People who put their finger too near your face when pointing

Did it ever happen to you that someone needs to point at something, that either happens to be close to your head, or in your general direction, that they put their finger uncomfortably near to your face? I bloody hate this. It's horrible having to just stand/sit there as there is a finger hovering right in front of your eyes.

Of course, it can be hard to correct people sometimes. And even at that, depending on whether the person is your boss or whatever, it can be hard to know the best way to correct them? It's as if people are more inclined to do it when they know they can get away with it.

Has anyone here had recent experiences of this? The last time was my auntie on Christmas day. She was sitting beside me, and as she was talking to someone else, she began pointing at some bottle of wine on my opposite side... finger goes into my face. It's not like she has poor interpersonal skills or anything, so I do have to wonder if she's doing it deliberately. But we were at her place, and she had cooked, so for that reason it wouldn't have been easy to correct her.

 

I smack their hand away. And it ends up with them apologizing.

 

I don't make eye contact when I'm around a crowd of people. Especially when shopping or walking down the street. When someone bumps into me. I say something. No reason to be rude. Just say sorry and we move on!

 

I hate that too.

One good thing about social distancing is that it rarely happens these days I find.

 

It's a good excuse to tell people to not go near you lol

 

Space Invaders

 

Worse when the person is holding a pair of scissors and you are afraid that they may forget that they are holding them.
Life with Jane is so much fun at times, particularly the day that I threated to tie her hands behind her back to stop her talking.

 

I just give ém a big smile and snap their finger back to their wrist. That can break up a gathering though.

 

I'd bite them if there wasn't a damn piece of cloth between their finger and my mouth

 

Grab that finger bend it back, and they will go to their knees, before you snap it. That will break them of that habit.

 

We have different perspectives on logical personal boundaries depending on our cultural environs...

I always go back to the time I was in the customs line at Heathrow. The person behind me was soooooooooo close to me. I'm exaggerating, but she did not have the same version societal social distances that I do. She was as close to me as is a new puppy following your every move, or a newlywed spouse! She was very close, and I looked at her and realized that there was a cultural difference between us - she was not from the states, and likely not from England.

I had to remind myself several times that the expectation for personal space in the public arena is NOT universal - it's very, very different depending on where you go.


With that said, I think it's fair that we do develop an expectation that we can rely on to be basically universal. If someone waves their finger/points close to my face, I will likely lurch away!

Further, I'm hugely affected by proximity.

For those who don't know, I'm living with schizophrenia. I'm 41, and if you didn't know, it gets waaaay easier once you're past your twenties and thirties; so it's mostly a non-issue for me (though the other day I thought I was being followed... bedratted thing...). Anyway, Particularly in my late twenties and early thirties, proximity was a BIG issue for me. If I thought someone was too close behind me, I would 180° turn around and stare at them, fain a coughing fit, or clear my throat until it was enough to make other people look to see what in the world I was pitching a fit about. I don't like it when someone doesn't respect or understand my boundaries, and to this day (with sociocultural exceptions being what they are) I will adjust my distance from a person who doesn't seem to understand how far to stand from me.

This only slightly improves with mandates for social distancing*

 

I’m with you on this one. I’d remove the mask.

 

the problem isn't people. its how they act. and consideration is the measure of it.

 

Bite the finger.

 

Well that's the same thing, isn't it. You just can't keep your mouth shut, can you?

 

I'm just not sure I'm that brave, that's a lot of germs all at once lol

 

Break it

 

I’m old, I’ve been vaccinated.

 

How sad that most people’s response appears to me rudeness or violence.