arret tender_square i am in a fancy living room salon with a bunch of glamorous people in ballroom gowns and tuxedos. i sit in an arm chair next to another woman watching people converse. two older men are standing behind us speaking italian. one man puts his hand down on top of my head and tussles my hair like i’m a dog getting rubbed between the ears. i turn around immediately and ask that he stop. he looks confused, as though he never touched me, and also amused, as though he's playing dumb. i resume my previous position and the same thing happens again. now, i'm getting angry. i demand the man to stop, yelling “arret! arret!” because i don’t know the word in italian. when the man still doesn’t understand, i stand up, take his hand and physically shove it. the whole party has stopped to watch this exchange. i finally decide to sit elsewhere on a couch. a woman approaches me, the hostess, and she sits beside me and apologizes. she says her culture is not used to women sticking up for themselves but she’s glad i did. 230325 what's it to you? who go blather from