Yes, I do live in a big city. I've lived spent most of my life in large cities, less a 12 year stint in a community of around 100K. In the smaller community I also had these interactions, though overall I found it happened less. Probably because it was likely I'd run into that person again, or know someone in their family.
And yes, I often walk away from these situations thinking about what snarky comment I could have made in return. Logically I know it doesn't matter, these small interactions with random strangers. And escalating the situation by confronting them seems both pointless and potentially dangerous.
Sigh, I guess I'm just bummed out with the state of humanity. The bullying seems rampant. Both in the real world and online. I've dialed down my social media presence and intake, and that has helped some. I've tried to anticipate that I'll run into these people and these situations so that I can take them in stride. I do try to bush them off, focus on all the positive in my life and everything that you kind folks here are telling me to do. Logically, I know this is how it's all supposed to work. But my brain still fails to let these interactions go. They gnaw at me, over and over and over again.
Thanks, Lambert. I'm glad I'm not the only one.