I recently had a situation where someone decided they didn't like me on sight and decided to make my experience a negative one...  I did'nt have an feelings one way or the other about this person but they decided to "take me on" out of nowhere just for the exercise...

What do you do  when an enemy appears out of nowhere?  What motivates people to attack someone they don't know?

misdirected anger? maybe? appearance of what seems to be an easy target? I get this a lot. I've learned to laugh it off.

I would be dead cold and show no response. i think so, i never have experienced it :) 

yea, I figure it has nothing to do with me. I detach and don't respond to their anger.  It isn't mine, right? 

I think it's the "Heat"

The above are all good  ideas.  The person is  continually trying to make me miserable but  I  don't respond, in fact, I stay friendly.  In this situation I have to weigh whether it is worth it or  not to engage...

This is born of jealousy, I fear.

i'm usually able to detach and just stick to my agenda. it's very hard for me to take things personally from people who don't know me. i've had people taunt me because they thought i looked like the ethnic group they hated. it's just human nature - people take their anger out on the little guy.

i will also say i've had moments where my patience and goodwill was worn thin due to something else, and a stranger pushed my button (wrong time, wrong place) and i flipped on them and totally overreacted.

i think my moon-mars means i deal with anger on a daily basis. my own or others. shoot, riding the crowded train to work without punching someone is a zen meditation in itself!

my first thought is typically, "you really have way too much time on your hands don't ya miserable little human"

In this case  the person is clearly not liking how I present or something. They are new and seemed to  take aim at me...

I must represent something they don't like.. I need to decide whether to engage and most will depend on if this person interupts me ability to do what I have to do!

Annalisa - some people need to be called out on their immature BS. i don't know if that will help matters in this case. if they're PA then it's useless cause they'll just turn it around on you. but if they're just being self-absorbed and petty, and i gotta deal with them on a regular basis, i'd give them a well-meaning look like "excuse me??" and see where it goes from there. most people stop their BS when they see it won't be tolerated. like children!

dorchid, I like your thoughts...  You  are probably right.  I don't think this person will allow themselves to be ignored.  I will consider your thoughts and thank you!

good luck with it! you certainly don't deserve that kind of treatment!

Thanks so much, dorchid!

I nuke 'em off the site. :)

I don't have enemies in real life. Not one.

As for motivates a person to attack a stranger - immaturity, lack of psychological sophistication, just plain mean, etc.

lol, it helps when you  can "nuke um off the site!"  Power in that!  Now, if I could just nuke this person...

These people perplex me - the suddenness, not knowing me etc.  It used to startle me, now i have learned to address the situation as quickly as I can.  Which is usually something along the lines of "excuse me, but have I offended you in some way?".  Usually throws them off kilter, and then they back off.

Hadesmoon, that is a good idea!  I like getting it in the open but some people will have no answer...  You seem to just trigger  them!

I think most of the time there is no answer.  But putting them on the spot, so to speak, about it, usually gets them to change their behavior. As least outwardly---

I don't think I've ever had to deal with someone like this long term.

My mouth scares them off.

No one was ever hostile to me at first sight; my enemies were all fake-friendly PA types.

This has happened to me. The most glaring example: there's a guy at a pub I used to use a lot when I lived closer - he just loathes me. He did his best to get the whole place against me... at one point a group of the lads confronted him in the gents and told him to lay off me. But he still won't accpet a drink off me, though the place is a bar where drinks are usually bought in 'rounds'. He leaves me out of his round too. Pathetic. He's not much liked - inc by his kids! He's bi-polar btw, so a few of them feel sorry for him - I think he's just plain nasty

That's not the only instance - I seem to provoke strong reactions in other people! I bet you do too Annalisa ;)

I think it's time to get the bat out from the trunk of my car.

i've been sifting through my memories for the past two hours and i cannot say that i have ever had this experience. unless i blocked it. i'm sorry you are having this happen, annalisa!!

This happens to me. I have some fire energy that some people don't like, or maybe it's that I seem very put together. Sometimes what I do is be very very nice to them, so much so that they feel like I am dumb, as if I haven't realized they don't like me. As soon as I do this they feel they have been given the go ahead to feel superior to me and they lose interest. Or I reveal a flaw that puts them at ease. The other thing I do is just say "Am I bothering you in some way," type thing... it depends on the situation, but any of these can work.

The other thing I do is a deep glacial ignore. But then they will talk about you to their friends. Or you can give them a present. A small one, it throws them off gaurd, or offer to do something nice for them... agree with them... etc. I guess this happens to me a lot! I'm so sorry it is happening to you... what a drag.

I still don't know what to do. My entire kindergarten class did this to me and uh...well, I paid the price. The enemies I have had just literally hated me on sight and there was nothing I could do about it but attempt to avoid them. I think that me being a weirdo (Uranus rising) just elicits a "red flag in front of a bull" effect in my hometown, which is not weirdo-friendly.

What motivates them? They want a target to hate on so they feel superior, of course!

i have no trouble waving my freak flag when i feel like it. i wave mine, you wave yours, no harm done :) we can still treat each other decently.

i remember after a punk show, the singer (a guy with tattoos all over his face), asked around for a cigarette. i gave him one and complimented him on the show, not knowing i broke some code. his bitchy girlfriend came right out and marked her man. i just laughed and offered her a cigarette too. she took it of course, with no thank you, true to stuck-up skank form.

and i just laughed thinking, 'girl, your man has tattoos on his face!! do i look like the type who would date that?!"

people are funny. we are most dumb when we're insecure.

Oh, this has happened to me, and yes I do think absolutely it is born from jealousy. The whole mental health angle presents a compelling case (LOL) but jealousy--yes.

Just try to go be uglier, more miserable, have less success, shrink yourself into a little dot on the ground and the situation should improve. :::rolls eyes::::

ETA and it has ALWAYS originated in someone I've had no opinion about one way or the other, either! Felt totally neutral--because I don't know them from a hole in the ground--and then get hit with this weirdness.

Stinger up , Pincers at the ready.... First Aid kit close by. I try always to talk my way out of trouble first (my Pisces energy) , but if they're that dense.... it's Game On!!!

I would not engage this person unless they attack.  If they attack, confront them and tell you won't tolerate their bs then change the topic it always messes with their heads..

my enemies are all close- aka family. they suddenly turn on me. moon square pluto. I still don't know what to do with em!

I too thinks it's jealousy in part, and another part, 'misery loves company.' they will attempt power plays and control over my life whenever they feel me slipping from their grip...maybe that's just family? :/

eta: I normally don't get hatred at first sight