Defuse the situation
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The answer to rude behavior is not more rude behavior. Retribution doesn’t get you anywhere good, doesn’t create anything useful.
An insult in return for an insult is predictable and ineffective. You have the opportunity and the skill to be much more innovative and constructive than that.
You can be the person to rise above it. You can chart a new, more beneficial path.
Be the original and intentional person you are. Put forth a positive perspective rather than just reacting to a negative one.
Yes, someone else has said or done something objectionable. But do you really want to create additional incitement for doubling down on that?
Be the strong one, the reasonable one, the one who defuses the situation. You’ll vastly improve the possibility that something good will come of it.
— Ralph Marston