What's with my guilt, anyway?!

Ok, so on my way into the library just now I passed many campaigners for the student gov't election. The primaries ended the other day, now we're in the final election. And one campaigner, sporting arm bands and lapel pins in the color of his chosen campaign, said to me, "Have you voted yet?"

To which I responded, firmly, as I continued on my way into the library, "No. And I don't plan to. Thanks, though. And good luck to you."

And he looked slightly abashed and said, "That's ok."

And I entered the library, feeling like a complete jerk.

WHY?! What's WITH that?!?

Was I too rude?? Did I say "no" too firmly?? Did I just diminish or destroy the entire purpose of his life??? I certainly hope not! I may have said no firmly, but I wanted that to be the end of his attempt to get me to vote. I didn't want to give him any excuse to attempt to continue the conversation. Oh wait - it wasn't a conversation! He just asked me a leading question as I went to work on my thesis. And I even resisted the temptation to stop and burden him with "my political statement on the (in)effectiveness of said student government" - I just said no and moved on. C'mon, give me some credit here, people!

...

Ok, fine, so...sorry, guy. Sorry if I hurt your feelings, even though the student gov't for which you are campaigning hasn't done anything that has significantly affected my life in all my years at this school. Sorry if I shattered your warm, fuzzy feeling that all students here care about the student gov't elections. Sorry that I am an apathetic leech who sucks everything she can out of this school but doesn't give anything back in the "voting for student gov't" category. I may seem like an uncaring leech, guy, but I give in lots of other ways...

no, really, I am a contributing member of this campus community...

really... I do...stuff...that, uh, matters...

OK, I'm sorry SORRY SORRY ALREADY!

It's just this guilt thing. *sigh* Say no and move on, Margaret, say no and move on.

P.S. Did you ever notice that "sorry" is one of those words that looks really weird when you write it a bunch of times in a row?