How to deal with Hecklers?

Why and where do they exist?

They exist in variety of forms. Sometimes, they are at the workplace like bullies. Sometimes they are commenting on your post. Sometimes they stand up when you present a scientific paper and ask dumb questions, not to enlighten themselves but to make you feel uncomfortable. And they do this with arrogance rather than awareness. And they add to the question that either your nose is like a pig or the ears are like an ape. I am not angry with them. They are like little rocks in my garden wanting to hurt my pinky toe. It seems for whatever reason the nature has decided to put them in the universe where you are exactly performing. The better response would not be anger, but action or inaction. Like when a gum is stuck to your shoe and make a noise and drag dirt every time you take a step. There is no point crying over it. Either you have to stop walking, get a new pair of shoes or remove the gum with your bear hand.

How to deal with hecklers, two responses

I wouldn't say it is a bad idea to fight back. But sometimes it doesn't work and its unnecessarily messy. Of course, this is the right option if you are cornered in an alley and, there is no way to run. But, if it is not, you can ignore. Unless they physically shout at you over and over. Even that is so, you can choose to leave the room and keep your human consciousness intact, devoid of any temper. Remember sound doesn't travel far. It's just your memory of it travels whenever you think back. So, you have to isolate and selectively discard your thoughts. This is more important than physical distancing. Anger is never the correct choice. Meanwhile at your leisure, you must build your strength and strategy to deal with the problem, if it arises again. In a more moral and legal way. The best response would be to focus on your own personal growth and reach a place where these ordinary hecklers cannot reach by design, but I warn you, when you are at a different place, there would be different set of annoying problems which follow. How to deal with hecklers is a different art that you need to learn as you climb the ladder of life, as there are gums at every step.

This brings me up to the following quote famously attributed to Socrates, erroneously. But reference can be found it being said by Henry T. Buckle.

BMW

"Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss things, weak minds discuss people."

There is some truth in the quote. Ideas are like abstract thinking about the world. In any subject, this is where, highest form and more difficult generalized concept are taught. If you want to spend your time wisely in the universe, while your consciousness last you should be thinking about your ideas. On the other hand, individual things are just copies of these abstract ideas. They are relevant and necessary but can drain your time on minute details without ever making you into groundbreaking discovery (you can either discuss about a concept car, about a real BMW, or you can just discuss about the driver). Discussing people is stupid. Unless you discuss about some great person from the history, to learn about him/her as a mentor. And it is to this latter group hecklers come under. So, I would look carefully at myself, when I am with a group of people what comes out of my mouth. Even an occasional gossip would make me ashamed, unless it is by choice, and for pure entertainment, and with intelligence that I choose to talk about it. Even so, I would diverge into some general abstract thing with guilt and shame.

So, what type of abstract thinking you are engaged in these days?