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Comment by ndileas | Hacker News Reader

Is it really that hard to say "Selling something? Not interested, have a nice day!"? I'm fairly anxious and introverted and don't love having to do this, but once a month or something is very manageable. Gotta be brave and interact with the world sometimes.

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>Is it really that hard to say "Selling something? Not interested, have a nice day!"?

I shouldn't have to, so I don't, and they eventually do leave.

>Gotta be brave and interact with the world sometimes. reply

Telling a salesperson "fuck off" doesn't take more bravery than I have, it takes more effort than I am willing to expend on advertising.

I feel like not answering the door is actually the harder thing for some people to do as it can feel like you're being rude or otherwise not doing this thing you feel wired to be doing. I think it's actually a great exercise to do that and experience that there's no consequences to having respect for your own time.

I have a no soliciting sign and those who ignore it (basically all of them according to camera events) are 100% in the wrong, are being rude, and do not deserve a wave-off.

This has nothing to do with bravery.

For people who have debilitating social anxiety, yes, it does.

You're right. In that context, it can definitely be bravery.

However, in general, the decision to answer or not answer a salesperson at your door is not about bravery. It is primarily about effort and annoyance.

The combination of "Is it really that hard to say "Selling something? Not interested, have a nice day!"?" and a condescending "Gotta be brave and interact with the world sometimes." rubbed me the wrong way.

>rubbed me the wrong way

It did me, as well. It smelled of someone projecting their insecurity onto the general public.

For me it does require bravery. I wasn't intended to be condescending. I really do have to remind myself of that.

Fair enough! The downside of text conversation is that it loses most of the nuance, and I obviously read something into it that you didn't intend. Thanks for the clarification.

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