At work there is this real weasel of a guy. Best way I can describe him. Smugly cocky but clearly insecure enough to fuck with people over trivial shit that doesn't matter, loves to correct people, always has something to say etc. Not at all a chad, but a cocky beta type who doesn't walk confident and has trouble making eye-contact, clearly doesn't take care of himself, dresses like shit, and so on. Over the past few months he's done real passive stuff, like constantly invading my personal space for just barely too long, patting me on the shoulder when walking by, mumbling things I can't quite hear when I'm on the phone, etc. Nothing seriously egregious on its own but adds up to being a serious thorn in my side since I've known him, and it's really worn on me, especially in an office environment where things are generally stifled and you can easily look like a psycho if you mishandle one interaction. He doesn't do this to anyone else on my team. I admittedly am not good at this kind of shit testing/disrespect am still learning to stand up for myself, and I know I've fucked up by continuing to let it go on for as long as it has. Normally I try to A&A so as to not look weak, (and it's all I know how to do semi-well.) But this backfires in that it doesn't fix anything and he keeps doing it. Tonight was the last straw when walking out of work, he patted my shoulder harder than usual and walked in front of me to literally fart a foot ahead of me. I said something and he dismissed me treating it like a joke. I was about to just walk to my car in the parking lot but I literally couldn't take it anymore. I walked back up to him and the following exchange happened.

*Please keep in mind I have spent most of my life being extremely timid and only in the past year have I forced myself to confront people who openly disrespect me, which is easier when it's direct and blatant, not this pussy passive shit. In this case, I got fucking angry and pretty much ran on auto-pilot.

"Hey do you have some sort of problem with me?"

"No man, why"

"Do you think farting on me is ok?"

"I'm just messing around man, being friendly" he raises his hand for a fist bump as he says this and holds it there.

"Nah, that's not how I play around, that's disgusting. So knock it off, stop touching me, stop talking to me, stop it all."

I stare at him making direct eye contact, not knowing what else to say, and he just nods, avoids looking at me, and just walks away, dismissing me.

I know I broke frame, and I know I should've handled this better, but for the life of me, I didn't know how you guys. Even if it wasn't the most alpha or effective, I feel so much better that I finally said something and made it clear that I don't want to be fucked with, when 2 years ago, I would've just kept taking it with my head down.