Completely and totally dismissing what someone has to say [View All]

I came across my first example of this applied to myself today. I was having a discussion with a "friend" I haven't spoken with in 4 years, a former teaching buddy of mine, and I mentioned that I had quit education and was pursuing an MBA to go into commercial banking and finance. His response was a simple, "You have picked a profession that makes money on the misery of others; nothing you can say can be taken as having any worth from this point on."

I laughed, thinking he was joking, and tried to continue the conversation. He refused to engage with me, and I realized he was being serious--the fact that I was going into banking had removed me from the list of people he was willing to talk to. I said my good-bye and hung up, and I got to thinking. I'm not sure if there is some horrible experience with a bank that colored this person's decision, or if it stems entirely from his political views or what, but I do know that there are factors that cause people to dismiss instantly someone from their consideration (My wife, who is Japanese, has experienced this from visiting with WWII veterans, for example.).

Now I have thought about this from my own perspective as well, and I think the closest I get to this level of, well, inconsideration is with people who are ultra-religious and preachy (the preachiness being key) regardless of their faith. As soon as someone starts trying to convert me or my Buddhist wife I just shut down to anything having to do with them, and, in fact, I've lost a few friendships due to the actions of the other people and myself.

So, that's the question, what's the magic word/background/personality/trait/whatever that causes you to "switch off" from someone?