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TL;DR: I'm pretty sure I was targeted by a sociopath who wanted to make me feel miserable. And he succeeded. I'm a guy btw.

So I was sitting at a bar with a good friend of mine and this guy just invites himself to our table. He acts overly jovial and comfortable around us despite never having met him, and he immediately takes over the conversation. He seemed very forceful and aware that he was intruding purposefully but clearly didn't seem to mind that we didn't really want him there. I immediately didn't like him since he looked and seemed very predatory in his behavior, but we humored him.

We talk a bit more, and at one time I replied to him that I hadn't visited a city quite close by. He stuck on that point, taking potshots at me for being weird never having been there. After that he pretty much made me a target and just started berating me whenever an opportunity presented itself. I couldn't honestly believe how someone could act so dickishly, seeing the he was a stranger to us who just appeared out of nowhere. The conversation continued, and he started to:

\-Belittle and question things I said

\-Called me out for acting 'robotic' and 'overly serious' and 'clearly not used to "man talk"'. He seemed to really enjoy getting a rise out of me.

\-Noted that I was acting very passive aggressive, which I was after the third insult.

\-Started asking more personal, targeted questions, like where I live and whether or not I'm in a relationship

\-Scoffed at my remarks as if I were stupid

\-Turned his back on me and acted really chummy with my friend, isolating me from the conversation

\-Gave me very patronizing shoulder-touches and told me not to be so serious. This, after berating me and taking potshots for ten minutes now.

\-When I genuinely tried to be friendly with him he gave me this kind of sneer, as if mildly disgusted.

We finally start leaving with my friend and even as we shake hands he looks irked to even be touching me.

I'm really upset. I have social anxiety and I know that I tend to 'turtle up' when in the presence of predatory and scary people, and I have big confidence issues and trouble asserting myself, but I don't think that what he did was warranted at all. I also feel ashamed because I'm in my mid-twenties and I thought I was getting better at handling conflicts like this. Turns out I did exactly what I did when bullied in middle-school: closed up and made a fool of myself. I know I should've told him to fuck off, but he seemed to really want to pick a fight so I figured it wasn't worth it. I still feel like I hate myself for not standing up for myself.

I'm really bothered that this random guy was so good at picking me apart and found my insecurities immediately. I'm honestly a bit in awe of his misuse of charisma and social skills, since he seemed to be friends with everyone there. I feel like he was a snake in man's clothing, prowling around the pub looking for opportunities for stuff like this.

Anyways, I wanted this off my chest. This experience has made me quite jaded and disappointed in myself and humanity. I know most people are great and fun but I feel much more paranoid about people's intentions and about going out now.

Have a great Monday, y'all. I'll keep my chin up and I don't usually vent online but I feel that I'll go crazy if I had to bottle this up much longer.