# rudest thing a stranger has ever said to you **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 2, 2002, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rudest-thing-a-stranger-has-ever-said-to-you/139883 "2002-12-02T03:20:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![The\_Mermaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@The\_Mermaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mermaid)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rudest-thing-a-stranger-has-ever-said-to-you/139883/21 "2002-12-02T13:50:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Mermaid \* > **About a month ago a very young cashier at a thrift store asked [me](http://fff.fathom.org/pages/TheMermaid/Mermaid.jpg) how \*\* old**I was. > > I replied (with a straight look on my face) “I’m 29” > > She said “No really I need to know if you have a senior citizens discount card.” > > I managed to stammer out “NO, OH GOD NO!!! I am nowhere near old enough to have or need a senior citizens discount card” > > She replied “Really?” \*\* ---
**Author:** ![The\_Mermaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@The\_Mermaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mermaid)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rudest-thing-a-stranger-has-ever-said-to-you/139883/22 "2002-12-02T13:51:34Z")
Damn coding. Maybe I do need that card. ---
**Author:** ![Kantalooppi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a5b964/32.png) [@Kantalooppi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kantalooppi)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rudest-thing-a-stranger-has-ever-said-to-you/139883/23 "2002-12-02T13:53:19Z")
Ha. Once, when about 14 (I think), I went to a friend’s house to return a game I had loaned. “Day of the Tentacle”, IIRC. His little sister (about… 7?) comes to answer the door, looks at me and says “You’re ugly.” Her mother comes to the door, apologizes and demands the child to apologize. The child says “I don’t dare to, he’s so ugly.” Then I returned the game and left. ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rudest-thing-a-stranger-has-ever-said-to-you/139883/24 "2002-12-02T14:06:14Z")
I’ve gotten my fair share of rude catcalls from strangers, but those don’t bother me as much as rudeness in social situations. Here’s one that still makes me mad when I think about it. I was visiting San Francisco for a cousin’s wedding. At the rehearsal dinner, I sat next to some of the groom’s relatives who had driven up from Los Angeles. When I told them I was from North Carolina, one of them said with a smirk, “Do you still have separate drinking fountains down there?” Because, you know, L.A. is completely without racial tension. ---
**Author:** ![cichlidiot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f9b8f/32.png) [@cichlidiot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cichlidiot)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rudest-thing-a-stranger-has-ever-said-to-you/139883/25 "2002-12-02T15:13:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by istara \* > \*\*_“Smile, love! It’s not that bad!”_ > \*\* I usually don’t care for this one either. One time though, I had been arguing with a b/f in a store and by the time we reached the checkout we both must’ve looked as sour as aardvarks. The cashier said something like the above and realizing how we looked we both cracked up, he was right. I guess sometimes it works. Regarding the OP, while walking to school I passed a group of five guys who began catcalling. I kept walking and ignored it, but as I came out on the other side of this group someone commented, “Aw nevermind, she was probably f\*\*\*ed by her father anyway.” I briefly thought about turning around to say, “Wow, my dad must be really clever since he’s been _dead_ for xx years,” but decided it wasn’t worth it. ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rudest-thing-a-stranger-has-ever-said-to-you/139883/26 "2002-12-02T15:18:08Z")
Over 10 years ago, I was waiting for a bus outside to take me to work. This short red haried lady looked at me and said “Are you going to CPI?” I didn’t know what that was, figured it was ana rt school or something. I said no. Went home later, told my husband , who said “What? Thats the nuthouse?” I alwasy wondered what looked wrong about me that day…😕 ---
**Author:** ![cuauhtemoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@cuauhtemoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuauhtemoc)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rudest-thing-a-stranger-has-ever-said-to-you/139883/27 "2002-12-02T15:38:44Z")
**vanilla** , maybe that’s where she was going and she wanted company for the ride. One time a toll collector shouted at me, as I was pulling away from her booth “Nice talkin’ to ya’”, real sarcastic-like. We hadn’t exchanged a word, maybe she thought I was being unfriendly, but it’s not like she was Miss Congeniality during the three-second transaction. What the hell did she want me to do, compliment her on her change-taking abilities? ---
**Author:** ![Mooch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mooch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mooch)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rudest-thing-a-stranger-has-ever-said-to-you/139883/28 "2002-12-02T16:43:32Z")
A few years ago I was drinking a lemonade and reading at an outdoor cafe. A woman walked by with a baby in a stroller who was looking at me and giggling, so I smiled back. The woman looked at me and said, “She’s too young for you.” I was too stunned to say anything. ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rudest-thing-a-stranger-has-ever-said-to-you/139883/29 "2002-12-02T16:50:15Z")
I was outside the bank while I was waiting for my friend to withdraw some money and some dickhead was walking his dogs past me because he’s such a fuck he gets me caught up in the dog leads and I eventually wiggle my way out. Then he has the cheek to say it was my fault and calls me a dick! Why didn’t I punch him? ---
