Bizarre public encounter

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So I had my son on my back this evening (he's 10 months old). We went out for a walk. Tonight is the last night for the street carnival about a half mile away, so I wanted to go and just see the lights and people from across the street, but not to go in.

We passed a middle-aged man, probably in his late forties. As I pass by, he says, "They're shutting it down, partner," presumably referring to the carnival. For some reason I didn't think he was talking to me (I generally assume that random people on the street are not in fact talking to me, unless they make it very clear that they are.) So I kept walking without acknowledgment.

A few seconds later, he shouts, "Are you deaf?" in my direction. I'm sorry, but in my opinion that's just extremely rude. He could have said, "Excuse me, sir," or "Excuse me, young gent," or just about anything else and I probably would have acknowledged him. So now I'm starting to steam on the inside and I just keep walking. A few seconds later, he shouts, "Whoa hoa! He is deaf! Deaf and dumb!" At this point I was absolutely fuming, so I turned around and gave him the finger as he got into his car.

So I relay this story to my wife, and she thinks I severely overreacted..... huh? Granted, she didn't hear the ridicule in his voice, but still, I thought that was definitely warranted. And I'm not one to give out fingers.

that is really really strange if that was me I think I would of freaked, the guy was proboably crazy

I think the guy felt ignored and his ego couldn't handle it. Once I was doing laundry at a laundromat and I was putting clothes into two top loaders when the attendant told me the front loaders were more economical. I said "Oh" wondering why he was telling me. When I left to go to the corner restaurant to get a cup of coffee he came out and screamed at me that if I wasn't back by the time the wash cycle was done he was going to throw my clothes in the trash. I was shaking with shock and anger-I went back when the wash was done to drive a bunch of wet clothes to another laundromat to dry them. Later someone told me he was asking me to move my clothes because it was busy and he needed more top loaders available. I guess because you can fit two loads in a front loader. Anyway all he had to do was explain what he needed.

Agree. Strange, creepy & worse b/c guy did this when you had your young son with you. It was beyond rude & you did not overreact in my opinion (just good thing he did not approach you & you did not do more b/c of small child with you).

it cracks me up now NTs react when ignored. welcome to our world.

Yeah I have encounters like that where people are just rude for no reason. But, I'm usually the wrong girl, unless I'm not feeling well which is when it seems to happen to me the most. I've also encountered people like that more often in Wyoming than anywhere else I've lived, but every location has their share of village idiots.

You, my friend, UNDERreacted. This is the type of situation my mother always warned me would get me hurt or worse, because I tend to be "mouthy". I would have yelled "F*** YOU, YOU F***ING F***!" at this point, which is my favorite thing to say to people who tick me off.

What gets me is why should someone even care if you're walking in the direction of a street fair that's closing? They may assume that you're going there, but you may be going past there of possibly meeting someone. That guy was-no, is- a moron!

Maybe it's time for people to not be concerned about the affairs of others. In other words, STOP HELPING ME ! !! !! !

Regarding the original post...
That could've easily been me in your shoes.
Social inconsistency and misunderstanding, perceived overreaction, prolonged incredulousness and confusion. Things like the incident you describe seem to happen to me all the time.

Not sure what to say other than, yes that was bizarre, and yes, the guy was probably drunk... so try not to worry about it too much.