Man just coughed in my face on purpose

[GaaaaarlicBread]

Not sure if it thought it was funny but I’m not laughing .
Just say minding my own business eating a sausage roll (mega pregnancy cravings !) and I got my hand sanitiser out as I’ve just been to a few shops and I always clean my hands anyway virus or not. Anyway this guy , about 58ish sat next to me and he said ‘oh you’re not paranoid as well are you?’ And I looked at him and said ‘no’ so he lent over and coughed in my face , not just once, but repeatedly. I’ve walked out, don’t even know how to feel.
This isn’t a joke, I wish it was.

That's awful! What did you say to him OP? A lot of posters are commenting that he wouldn't have done this to a man (true), but the reason men do this to women is that they know women are too passive to respond. Did you respond and make him think twice about doing this to another woman? Imagine if someone else had stuck up to him previously and he learnt his place... he would not have done this to you. We have a social responsibility to respond and stop this behaviour for the sake of other women.

What a disgusting excuse for a human. You did better than I would walking out OP, I would of coughed back in his face and said a few curse words.

If you’re pregnant and he’s 58 he’s more likely to die of Coronavirus because of his age I’m washing my hands for all the older people and vulnerable people where I work, if I get it I’ll probably be fine.

This man is an idiot. Here people are trying to keep people alive and all he can do is cough in a pregnant woman’s face.

To add: I have noticed that what women tend to do is NOT respond to rude men, but to go home like a good little woman and merely post about it on mumsnet. I hope you bump into him again and give him a taste of his own medicine! What a vile man!

Would you really slap him in the face though Nightsky?
For sure he deserved it but I have been in situations where men behaved in very intimidating ways towards me and part of me wanted to retaliate but part of me also knew that if someone has such contempt for people weaker than him he would think nothing of escalating and punishing me for daring to humiliate him.
I have retaliated once or twice but only when I was in a crowded public place and I felt safe because of the amount of onlookers, even then I was nervous that I might come across this person again in a situation where I was more exposed.

Dirty fucking bastard

Absolutely, I like to think I’d tell him this idiot I’m bending careful for people like him and give him a lesson in biology.

@UYScuti
I slapped a man in the face when he slapped my ass. I think I'd have slapped this dude in the face too.

OP, did you not go up to the counter? The staff should have chucked his ass out. You could call 101 and report it; there might be CCTV. Or even tweet Gregg's and tell them the branch; hey might release the CCTV on social media to shame the guy.

Imagine if someone had stuck up to him previously and he learnt his place
so what you seem to be saying is that if someone had stood up to him in the past his response would have been to think 'oh I'm out of order, I better start being polite towards people'
A decent honorable person might think like that but this is not a decent honorable person, I'm not saying we shouldn't stand up to people but maybe we need to be more strategic and think about de-escalating the situation.
To be clear he totally deserves a punch in the face and I would happily do it in my mind but really I don't want to get beaten up and that's why mostly we don't go round walloping each other

Interested to know how you specifically identified him as "58ish" (not late 50s etc)

(Hope you're OK x)

If you remove covid from the situation, it’s actually just a vile thing to do to someone full stop.

Yuck! But equally why couldn’t you wash your hands instead? Cleaning hands with hand sanitizers just seems a bit unhygienic.

I am so angry for you! I've come across idiots like this, I would have honestly punched him (and I'm not a violent person at all)

Im not an expert obviously but I saw an article the other day saying that knowingly passing on a virus is very much a crime (generally not prosecuted but brought in for HIV). Spitting also comes under assault stuff.

But really why cant people just fucking leave others alone.

Weregoingonanadventure crikey what happened?
You were presumably aware of a calculation taking place in your mind before you did this ...you had some instinct that it was safe and you could get away with it?

I've got no advice, sorry. But I do want to echo other here who say how disgusting that is. Even before coronavirus that would be disgusting, but to do that now suggests real malice, or lack of understanding of the situation.

the reason men do this to women is that they know women are too passive to respond.

Lots of men would respond to this passively too, just as lots of women wouldn't. The reason men do this to women is they are misogynistic twunts.

The fucker would have got my body spray in his eyes. Misogynistic cunt.

You should take his picture and consider suing him. There is case law about men who have chosen to give women STDs and they are guilty of crimes. This would in my view be the same.

I'm assuming 58ish is a typo for 50ish

What a cunt OP. I'm sorry that this happened.

This would in my view be the same.

It's only the same though if there's actually anything wrong with him, which I would hope there wasn't.

There will always be people like him; which is why self-isolation will not work. It assumes people have half a brain and a normal psyche - sadly not so.

I would have wanted to spit in his face for that. What a twat!

A hook punch would have sorted him out.

I would have sworn very loudly and questioned his sanity (and probably his parentage).