Man gets aggressive when asked to practice proper social distancing

Dear Abby: I encountered a frightening man in the hardware store the other day. I was standing at the counter paying for an item when a man behind me came at me, inches from my face, in an aggressive and threatening way. When I asked him if he could please step 6 feet away, he became even more hostile and accused me of asking in the wrong way.

In hindsight, I suppose I should have ignored him. But his words shook me. I didn’t speak disrespectfully to him. Although I was alarmed, I was polite. When I said I was just asking for the required space, he said he was showing me how thoughtless I am because I wasn’t wearing a mask or gloves. Neither was he, nor were the employees and some other shoppers. When I pointed that out, he countered even more loudly that I was the problem. I just shook my head and left. As I was leaving, he yelled after me that he hoped I got the virus and that he worked in a hospital.

The man was huge, at least double my size. He was clearly going out of his way to threaten me, if not to infect me. I know I should not have responded, but for my own safety, I needed to politely ask him to back away

I go for a walk every day for exercise and to shop for necessary groceries. I have experienced people in aisles coming very close to me. I step aside to give space for others. Generally, most people are careful, respectful and even give a thank-you. This man was aggressive for no reason. What should I have done?

— Threatened in Oakland, Calif.

Dear Threatened: You did the right thing. With someone so angry, aggressive and clearly looking for trouble, the right thing to do was to get away as quickly as possible.