Persona Non Grata

Throughout one's life, one will encounter a great many people. While many of these individuals are only seen for a brief period and never again, others will reappear as a result of being a fellow student or coworker, or even someone in the neighborhood. A select few of those that we regularly encounter become friends. Others become mere acquaintances; and yet others fall somewhere in between the two.

When it comes to an acquaintance, there is no prerequisite that one must actually enjoy the other's company. A person that one simply knows from the neighborhood or at work may be, in fact, disliked. This in and of itself is not really a problem. There are many individuals in this world and it is not expected for everyone to like each other. I can certainly say for myself that there are enough people out there that dislike or even despise me. I have similar feelings toward a few people myself. Nevertheless, no issue generally arises out of a mutual repulsion. Both individuals tend to stay out of the other's way.

But what happens when the negative feelings only exist on one side? In most situations this also causes no problem. The person that harbours no ill will can at least detect the hostility emanating from the other. This too will lead to the individuals staying out of each other's way. In a lot of cases, the negative feelings become mutual. But there are some cases that create problems. I will focus on one, in particular.

On occasion, it just so happens that one individual will have some negative feelings toward another that are not reciprocated. Furthermore, the undesirable individual is oblivious to all of the hints to go away. Almost everybody has this situation with someone. It is typically a person with whom you have never been friends, but with whom you are acquainted. The person calls your name, you turn, and suddenly say to yourself "Oh crap!"

These people are clingy to the extreme. And nothing you say can seem to shake them. As a matter of fact, you can say "Oh crap!" out loud when they spot you, and it still doesn't matter. Over time the hints may become more blunt and less subtle. In extreme cases, I have actually said "Please get away from me. I don't like you." Surprisingly, some of these clingers even disregard these comments at a later date. The person may leave at that moment, but when another encounter occurs a month or two later, the individual once again initiates a conversation. This type of behavior leaves me completely and totally dumbfounded. Does this person really not remember what was said a short time ago?

So if you are one of these individuals, please learn to take a hint. When you ask "So when should we hang out?" and I reply "Never," you should understand the meaning. The hints that I throw out aren't exactly cryptic. I don't possess the necessary diplomacy to put such things lightly. If you actually see me trying to avoid you, that is not a sign for you to run after me. In short, get the hell away from me!