No, I get it in hindsight (this happened 6 years ago), but to me harassment is a criminal act. It'd be like someone accused you of shoplifting because you picked an item up off the shelf and were looking at it while glancing at the competing objects. I'm sure you'd be quite annoyed if someone did that.
Which is why customer service reps, instead of walking up to you and going "Better not steal that", instead they say: "Can I help you find something?". When they are either bored and have nothing better to do, or you look suspicious to them and would like you to find the thing you were looking for instead of looking like you're going to clean their house. Remind you you're being watched as it were. I know this because I was trained as a cashier in a grocery store and the "Can I help you?" method of approaching an individual that looks like they are going to shop lift is one of the things they teach.
What I'm saying is we need to learn to better use language without escalating, such as: "I'm not interested in debating with you and would request you leave me alone, thanks." Instead of: "You're harassing me." out of no where, especially in public because then they could be committing defamation/libel (depending on forum) since they are accusing you of criminal intent publicly. Of course, filing lawsuits against such accusations is not going to help your case in that you're not a harassing prick, so not advisable.
But in the end, as I said, it's best to let them be, they're probably dealing with other stressors and such and they have the right to their opinions, and to maintain their space.
No, I get it in hindsight (this happened 6 years ago), but to me harassment is a criminal act. It'd be like someone accused you of shoplifting because you picked an item up off the shelf and were looking at it while glancing at the competing objects. I'm sure you'd be quite annoyed if someone did that.
Which is why customer service reps, instead of walking up to you and going "Better not steal that", instead they say: "Can I help you find something?". When they are either bored and have nothing better to do, or you look suspicious to them and would like you to find the thing you were looking for instead of looking like you're going to clean their house. Remind you you're being watched as it were. I know this because I was trained as a cashier in a grocery store and the "Can I help you?" method of approaching an individual that looks like they are going to shop lift is one of the things they teach.
What I'm saying is we need to learn to better use language without escalating, such as: "I'm not interested in debating with you and would request you leave me alone, thanks." Instead of: "You're harassing me." out of no where, especially in public because then they could be committing defamation/libel (depending on forum) since they are accusing you of criminal intent publicly. Of course, filing lawsuits against such accusations is not going to help your case in that you're not a harassing prick, so not advisable.
But in the end, as I said, it's best to let them be, they're probably dealing with other stressors and such and they have the right to their opinions, and to maintain their space.