I tend to use a curious tone when asking people question which gives a good response.
However I have seen that sometimes people use downward inflection while asking questions which comes across as commanding and not curious.
Now completely ignoring them might come off as rude.
Does calling them out in a joking way like “Are you trying to interrogate me with that tone?”
Come across as way too sensitive?
How would you handle such situations and not look like you are a pushover or too sensitive?
I think you are too worried about how to react to these situations and not focusing on how to prevent them. If someone is trying to command you around it means they already see you as being commandable. Once someone perceives you a certain way, once they categorize you a certain way, they will expect that because you are X, then if they do Y you will do Z, and they will spend a certain amount of time and effort trying to prove this, because they think that if it doesn't work out the way they expected, it's because you are covering up the truth, not because they are wrong.
Most people have very good social intuitions, even if they are very bad at frame control or communication. This means that first impressions, and the vibe people get when they look at someone else, is usually correct in some way. This is why girls for example can smell problems with a man even if she can hardly carry out a meaningful conversation with him. Most people know - more or less - when they look at someone else what sort of person they are, but very few people are capable of using that knowledge to their advantage. So what you are encountering is merely the contingent of people who are willing and able to act on their perceptions, and perhaps you can react defensively with some utility, but it doesn't change the reality about how they (and by extension many other people who did not act upon it) saw you in the first place.
Personally, I very much avoid reacting in any way to anything I don't like unless it is physical. The first thing I do is distance myself from it psychologically, and observe it calmly. You say you don't want to be rude by ignoring them, but these people have annoyed you so much you're asking on a forum how to deal with it, so you should not be so accomodating. Ignore them, observe what is happening, understand what they saw and tried to act upon, and make sure that everything they see in the future contradicts that initial perception. The only energy you should be expending is the energy of permanent self development.
