MISS MANNERS by Judith Martin, Nicholas Ivor Martin and Jacobina MartinDEAR MISS MANNERS: Strangers want to make small talk with me while waiting in grocery checkout lines, at bus stops, at the bank, during flights, etc. I do not want to make friends with strangers every time I step outside my house. When this happens, I can’t bring myself to tell these people, “I’m sorry, but I don’t really want to talk,” because it is considered rude. Why is it not considered rude to engage me in conversation against my will, but it IS considered rude to tell people you don’t want to talk? Why is their desire to talk to me more valid than my wish not to talk to them?