Decades ago, a personal anecdote in a women's magazine told the tale of how the author attended assertiveness training in the 80s. The instructor of the class was a very aggressive woman and the class involved exercises in yelling at people and being generally hostile and rude.
At some point, the author did not wish to do this anymore and she told the instructor "I don't want to yell and be rude. I like being nice to people." The instructor lectured her about how it was a dog-eat-dog world and she needed to learn to stand up for herself.
The instructor bullied her for several minutes while she politely declined to take her turn at practicing yelling and being aggressive. Shortly after the instructor finally let it go and moved on, she decided she was done with this class.
While other women practiced yelling and being aggressive, she quietly gathered her things and left. As she very quietly left, she overheard one woman in the back row say about her "God, what a bitch!"
At some point, the author did not wish to do this anymore and she told the instructor "I don't want to yell and be rude. I like being nice to people." The instructor lectured her about how it was a dog-eat-dog world and she needed to learn to stand up for herself.
The instructor bullied her for several minutes while she politely declined to take her turn at practicing yelling and being aggressive. Shortly after the instructor finally let it go and moved on, she decided she was done with this class.
While other women practiced yelling and being aggressive, she quietly gathered her things and left. As she very quietly left, she overheard one woman in the back row say about her "God, what a bitch!"