**Author:** ![booklover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@booklover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/booklover)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rudest-thing-a-stranger-has-ever-said-to-you/139883/30 "2002-12-02T16:55:48Z")
These two tie for rudeness (both happened on the bus): I got on and sat down next to an older, dapper-looking gentleman who said “You’ll have to move.” Me: “Sorry?” Him: “You’ll have to move; I don’t sit next to white people.” (I was in a pre-coffee state and not in the mood to argue, so I did get up and move.) Next to another man, having a regular strangers-on-the-bus chat when he stopped and asked “Is the hair down below as red as what’s on top?”. Flabbergasted doesn’t begin to describe how I felt. ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rudest-thing-a-stranger-has-ever-said-to-you/139883/31 "2002-12-02T17:01:18Z")
I ranted about it in [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=135909) thread. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![Horrifying\_Howler\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/df788c/32.png) [@Horrifying\_Howler\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horrifying_Howler_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rudest-thing-a-stranger-has-ever-said-to-you/139883/32 "2002-12-02T17:26:41Z")
I had a guy walk up to me once and ask me if my boobs were real. He had man boobs, so I asked him the same question. I thought I was pretty witty (at the time anyway). ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rudest-thing-a-stranger-has-ever-said-to-you/139883/33 "2002-12-02T17:30:51Z")
When I was 12 or so (and quite chubby) an 8 or 9 year old came up to me in the supermarket and said: “Are you a boy or a girl?” A few days ago I got a message on my answering machine of an unidentified old woman saying simply: “Stupid jerk!” Other than that, not much. But my fiancee has had it pretty bad. She gets a lot of catcalls, mostly racial in nature. And some guy in Italy called her a slut (in Italian) for no reason. ---
**Author:** ![dorkusmalorkusmafia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorkusmalorkusmafia/32/7266_2.png) [@dorkusmalorkusmafia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorkusmalorkusmafia)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rudest-thing-a-stranger-has-ever-said-to-you/139883/34 "2002-12-02T17:59:41Z")
(Neil on)Well, I was walking down the street and this lady said you smell. I wouldn’t have been mad if she was like 100 yards away, or even across the street but she got right in my face and said you stink. (/neil off) (Vivian on)That’s because you stink, hippy.(/Vivian off) ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rudest-thing-a-stranger-has-ever-said-to-you/139883/35 "2002-12-02T18:21:46Z")
My sister was in line at the checkout counter at a local (Tennessee) Kroger. The bagger said to the elderly lady in front of her “I hope you get in a car accident on your way home and die!” The woman didn’t do anything to report it, so my sister went to the manager and reported him. Hopefully the kid was fired on the spot. StG ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rudest-thing-a-stranger-has-ever-said-to-you/139883/36 "2002-12-02T18:29:00Z")
Some years back, my husband’s boss and Mrs. Boss (who I’d never met) came to our house because the 4 of us were going to ride together to a company party. I don’t like dresses, so I was wearing black pants and a festive tunic - I thought I was quite presentable. Mrs. Boss came in and before we were introduced, she looked me up and down. I have _never_ in my life experienced such blatant unspoken disapproval than at that moment. She didn’t even affect a plastic smile. I couldn’t have been more insulted if she’d said whatever she was thinking. Thankfully, that was the one and only time I had to be around her. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rudest-thing-a-stranger-has-ever-said-to-you/139883/37 "2002-12-02T19:08:30Z")
In Venice, I once had a large middle-aged man follow me down an alley, making kissy noises and saying, “How much? How much?” to me and trying to touch me. I was 16 at the time, something of a pretty boy. Don’t know if that qualifies as rude, or just plain scary. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![WillSantini](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ed8c4c/32.png) [@WillSantini](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillSantini)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rudest-thing-a-stranger-has-ever-said-to-you/139883/38 "2002-12-02T19:08:44Z")
While wearing my uniform, that reads U.S. MARINES, I was asked, (by the check out clerk at the commisary on base) if I was American. ---
**Author:** ![Second\_Guest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/87869e/32.png) [@Second\_Guest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Second_Guest)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rudest-thing-a-stranger-has-ever-said-to-you/139883/39 "2002-12-02T19:19:08Z")
Years ago, I was out walking my dogs when I encountered an obviously disturbed homeless gentleman. He stopped screaming at his imaginary friends long enough to come over to me and asked to play with my little terrier. I declined his offer, and he got right in my face (I can still smell the Muscatel), and shouted at me: “You f—ing @#!$%… People like you shouldn’t be _allowed_ to have dogs!” I thought that was pretty rude. ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rudest-thing-a-stranger-has-ever-said-to-you/139883/40 "2002-12-02T19:28:42Z")
Skinny people get rude comments too. When I was about 19 I weighed a whopping 93 lbs. at 5’6". This was way before skinny was popular. I wasn’t trying to be skinny, I just couldn’t gain weight. Some of the comments I received: “Do you still get your period?” “If you gained 20 lbs., you’d be cute” “Why don’t you eat something” “I bet you could suck a man dry with those lips”… oh, wait that was under different circumstances… but still rude. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rudest-thing-a-stranger-has-ever-said-to-you/139883.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rudest-thing-a-stranger-has-ever-said-to-you/139883.md?page=3)