# Rude, Clueless Or No Peripheral Vision? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 14, 2009, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-clueless-or-no-peripheral-vision/510017 "2009-09-14T09:49:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-clueless-or-no-peripheral-vision/510017/21 "2009-09-15T15:46:11Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > Good, I’m not the only one who finds that to be true. > > My peripheral vision is lousy and my brain pretty much filters out the blurs I see too far out to the side to be corrected by my glasses. My hearing’s not great, either- I have trouble when there’s a lot of noise. I’m lacking whatever sixth sense it is that tells people if the person who was walking behind them is still there or not (I usually make Mr. Neville walk in front of me for this reason). My spatial sense is lousy, so I can’t always tell if there’s room for you to get your cart by mine in the aisle. > > I’m sorry if I’m blocking your way. I really don’t notice that you are there, and I’m not trying to exert power over you by doing it. So knowing you have these handicaps, and knowing there are other people in stores with you, do you make it your usual practice to stand off to the side of an aisle or always pull your cart off to the side, rather than just leaving it wherever? Do you make an effort to not stand in doorways or stop at the end of an escalator? If you do all of these things, then you’re probably not the kind of person we’re talking about (and I don’t see any reason why everyone in society can’t make these things their habit). ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-clueless-or-no-peripheral-vision/510017/22 "2009-09-15T19:18:25Z")
The best ones are those who immediately stop moving once they step off an escalator. There is \*literally \*no place for me to go other than right into your back and it’s not like I can stop moving or go backwards! Or how about the people (usually early-twenties aged women) who stand in the stairways leading down to the NYC subway, to gab on their cell phones. I \*\*really \*\*want to see someone crash into them and have their cell phone go flying down the stairs. I have pushed past & yelled at them to get off the fuckin stairs in the past, and I will continue to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-clueless-or-no-peripheral-vision/510017/23 "2009-09-15T19:59:48Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > So knowing you have these handicaps, and knowing there are other people in stores with you, do you make it your usual practice to stand off to the side of an aisle or always pull your cart off to the side, rather than just leaving it wherever? Do you make an effort to not stand in doorways or stop at the end of an escalator? If you do all of these things, then you’re probably not the kind of person we’re talking about (and I don’t see any reason why everyone in society can’t make these things their habit). I try to. I won’t claim that I always manage to remember to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-clueless-or-no-peripheral-vision/510017/24 "2009-09-15T20:06:46Z")
> [@purple\_cow](#): > > Reactance theory, interesting. I remember reading a study where they timed how long it took people to pull out of a parking space when somebody was waiting vs when nobody was waiting. When somebody was waiting, it took significantly longer for average person to pull out of the space. This of course indicates it is deliberate. So there’s a whole theory as to why this is? I always just chalked it up to people being assholes, but apparently it’s a deeper reaction. In my case, it’s because the waiting driver hasn’t left enough space for me to back up enough. So I pull out a bit, wait for the other driver to realize that I need more space, pull out some more, wait for the other driver to realize that my car nose STILL can’t clear the cars surrounding me, and repeat until the waiting driver finally backs up enough for me to safely pull out and then leave the parking space. I try not to make people wait for my space, however, I do need a certain amount of time to put my purse in the seat in a way where it won’t fall to the floor when I make a corner, and I also need to position my walking stick so it won’t fall on my head when I make a turn. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-clueless-or-no-peripheral-vision/510017/25 "2009-09-15T20:18:33Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Or how about the people (usually early-twenties aged women) who stand in the stairways leading down to the NYC subway, to gab on their cell phones. I \*\*really \*\*want to see someone crash into them and have their cell phone go flying down the stairs. I have pushed past & yelled at them to get off the fuckin stairs in the past, and I will continue to do so. The solution is the Snatch & Throw. One smooth motion on your downward walk, grab their phone and release on the forward motion, causing their phone to fly/bounce/crash down the stairs. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-clueless-or-no-peripheral-vision/510017/26 "2009-09-15T20:21:39Z")
> [@Kolga](#): > > It’s called reactance theory. Basically, when our free movements or free will are threatened (as in “my freedom to sit in my car as long as I want is being taken away from me by those people who are waiting for my space!”) we will cling that much harder to them. That’s pretty sad and selfish really. If I’m in my car, about ready to go and I see someone wants it I usually make en effort to leave quicker so they can have it. I have plenty of better things to do then aimlessly sit in my car, such as masturbation. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-clueless-or-no-peripheral-vision/510017/27 "2009-09-15T20:32:05Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > The solution is the Snatch & Throw. > > One smooth motion on your downward walk, grab their phone and release on the forward motion, causing their phone to fly/bounce/crash down the stairs. I’m sure that this is illegal. I’m also sure that if it went to jury trial, there would be a classic case of jury nullification, assuming that the jurors get out in public at all. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-clueless-or-no-peripheral-vision/510017/28 "2009-09-15T20:47:27Z")
