I’m not constantly worried. It’s just a thing I throw in from time to time to make sure I’m not dealing with a narcissist. Honestly I think it’s more of my PTSD coming out than a personality thing, but the way I see it, having an idea of how well I’ll be respected is part of getting to know the other person. At the end of the day, I can control how I treat others, but I need a way to figure how how they’re gonna treat me too. Personally, I don’t see that as being manipulative. I throw it in when appropriate. For example, if something they said genuinely hurt my feelings, even if it was just a tad, I will speak up instead of let it slide as a way of seeing who I’m dealing with. If they apologise or care that it hurt at all, green flag. If I get a “so I can’t make jokes?” or something similar, red flag. I’m just careful with who I surround myself with these days cause I’m too old to be dealing with certain behaviours.