AIBU for confronting a stranger criticising my appearance?

[MarbleFox]

I left work late today, missing the bus I normally catch by a couple of minutes. This meant waiting half an hour for the next one. At the bus stop there were two women, roughly my age(20) and as I approached I heard one say to the other, "Oh my God, look at the state of her hair". My hairs currently a silver/lilac shade, it's been bright purple, blue and pink so I'm used to getting the occasional comment and stare. I shrugged the comment off as I normally do but for the next 25 minutes as I waited for the bus the comments continued. Criticising my hair, clothes and general appearance while sniggering while I'm obviously in earshot. I eventually snapped and said, "Sorry but what's the problem?" Neither replied so I said, "You really shouldn't mutter horrible things about people you don't know", to which one said she wasn't talking about me. She definitely was.

I know it's daft to let this bother me and I know they were out of order but should I have ignored them? Or was responding the right thing to do? I'm normally very shy and meek so this was out of character for me.

What clothes were you wearing?

Why is this imporant, @thirtynine?

I DID say it is not acceptable to comment within earshot. Just FYI.

Going to have to delete my own post now for exceeding guidelines. I was wrong to actually call another poster a direct name.

The race card? well, I'd much rather 'play' that card than an ignorant, judgemental bigoted twat card.

And end of? Really? Off you go to bed. Easter hols must be over by now.

Vintage45, I didn't report you, just FYI. Even though I realised you are breaking the rules.

Maybe the OP should take heed and really grow thicker skin. The only offence people cause you is the one you accept to be caused. Everything else is water off a duck's back. I am giving you a very valuable life lesson here. No need to thank me. You will realise it later in life. I don't take offence in any of your words. Take care .

" huge chips on their shoulders" and."race card" in the same sentence? In 2016?!!! ffs it must be Alf Garnett's daughter

I will thank you for leaving this thread and taking you're patronising, small minded and ignorant comments with you though, thank you and goodbye

I am just gonna sit by the side and wait to see how many of you will have your comments deleted for breaking the rules. This will be extremely funny. Don't want to miss it for the world, hahaha.

Sit by what side? The wayside? Are you REALLY going to sit and watch comments being deleted and actually..you now..start cackling with laughter?

Oh well...it its the half-term holidays I suppose. Do please - sit.

But I've reported you Dirty Harriet

You've broken the guidelines, Harriet.

Actually, if it's nightwatch on at the moment you'll probably have to wait till morning to see deletions. You might wanna make some coffee.

Let your freak flag fly, Fox!
Reading Harriets remarks it's clear nothing you could say to defend yourself would get thru, so why bother trying, and putting yourself in danger? Someone like that won't be changed by your words, and you will only get worked up, or worse!
My dd has pink dip dyed hair, it looks great, and it's easily cut or grown out. I was looking at the pastel toner mix you put with the splat colors. It might be fun.

I think it's a bored Katie Hopkins......

I saw a thread the other day. It was a very odd threat to have been started - deliberately done to provoke a response. Everyone essentially ignored the question asked in the OP and the thread turned out to be extremely funny as they were deliberately ignoring the obvious goad. I'd suggest the same thing happen here. Ignore and respond only to reasonable points of view.

And take heed of previous advice - take care when confronting in real life.

Your hair sounds lovely.

Maybe they thought they were in a soap..people are always just going to other side of a room in a soap and having "private" conversations.

No seriously well done for tackling them.

No yanbu. It is rude to talk about someone's appearance in their earshot. I hope it embarrassed the girls and though they may resent you for it I bet they are more hesitant before they publicly bitch again.

It has happened to me enough times, I have reddish hair and freckles, I was ginger enough as a kid that I got teased, when I was older my more alternative dress led to accusations of "lesbian", "ugly", "fuckin fraggle". once on the bus two young women were giggling to each other about my resemblance to Sarah Ferguson, 'fergie' they were sitting directly opposite us but because they were speaking in another language they felt safe to talk obviously! As they kept saying fertile my husband decided to confront them about it. They got all defensive and tried to make out I should be flattered strangely I was not.

Fertile should read fergie stupid auto correct!

But you see Harriet, when I look in the mirror I don't see 'weird' I see 'my hair the way I like it'. Because beyond 'my hair blue' anything else you or I attach to it is just a subjective opinion. And we are both entitled to them, you think I look weird, that's fine, it would be a boring world if we all liked the same things. But what no one is entitled to do is be rude and twattish and judgemental about others.
I reported you btw, because you are a goady fucker.

Good for you OP. Bigotry isnt something I let slide either

So many people have forgotten the Blue Rinse Brigade

I don't see what the problem is. We notice things that are different because they stand out. Most people have hair in natural shades of brown/blonde/grey with a rarer ginger. So purple or blue hair stands out.

Now as far as I know nobody has been born with purple hair so the owner has deliberately made it that colour. They have chosen to stand out from the crowd and draw attention to themselves. And if you do a non-verbal 'look at me' accept not everyone will like what they see.

Unfortunately we now live in a society where people feel the need to 'speak their mind' so where the should keep their thoughts to themselves they voice them. In the past you might have been blissfully unaware of what people were thinking as you walked past. Now, not so much.

The problem is birches like this are often up for a ruck so you always have to assess 'will they twat me one ' - it's v annoying X