verbal attack in elevator

It should be an uneventful trip to the basement to deposit my papers and bottles.

It isn't.

I get in the elevator. One floor down the door opens and a man gets in.

It takes a second for it to register that he's maskless. 

Before I have a chance to exit the elevator, the door closes.

This is a man (about my age) that I know. 

Know not in we're friendly and we hang-out together. But know as in he's lived in the building for ages and if we saw each other on the street we might nod hello. That kind of know.

I say to him, "You need to put your mask on."

He replies, "I don't have a mask on me."

I point to the sign behind me, in our very small elevator.

His response is unexpected.

He starts screaming, "You F*CKING C*NT." 

And he just keeps going, louder and louder. Totally out of control.

I go up to the first floor, and soon he's there (not necessarily that he follows me but because that's where he is heading).

His ranting continues. Louder and more vehement.

He stands in my face, pointing his finger, and shouts obscenities.

Inexplicably, I don't cower. 

I just stand there, looking him in the eyes, almost daring him to hit me.

The doorman holds him back as it looks like he's about to physically attack me.

On subways, and in stores, I never say anything to people who chose not to wear masks. I just move my seat or stand far away.

But this is my building. 

I'm in a very small elevator. 

And a giant sign stating the required protocol is prominently displayed behind me.

The man retreats to his apartment. 

I stay rooted in place in front of my building, too shaken to move.

A few minutes later the man comes out of his apartment and approaches me.

"Look, can we talk like two adults?"

I nod.

He then apologizes. Tells me he's sorry he exploded. He's just so tired of people telling him what he can and cannot do. And blah blah blah.

I accept his apology.

We live in the same building after all. I don't want to be afraid of my neighbors.

But still.

As the Delta variant spreads and rules about mask-wearing and vaccinations keep changing, I get that it's hard to know the right thing to do.

But if I had to guess, calling someone a F*CKING C*NT is never the right thing.