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-here-ever-seen-someone-in-public-and/658011/16 "2013-05-10T23:24:46Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > Um.. what? +1 ---
**Author:** ![Mathematics](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@Mathematics](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathematics)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-here-ever-seen-someone-in-public-and/658011/17 "2013-05-11T00:32:23Z")
I think this thread is saying not to be self conscious, because nobody really concerns themselves with the actions of strangers for very long. Right . . . ? ---
**Author:** ![\_Olive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/4af34b/32.png) [@\_Olive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_Olive)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-here-ever-seen-someone-in-public-and/658011/18 "2013-05-11T00:50:01Z")
yesterday I was approached by a homeless person with physical and mental disabilities. It stuck with me all night and I would have talked to someone about it if someone was here. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-here-ever-seen-someone-in-public-and/658011/19 "2013-05-11T00:50:53Z")
Everybody I know goes out in public and talks about other things. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-here-ever-seen-someone-in-public-and/658011/20 "2013-05-11T00:52:32Z")
When someone ‘feels’ judgement from others, or tells you they ‘knew’ everyone was looking at them, or they are ‘getting looks’, it’s almost always projection of their issues, it seems to me. There is little point in pointing it out, as they are usually totally blind to it, don’t bother. But should recognize it when you see it regardless. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-here-ever-seen-someone-in-public-and/658011.md?page=2)