When people bait you, how do you respond?

Baiters are manipulators. They prey on other people's emotions and try to make them angry or upset, if they can get someone into that state, they're easier to manipulate and control. They'll accuse you of something just to start an argument. Furthermore, they'll twist your words and try to make you feel guilty, bait you into defending yourself, and act like they're the victims when they're the ones who did something wrong.

I usually don't bite, but be really careful, because if I do decide to bite, I'm gonna take more than a nibble, and you'll lose a lot more than your bait. :) Most times, I simply choose to walk away because ...

39 Best Mean People Quotes images | Quotes, Me quotes, Inspirational quotes

Bella ✌️
 

If one attacks my late husband or my loved ones, I'll argue, even knowing it makes no sense.
When my common sense sinks in, I just handling it naturally and innocently. Silly to think about
the behavior of others. it's best not to provoke any more discord. Indifference is the best way to
handle any negativity, as I still behave toward them with love and tolerance.
I'm aware of trying not to send any negativity into the atmosphere.

"A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still".
 
Many people ask questions that are none of their business out of curiosity and bad manners but not necessarily to bait you. It's because they don't think or don't know how else to converse. The four most important words you can learn are: "why do you ask?" That puts the onus on them to start talking and explaining themselves and you can move on to another topic. So when you don't want to answer just smile and say "why do you ask?"
 
chic said:
Title. We all know people who are not in complete alignment with us and will try at any opportunity to bait us into an argument. How do you cope with this most successfully?

For me, just avoidance works best. Sometimes if I'm in a temper, and I do have a bad one that likes to react immediately and without thinking something through, I will fall into the trap and argue. I almost always regret it. But just ignoring the person seems to be most successful for me personally. How do you cope?
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I ignore it. I have learned not to waste precious energy.
 
TabbyAnn said:
Many people ask questions that are none of their business out of curiosity and bad manners but not necessarily to bait you. It's because they don't think or don't know how else to converse. The four most important words you can learn are: "why do you ask?" That puts the onus on them to start talking and explaining themselves and you can move on to another topic. So when you don't want to answer just smile and say "why do you ask?"
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Exactly, I do that all the time, if I think it's too personal a question for an open forum.. and I;m sure most people don't mind at all.

I know I will ask questions of people, not to be iquisitive of their personal life, but if they've talked about something, I might ask something in relation to their topic, and I;m perfectly happy for them to tell me that it's too personal a question to answer on an open forum..
 
In real life, I just go away and think about it.

On message boards, I respond in kind, escalate as they escalate, and go on for days trying to get in the last word.

Just because I'm old doesn't mean I can't still be immature.
 
Wiggle a lot! :)

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It took me a long time to understand, that just walking away was the better course. When someone irks the hell out of me, yeah, I desperately want to strangle them. And walking away is something I don't want to do. In the heat of the moment, I want to get into it. Later, when I cool down, and IF I walked away, I glad I hoofed it out of there. But stubbornness and stupidity get in the way at times.
 
Della said:
In real life, I just go away and think about it.

On message boards, I respond in kind, escalate as they escalate, and go on for days trying to get in the last word.

Just because I'm old doesn't mean I can't still be immature.
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That's what I want to avoid because I find it toxic and a waste of my time which is valuable. :giggle: Different strokes. Maybe for me, ignoring is best.
 
I do not reply to their question and generally say something like "What do you want!" or "What are you up to!" in a gruffy old man tone of voice. That has worked for me so far. I have not had to throw sand in their eyes, knock them down on the ground, and pack dirt in their mouths so far. (Just joking about the sand and dirt thing. I would only do that in self-defense.)
 
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