My wife does this, but in her case it’s just cluelessness. She’s one of the most considerate and polite people I’ve ever met. If we’re out at a bar or something, standing where the servers are trying to get past the bar folks, I’m constantly putting my hand on her elbow and saying “honey, watch behind you” or some such. She’ll look and quickly step forward, apologizing. Five minutes later, same deal. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2009, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-clueless-or-no-peripheral-vision/510017/29 "2009-09-16T02:37:31Z")
I’ve developed a way that my shoes make a loud slapping sound as I stop behind someone who’s in my way. (step, step, step, SLAP, SLAP) I get about 80% success with them turning quickly and finding someone so close, being a little surprised, and moving right away. On sidewalks, I have no qualms about shouldering someone who’s hogging the sidewalk by being side-by-side with someone else. They’re in the way, and there’s no chance I’m moving into the street for anybody. It helps that I have a quick smile and a funny giggle, if they seem to have a problem, I say “oopsie!” and smile and giggle. Maybe they think I’m crazy at that point, I don’t know, but so far no altercations and I’m satisfied. I also have no qualms about elbowing people in the back if it’s an escalator-type scenario, and if it’s a party-type thing where I may actually know or am at least acquainted with the person, I’ll put a hand on each shoulder and _move them over_. I’m one of those who’s constantly aware of her surroundings, and I’m usually aware of things others don’t seem to notice. I get annoyed at people who don’t notice, and am always trying to be conscientious about not being in other people’s way or holding them up - which makes me more annoyed at people who don’t do this. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2009, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-clueless-or-no-peripheral-vision/510017/30 "2009-09-16T09:26:23Z")
It didn’t happen that night of my OP rant, but allow me to add one other person to my list of Rude, Clueless or No Peripheral Vision question; What makes people who suddenly laugh loudly decide it is a good idea to jump backwards two feet and sometimes even flail their arms when doing so? I can’t tell you how many times I have lost a drink to these idiots in a crowded bar, and is that even natural? Do you jump backwards when you laugh? ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2009, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-clueless-or-no-peripheral-vision/510017/31 "2009-09-16T12:30:46Z")
If I’m walking through a crowded airport and a person some distance in front of me (and usually pulling a suicase, lugging a shoulder bag and talking on the phone) suddenly stops for no apparent reason, I just _know_ there’re going to just as suddenly veer into my path _without looking_ as soon as I get close. I also see a lot of “side-lookers” at the airport – people who are walking very briskly in one direction while staring quite intently at something at a 90-degree angle to their vector. I chalk it up to cluelessness more than rudeness, but I sometimes wonder how these people manage to go through life without constantly running into other people – or getting hit by buses. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2009, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-clueless-or-no-peripheral-vision/510017/32 "2009-09-16T14:15:19Z")
A couple weeks ago, I stepped off the Skytrain (light rail) found that the steps leading down to the street were occupied by two twenty-somethings hat decided that this was a good place to take a load off. I don’t know how very busy steps (the station connected with a shopping mall, for christ’s sake) looked like a nice peaceful place to sit down, and they seemed bothered not at all by the dozens of people trying to squeeze through the little bottleneck that they were creating at the top of the stairs. “Look at me!” I exclaimed as my turn to try to get through came, “Stepping on the lounge. What an asshole!” ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2009, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-clueless-or-no-peripheral-vision/510017/33 "2009-09-16T14:39:49Z")
Let’s not forget the massive outbreak of deafness that affects people in public buildings. When you’re walking two or three abreast, completely blocking the corridor, someone is coming up beyond you and you fail to make room for them - well, that’s got to be part of the epidemic of deafness. There truly is a counterpart to road misbehavior, which I think of as sidewalk rage. People lay claim to turf on sidewalks and in corridors, then others make competing claims. Pretty soon we’ll reach a saturation point and there’ll be widespread scuffles breaking out and little knots of people rolling around struggling on the ground. > [@Just\_Ed](#): > > I’ll make sure I acknowledge you guys when I publish my forthcoming guide book _Pedestrian Transportation for Dummies_ I suggest a chapter entitled, _Walk On the Right, Pass On The Left_. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2009, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-clueless-or-no-peripheral-vision/510017/34 "2009-09-16T15:44:22Z")
> [@Hakuna\_Matata](#): > > Or at the check out, you wait until everything is rung up, then you remember you are going to pay via a check and then wade through your purse looking for the checkbook, etc. As a cashier, the ones I hate are the ones who wait until you’re nearly done ringing up their stuff and then say “Oh! I forgot to get \_\_\_\_\_.” _and then just walk off to get it_, leaving their trolley (shopping cart), their stuff, me and a queue of other customers waiting. Last variation I had on this, Stupid Woman waits until I’ve scanned all her stuff and then asks me about large scale poster printing, having noticed the sign above the print department that says we do it. I answer her basic questions about price and so forth but then she starts asking specific questions about the job she wants done and I tell her they’ll be able to answer her questions in more depth and more accurately at the print department desk, so she says “Ok, I’ll go talk to them” and just walks off. I’m left with all her stuff, her trolley and an unfinished transaction on my screen. There was nothing preventing her from paying me and taking her trolley with her to the print department, she just didn’t bother and didn’t care that she was making a nuisance of herself. I also