Some conversations are going nowhere, but going there politely.
Maybe the other party is more interested in you, than you are in them. Maybe it’s just small talk that never builds into anything bigger.
You have to be the one to end that conversation. You can do so kindly, but you should be firm about it. Don’t leave the door open for more wasted time.
But there’s still no guarantee the other party won’t suddenly transform from a courteous dullard into a sniveling wolverine who says things like, “Eff you and your vaccines.”
This kind of thing happens on dating apps and Twitter all the time.
Here’s Marcus Aurelius’s advice for dealing with vindictive brats like this:
“When people injure you, ask yourself what good or harm they thought would come of it. If you understand that, you’ll feel sympathy rather than outrage or anger. Your sense of good and evil may be the same as theirs, or near it, in which case you have to excuse them. Or your sense of good and evil may differ from theirs. In which case, they’re misguided and deserve your compassion. Is that so hard?”
*
Love,
L.