ttr: I see at last what you mean. Some people have bad days. They feel better by bringing someone else down. I think we've all been there and done that. (Well, maybe on one on this site, but I have.) Sometimes ya just have to ignore it. A line I picked up somewhere works for me (in retrospect). "You can call a sheep a dog, but you can't make it bark." Maybe as I age I get mellower. In my younger days I'd as soon say Eff Off as anything else. Today, I tend to smile and let it go. Understand, I don't take shit from people just because they feel like dishing it out, but I tend to give the benefit of a doubt more often than not. That isn't just for the stage; it's also for workaday life. I had a student come to class with major attitude. I was new to teaching, and I decided to 'exercise my authority.' Wrong. The kid had just experienced the death of his grandfather, and he was seriously in need of a hug, not a lecture. I learned from that that there is no way to know what another person is experiencing at any given time. I like your way: compassion is a better tool for conflict resolution than anger. Hell, ttr, you could be looking at this the way we all should.