hate clueless people who ignore me when I say “Oh please, if you pass that to me I’ll put it away” and just dump the courtesy baskets into display stands next to the register. I had a customer change her mind recently about an organiser she’d brought up to the register and she just swept it off the end of the counter and into the display box of pens. Again, I said “Oh please, if you pass that here to me I’ll put it away” and she completely ignored me. I had to leave my register to go around when she left and get it out. The weird thing was that she wasn’t a rude or nasty customer. She just didn’t seem to get that maybe the store didn’t want [concertina organisers](http://www.vansofficesupplies.co.za/shop/images/ct340102.jpg) in the pen box, and didn’t seem to hear me ask (several times) if I could put it away for her. I’m still pissy about the clueless mother and child I encountered while shopping in a department store recently. Child was sitting on the floor in the middle of the aisle surrounded by books, mother was standing over him looking bored. I pulled up short - with my trolley, I couldn’t get by them to reach what I needed (without it, I still couldn’t have passed - they were blocking the entire aisle). My mother would have said “Cazzle, move out of the way! The lady wants to get through!” (not that my mother would let me spread a selection of books across a department store aisle in the first place), but this woman just stood there for a bit longer and then snapped “Hurry up and choose one!”. The child began to whine so she spun around and walked off past me. The child sat there a little longer, then he grabbed one of the books and ran off after her. I had to walk around and pick the books up myself so I could get down the aisle. I should have taken the books and pelted them at her. If cluelessness hurt, maybe they would start to get a clue. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2009, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-clueless-or-no-peripheral-vision/510017/35 "2009-09-16T15:49:57Z")
Another vote for totally clueless. I always keep a track of my surroundings but walking the streets of Stockholm, where I live, can be a pain in the behind as I seem to be the only person who does. Everyone else walks along in their own personal universes it seems. I have no idea if it’s a Stockholm or big town thing and my growing up in the boondocks has made me insecure in crowds or if it’s my impaired peripheral vision. > [@panache45](#): > > I especially love it when people get off an escalator, or out of a revolving door . . . and just stop there and look around. Then they get angry when the next person has no choice but to walk right into them. > [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > The best ones are those who immediately stop moving once they step off an escalator. There is \*literally \*no place for me to go other than right into your back and it’s not like I can stop moving or go backwards! This one is a special case. I once complained to someone about it in the course of a conversation and she told me that she just had to because she had a very bad spatial sense and needed to look around to get her bearings. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2009, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-clueless-or-no-peripheral-vision/510017/36 "2009-09-16T16:43:43Z")
> [@Brainiac](#): > > Rude. > > They know what they are doing. They see you, but they feel entitled because “I got here first”. > > This is the same with people in the parking lot that know you want their spot and decide to touch up their makeup just so you will give up and then they exit. It’s spite. A power trip for the pathetic. One of my wife’s friends would actually block the door as people were exiting a party, calling back to the hostess “Oh, I forgot to ask, how is your brother?” As the others stand their in their coats carrying things, she will add “This will just take a second, he was in the hospital you know, so I want to check”. Won’t budge. Did this at every monthly gathering. Just wanted to show off and be the center of attention, and wield power over the politer guests. Different. The person waiting for the parking space has no reason to expect that the driver’s going to leave immediately. The person trying to use a sidewalk or get into a store has a reasonable expectation of being able to do so. Put another way - if you’re parked, you have exclusive use of that parking space until you decide to move. If you are in a doorway or on a sidewalk, you have no reasonable expectation of exclusive use. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2009, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-clueless-or-no-peripheral-vision/510017/37 "2009-09-16T16:50:51Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > My wife does this, but in her case it’s just cluelessness. She’s one of the most considerate and polite people I’ve ever met. If we’re out at a bar or something, standing where the servers are trying to get past the bar folks, I’m constantly putting my hand on her elbow and saying “honey, watch behind you” or some such. She’ll look and quickly step forward, apologizing. Five minutes later, same deal. Hi, honey. Why didn’t you tell me you were a Doper? ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2009, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-clueless-or-no-peripheral-vision/510017/38 "2009-09-16T21:26:23Z")
It should be legal to shoot People Who Stand in Doorways to Chat. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2009, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-clueless-or-no-peripheral-vision/510017/39 "2009-09-16T21:40:53Z")
I think the escalator/stairs stoppers are the same people who, while driving, have no concept of pulling into the right lane to make a right turn (instead just turn from the driving lane, forcing all the traffic behind them to slow down/stop), or getting onto the off-ramp and then slowing down. I don’t think it has ever once occurred to them that there are ways of doing what they want to do without inconveniencing other people, and if it ever did, they wouldn’t care, because they don’t care about inconveniencing other people. I blame the way they were raised, that thinking about other people and how you affect them wasn’t given any importance. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-clueless-or-no-peripheral-vision/510017.md?page=1)