Carljay the OP’s hurry was “he hates the mall” hence my stance.
It’s an unpaid force. You have to buy your own matching hat and coat uniform as well. Suprisingly they have no staffing problems, and in fact have a waiting list years long…little girls who dream of one day being elderly enough to get away with such conduct.
A valid question.
The thing is, if I’m going to get a panic attack on an escalator, I’m likely to get one on the stairs as well. And it’s rare that I find an elevator in those situations. Trust me, I’ve looked. There’s an escalator on the Red Line somewhere in Cambridge, probably Porter Square, where there are two escalators. The upper one is short, and the lower one is approximately 128473 miles long. It’s the lower one I have a problem with.
One night I had to take that train, and was dreading the descent that was to come. So I looked for an elevator. Luckily, I found one. After waiting about 5 minutes for the car to come, I got on, and it took another 5 minutes to descend. Alas, I had avoided the upper escalator. I still had to deal with the lower one. And there was no elevator that I could find.
So why not just avoid them altogther? For one thing, that’s not really possible if one is to interface with real life. For another, avoiding phobia triggers usually just strengthens the phobia.
Fair enough. But what does it matter, really? The issue at hand isn’t whether he was in a hurry because he dislikes the mall, or whether it’s because he wants to catch the next episode of Spongebob Squarepants.
The issue is the fact that in a situation where he made a polite request to another person to move over a step–something that is accepted in that area as standard etiquette-- that person got all riled up and snarky.
My point is, who cares why JoeBobBillyBoy wants to get by? It’s a matter of courtesy to move over a step. And if you can’t? Why, simply say so politely. There’s no need to question the motives of someone who would like to move a little faster than you in a public place. Just make room for your fellow person.
Matching hat and coat?
damn.
and I was thisclose. :smack:
If I blocked the only public doorway for 30 seconds, for no reason at all, I doubt there is a single person who, waiting to get through, wouldn’t find it rude of me.
For some reason, though, the escalator standers just can’t see that thier indifference is creating an identical roadblock. The fact that the stairs are moving seems to make them oblivious to the fact there is a whole line of folks forced to wait while they finish thier little rest stop. The mind boggles.
Yes I did. I nearly always get them if I can’t hold a handrail, and a heavy or bulky object sometimes makes this the only option. I sometimes get them if my hands are free. It depends on a good assortment of variables.
I already agreed that the response that the standee gave was out of line. HOwever, you seem only to be willing to give a break/understanding to the guy who wants to get by, and none at all to the standee- there’s folks w/personal space issues to whom some one brushing by can cause some degree of discomfort, and given that the scene was at a fucking mall, no life/death/job loss type of situation, the escalator size being relative (certainly not the sort y ou see in mass transit) and the potential ‘bad event’ for the OP was ‘have to be on the escalator for a few seconds more’, I was willing to grant the unseen standee slack as well.
as one other person pointed out, if the request is genuinely polite, the answer of “no” should be acceptable, otherwise, it’s one person ordering the other.
Actually…that other person was me. 
well then, good on you. 'cause that makes sense to me. Generally we think “ordering some stranger around” to be rude behavior, right?
It’s hard to imagine someone turning around, smiling pleasantly, and saying “No, I will not let you by.” Then agian, I’m still a little astonished Mr. McDouche refused my request (not in so many words), esp. in the manner he did. Now, if I had asked, and somebody gave me some reason, probably almost any excuse to stay there (left leg fell asleep, whatever), I’d have maybe furrowed my brow a little, but I would’ve left it at that I think. I truly was asking, not ordering. I think the response I got was all about simply being a prick to me. I don’t see why I should politely sit there and let someone be a prick to me, unless, of course, they’re going to tear my arms off or something.
But Looopy I’ve already said the manner in which he responded was bad, indfensible. but your OP wasn’t focused on how rude his answer was, it was focused on his standing in the middle. or that’s how it seemed to me, and most of the talk back and forth has been, indeed, about where he was standing, the fact that he refused at all to move.
Well, there’s really two parts to this: One, please, escalator-standers, don’t stand in the middle of the fucking step when it’s wide enough to allow left-hand traffic.
The other is, what the fuck’s your problem, Mr. McDouchebag? For Chrissakes, one step to the fucking side, and you have to give me shit about it?
I kind of mixed it all together like bread and beef in a big meatball of disgust, and cooked in the sauces of my rage…or something like that. I’m sure you could come up with a way better metaphor. Anyway, sorry for the confusion.
Yes. But I think the guy in the left lane who gives a little “honk” to remind the guy to get over to the right is well within his rights.
I am a little sympathetic because I live with a mall hater. He could have moved over.
So, as I navigate through this existance, I have to worry about random panic attacks, and other’s personal space issues in public (and often crowded) areas. Have I missed anything? Any other minefields I should be tip-toeing through, or eggshell-like quirks I need to coddle? Can we get these people to wear signs, so that we know which people are truly assholes upon whom we can hurl invective? While we’re at it, let’s mark people who really need SUVs so we can deride the small penises of those who don’t. Lastly, let’s have a special flashing light on cell phones for doctors on call and for 911 usage. That way, when we see the inattentive driver talking on his phone, we’ll know we were in the right to roll down our window and piss on his Escalade.
Did I miss anything?
People who declaw their cats, or think of their cats as children. People who circumcise their sons. Fat people. Motorcyclists who remove their mufflers. Bush lovers. Bush haters. People that can’t commit one way or the other about Bush. And modern “art.”
Please try to keep up.
Some years ago I rode escalators in Stuttgart, Germany. On the riser of each step, in prominent letters, were the words “GEHEN” (“Go”) on the left, and “STEHEN” (“Stay”) on the right.
Can’t get much plainer than that, can you?
I’m moving to Germany.
Thanks for the back-up. I *knew * I wasn’t the only one. And, apparently, several Dopers outside of the South get this, too. I’ll have to remind Mama–and myself–of this the next time we’re comparing notes about people’s rudeness up here and she says, “Well, Li’l Pluck, they’re just not like us.” 
(Actually, we both know that Southerners can be rude as fuck, too, and we hold special contempt for them.)
I do, too, Carlyjay–thank you for this. [hijack] Oh, and What Exit?, you sound like a driver after my own heart, and I’d share the road with you anytime. (I’ve driven approximately a million miles on the NJ Turnpike. 'Nuff said, right?) [/hijack]
Heh. Amen, brother!
Congratulations! You are the proud new owner of a deluxe pair of XJ2000 balls. May they bring you many years of pleasure, assertiveness, and confidence. But only when you’re in the right, as you so totally were in this case. 