I was just sitting at the mall taking a break from mall walking. A man walked over to me when I wasn’t even looking up. He said "I haven’t seen you here before. " I said I wasn’t really here to talk to people and got up and walked away. He said he would leave, he may even have said sorry. I said I was ready to leave anyway. In retrospect I think he may have just been slightly mentally challenged so I wish I had been a little softer, he did not turn out to be aggressive. Looking for suggestions on something still clear and firm but more polite? This scared me for some reason, I think how fast he walked up and sat down near me.
Editing to add a key detail, he sat down close to me which is probably what made me more nervous than I would have otherwise been. I appreciate all the thoughtful feedback I’ve gotten and interesting discussion.
I think you know perfectly well what women fear from men. That’s not to say it was necessarily the intention of this person to have anything nefarious happen.
Strawman. OP didn’t, and she’s the person we’re currently discussing.
You may be discussing OP, but the person you’re replying to appears to be discussing the general application of your advice. This is a reasonable and minor expansion of the scope of the conversation.
I can’t believe “andrewta” (wonder what that would spell with two letters added) is minimizing the fears of women who have random men approach them!