Hi,

There probably isn't much that you can do about people in the public being mean to you other than to basically "take the high road when they take the low road," or in other words, to just go on doing your thing while (to the fullest extent possible) ignoring any attempts to mock you or to otherwise be mean to you. People can be mean pretty much everywhere we go in life, and there's no denying the fact that when people are mean to us, it's going to hurt. And although we sometimes might need to react in some way to others who mock us or who are otherwise emotionally abusive toward us, I've noticed that showing those who engage in such behaviors toward us that we're upset usually just feeds their negativity and is thus something that's best avoided. I would, however, suggest that you consider talking to a manager about the emotional abuse that your coworkers seem to be engaging in toward you. It's the responsibility of the managers of a company to make sure that all of the company's employees are treating one another with respect, and if it's clear that your coworkers aren't being respectful toward you (and it sounds like it's most certainly the case that your coworkers aren't being respectful), then I think that notifying a manager about this problem would probably be a good idea. It saddens me to hear that your coworkers and some in the public are being emotionally abusive toward you, but I'd recommend responding to the emotional abuse that you've been enduring in the right way rather than doing something drastic. Take care.