According to VH1 Pop-Up Video, most of the video is scripted, but not all. There were some walkers who were completely uninformed of what was going on and were unfortunate enough to be immortalized by a hip check to a third-rate rock star (unless the Verve is more popular in Britain than I imagine).
Yeah, but that video isn’t really a mesh with what people have been saying – he’s clearly marching down the CENTER of the sidewalk as if he’s the king of the universe. Now, if he’d stayed to the right or the left, whichever was the local custom, fine.
As it is, he’s being just as an annoying self-centered bastard as any of the other people who have been pitted in this thread.
I was walking two abreast with a friend of mine, when I spotted another pedestrian coming down the walk in the opposite direction. Without breaking our conversation, I speed up and moved in front of my friend so that there was enough room for the other person to pass. My friend didn’t understand why I was speeding up. She jogged a few steps on the grass to catch up with me and demanded to know why I was running away from her. I had to explain basic sidewalk ediqutte to a grown woman attending graduate school.
:rolleyes:
At least she’s pretty bright otherwise.
Great thread! This is totally one of my pet hates, grrrrr.
I’ve now mastered the head down walking technique for the not paying attention not giving way scenario. Bottom line is, top of head versus nose, top of head always wins. Fuck 'em.
Oh and in case nobody has mentioned it already…doorways…great fucking place to stop and have a conversation people. GRRRRRRR
Wonder if a variant on my old favorite “Hot Soup here! Coming through! Watch your Back! Hot Soup!” would work. Something like “Toxic Waste here! Shield your genitals! Coming through!” etc.
Perfect rant. Top 3 have been mentioned here:
- People who take up the sidewalk
- People who stop at the top/bottom of an escalator (worse when the do so to compose a text message)
- People who suddenly change direction (and are invariably startled that they’ve just bumped shoulder to sternum with the person who was directly behind them)
Let me add one more…
People who stop to take a photo and take 10 minutes to press the fucking button, holding up everyone on all sides.
I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve seen stores post their directory/floor map RIGHT at the point you get off the elevator. Of course people who aren’t familiar with the store are going to pause to check which way to Women’s Dresses or Domestics.
The directories/floor maps are wonderfully convenient, they save a lot of wandering around hunting for the shoes…BUT MOVE THEM AT LEAST EIGHT FEET AWAY FROM THE ELEVATORS.
I guess there’s a silver lining to needing to use a wheelchair or electric scooter (I almost always use the scooter for shopping since it’s easier to carry lots of junk). People WILL invariably move out of my way when I’m barrelling full-tilt in their direction! 
AMEN! Those people bug the very devil out of me. Usually I’ll merely stop in place, fix them with a “are you really to self absorbed to realize the sidewalk doesn’t fit three across?” glare and wait for them to move their butts into a single file.
I truly HATE people who are stupid and oblivious to things that are obvious and simple enough for any 2 year old to get.
I always wonder this too. I don’t get how people can get their bodies to move that slowly. My slowest walking speed, even when my bad leg is giving me trouble, is still a pretty decent pace.
I have gotten caught behind some of these slowpokes before and I literally can’t figure out how to coordinate my legs to walk at that slow of a pace.
I walk at a pretty brisk pace myself; there aren’t a lot of people who can keep up. Mostly when I’m out and about I’m on a mission for something or other, and I tend to attack these in a pretty orderly fashion by making bee-lines for the places and departments that have the stuff I need. I don’t expect everyone in the malls to walk at the same pace so I end up doing a fair amount of dodging. It’s the people who just meander that bug me. It’s one thing if they want to waddle along on one side of the walkway, but when they do it right in the fucking middle, that’s when they earn my ire. Especially when there are two or three abreast, or a couple of parents with a baby stroller between them instead of out in front. With those people I’ll get up really close to them, and then make an obvious show of swerving a wide path around them in a big U-shape so that no mistake can be made that I had to make a significant detour just to get out of their damn way. It almost never works – 90% of the time they remain as oblivious as ever. It seems to have a bit more weight if I’m rolling a personal shopping cart behind me.
Another pet peeve – which happened to me twice last night – is when I’m standing last in line at the checkout and someone comes up and get into line right beside me. Not behind, beside, as though hoping that when the line advances far enough she can suddenly jump out in front of me as if they were next in line. One of these people last night, in the food court, went so far as to remain beside me as I was at the counter placing my order. WTF? Seriously, personal space, woman!
Oh, the personal space vampires - as most people know, Canadians have a huge personal space requirement, and people breathing down my neck in line are definitely in it. The person standing beside me in line happened to me once - I couldn’t figure out what the hell she was doing there. I think the proper thing to do with these people is to politely mention to them that the line is behind you.