Social Media Post - Week 8

This week in class, we talked about conflict. One of the topics was on indirect/direct conflict approaches to certain situations. Since being in London I haven't had many conflicts at all, but there is one that does stand out. A couple weeks ago, me and three other girls apart of the program were verbally harassed by a man whom we'd never met on the tube. The four of us were getting on the tube when a man behind us started to talk to us. It wasn't until we were all standing on the tube that he directly approached us, and made his point clear. From his viewpoint we didn't let people get off the tube before we got on. However, we didn't see anyone getting off when we got on, so it was probably just a huge misunderstanding. He kept belittling us, he used very precise language, and he kept trying to articulate his issue with us (direct conflict approach). However, the four of us didn't want anything to do with him. When he would ask us questions saying "do you understand?" or "do you get how it works in this country now?" we wouldn't even reply. We would start to move away from him and continue to ignore him, just to avoid the situation (indirect conflict approach).  I personally consider myself a pacifist, meaning that when conflict arises I tend to avoid it, and stay calm. The other girls I was with however, are usually direct in their conflicts, but since we were all in such a different culture than to one we were used to; it was hard for us to anything but indirect. Because at least for me, I didn't know if other people on the tube would side with him, or us. The man eventually left us alone and got off the tube a short time later. Unfortunately, it will be one of my most memorable experiences on this trip.