Gaspode wrote:
Saying nothing would probably of induced a louder shouting at.
Maybe, maybe not - such an action certainly can be interpreted as being dismissive or disrespectful.
But at least with such a non-reply, one leaves it up to the other party to decide exactly how they wish to proceed.
A strong verbal or non-verbal ("stare-down," "sneer," or other posturing) reply could be construed as a challenge: which then either must be met (and thus further escalated) or declined.
A submissive verbal or non-verbal reply (as I favored) could be interpreted as groveling: which may allow the other party to disengage, or, alternatively, may well cause them to press the issue even more aggressively.
With a noncommittal "non-reply," escalation - or de-escalation - is totally left to the person who initiated contact, and leaves me the ability to explore and prepare what I may well -NEED- to do next to defend myself. The way I see it, this tactic essentially resets the OODA loop for the person who initiated the contact.