Ignoring people you don't want to talk to is not mean or disrespectful because you have a right not to, especially if you believe avoiding them is the best thing for you and keeps your peace.

They'll try to say it's disrespectful for not saying hi, or entertaining a conversation, or person you were never interested in to begin with but that's when it turns into you pretending to be interested, and pretending is inauthentic, which is not what we strive to be.

People who say your disrespectful for ignoring them, their situation, or not entertaining meaningless shit are predatory. They try to appear as though they're just innocent in a bad situation, or have pure intentions, but you immediately sense that they want to exploit you, and they're not as innocent as they make it out to be. And these senses are based on past behavioral patterns, facial expressions, and speech patterns of manipulators. So your rejection is justified. They just can't fathom this level of keen perception.

They're predatory because they want something and they could just be direct about it but instead manipulate the dynamic, deceive, or drag their way to the point, usually because they're scared of how you will react to the truth even if it is innocent, otherwise, why would they approach you just to start talking about themselves or random pointless shit when you never asked nor cared?

They're predatory because they create false narratives about their situation, hoping you believe it or feel sorry, or try to guilt trip you into giving them your energy in some way, feeling entitled to or expecting you to help them without them asking, all because of fear and arrogance. They know that what they want from you is beyond what they can reciprocate, making the entire event unfair and detrimental to you which is unethical in nature. They're selfish, scared, and incompetent, but if they can deceive you into thinking they're not, then you're more likely to see it as a fair exchange, compelling you to give them your energy.

Most of them ramble on about meaningless nonsense and they're extremely indirect about their true intentions. They'll small talk, beat around the bush, and ease their way to a subject to get your insights on or help etc, and it's just annoying. They also envy those that could benefit them the most, which is why they treat you terribly if you fall for it.

They hope you're too dumb to notice their intentions. They hope that can get you tied in their blissful illusion.

It's also because they don't want to feel inferior for coming up to you. They're more worried about their ego and too scared to be straightforward because of their arrogance. They believe their value goes down because they have to ask a question or for help, and they may not want to feed your genuine ego either, even though asking questions or for reasonable help, means they want to learn and grow which will increase their value and or understand that wanting help doesn't devalue them either and makes sense if it benefits everyone involved.

Only narcissistic or cowardly fucks are scared to ask questions or for help directly. They just start giving you unsolicited advice when you never cared but it's because they're trying to flip the dynamic to make it seem like you need them by telling you shit and pretending to give you value, so then they can turn around and say it's a fair exchange when they know it's not. And they see your value which is what they want and it's beyond theirs because they choose to be and think irrationally. They do all of this to cope with their own inadequacy.

There are also some narcissist who pretend to ignore people they truly do want to be associated with because of validation or they want to reject you before you do.

If you can look at someone and immediately sense that you would never want to ever be associated with them, then ignoring them is the most authentic thing you can do without feeling guilty about it.

You're non-verbally (which is the fastest form of communication) letting them know you don't care before wasting any energy on interaction, and there's no negative karma for doing what you reasonably believe is best for you, such as avoiding certain individuals, ESPECIALLY when you sense predatory (exploitive, deceptive) behavior or aura from them. They know what they're trying to do, and you do to, but they'll lie if they feel exposed, you just have to learn to not fear the slander.

It's all mental.

We currently live in a world where most people are disingenuous and it's a net negative interacting with them, especially when you have lots of value, then the amount of people who prey on you goes up exponentially to the point where you just have to ignore them in their entirety everyday, but you also learn their behaviors so fast...

Me personally I only want to interact with genuine, reasonable, and meaningful individuals whom I know I could trust immediately my first time ever meeting them, and I took the time to reflect and learn these behaviors so well so I would never make the wrong decisions ever again.

Genuine people exist but are still rare, you can't be quick to trust just anybody, so learn to have quick and accurate judgments, this will save you from the wrong people, places, and things.