A routine visit to a local darshini (eatery) turned into a heated public altercation, igniting a spirited debate on social media about manners and respect in public spaces.
The incident began when Anushka, a resident of Bengaluru, confronted a man who cut in line at the counter. “There’s a line here,” she calmly stated. The man retorted, “There’s no sign saying to make a line,” escalating tensions. Despite receiving profanities, Anushka remained composed and chose to address the issue directly.
The situation quickly escalated into a full-blown public scene as the man and his family engaged in a verbal altercation with Anushka. “It got to a point where people stood up from their seats to spectate,” Anushka wrote on the social media site ‘X’, recounting the ordeal.
Expressing her frustration, Anushka noted, “It really takes nothing to just follow basic social etiquette in public + have a default polite attitude to strangers. I also knew he spoke to me that way because he saw I was a young girl = no consequences of behavior, for creepy uncles. So I decided to confront him.”
Feeling physically unsafe, Anushka decided to leave the scene. “By the time I got home I was just fully out of it. Nothing like getting yelled and threatened by an uncle to set off your fight/flight response lol,” she added.
For weeks, Anushka avoided the darshini, fearing the stigma of being seen as the “hysterical woman who picked a fight.” However, she decided to return on Thursday for some masala dosa and coffee. To her surprise, a new sign prominently displayed next to the counter read “Q Please.” Anushka shared, “Just posting this because it was a full circle moment and personal win for me, but also a win for women who stand up to rude uncles in public.”
Anushka further stated, “We should all occupy public spaces in a way that pushes us closer to a high trust society.” Her ten-part thread ignited a discussion on the social media forum. One user replied, “LOVE this. And yeah, standing up for fairness is costly.” Another commented, “The tragic irony of your unpleasant experience is that anyone old enough to be an uncle but doesn’t know how to form a simple queue in a public place doesn’t deserve to be called ‘uncle’ in the first place. Just an old uncouth man. Kudos to your restraint.”