A busy sidewalk from google. It is located somewhere in the world, somewhere I definitely don't want to walk...
There's a bitter brewed, percolating phenomena underfoot. An insidious, pervasive rudeness is sweeping the land... and the sidewalks. I've grumbled to my husband about it for years. I even walk to his right, hoping to avoid a walking path ker-scuffle. What is it? I'll call it walking while f-ing rude syndrome. Good grief people. Move the F over!
A few months ago, I was walking on a tepidly busy sidewalk in Naples, Florida. It's a given that the drivers are bad. It is Florida after all. But the walkers? Well, they might be worse. A blond dressed to kill, resembling a well seasoned Prada model, (apparently strutting the sidewalks in front of the pedestrians of fashion) just about made me sit my ass down into a potted palm tree. This so called lady and her oblivious friend would not budge. Then later, two dudes did it twice. One of the times we passed each other, I had to turn sideways, and even so, I was being groped and scratched by the lecherous shrubbery. I'm not kidding. They would not move the F over.
So finally I googled it. It's a thing. The walking rudeness. The phenomenon. It bugs other people too.
A few times I've tested the waters. I've tempted fate, by not walking completely off the sidewalk into the safety of the grass, like so many rude groups of so called ladies expect you to do. I put hundreds of miles on my sneakers a year, walking the Minneapolis chain of lakes. There will be groups of women walkers, side by side, hogging the whole trail like leaf cutter ants, deeply entrenched in self important conversation. Well, a couple times, I just moved to the edge of the sidewalk, like I always do anyway. Heck, I'm not rude, right? We collided! The ants would not move the F over! And don't even get me started on the runners who almost plow into me on a regular basis. Maybe I'm invisible...
When I googled this phenomenon, there was a group of women that were mentioned several times as the worst offenders. I've had this happen to me as well. Moms with prams. They will walk together, prams lined up like an offensive line, and God willing, they will not move the F over.
So what gives? I know we're all busy gabbing with our gals, eyes and fingers stroking our beloved phones, brains oblivious to the locations of others. But, please, I have a blog and I'm using it today. For good. For change.
People... please remember...to move the F over!
Thank You
4 comments:
I guess it's today's way of playing chicken? I'm glad I live in a place where people still do a head bob and pass considerately when walking.
I usually do move the F over, but if I see someone walking towards me and they aren't moving for people in front of me at all. I have been known to just plow into them. I don't feel bad about it either, because to me, what they are doing is a form of bullying. I'm all about bullying bullies.
My pet peeve though, is when people are walking on the bike trail and seem oblivious that bikes are also there. More than once, I've had to stop my bike right behind them. Yes, I wanted to plow right into them, but have not done so. At least not yet.
I guess I don't run into that phenomenon much around here. I do walk, and usually everybody is very polite and smiling. But you're right about how it is in Florida. When I've gone to visit my sister there, I notice that there are a lot more rude people around. I have collided with people when there are so many people on the sidewalk that you can't move. But it's rare. :-)
Yes. I can definitely relate to this one. Usually people on phones. Bill just keeps walking and waits for them to come to and move -- I'm afraid sometime they might not ---either accidentally or on purpose.
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