Or do young lads try to walk right into you deliberately?

[MrJohnsonAteMyCustard]

It's something I've noticed quite a lot recently, always with young lads/teenagers. It's as if they are deliberately walking into you with no intention of moving. I've come to expect it now so make sure I give them a very wide berth, because I've noticed that if I don't get out of the way they will most certainly at the very least brush past you.

For a long time I thought it was 1) Coincidence 2) Me needing a reasonable amount of personal space. But no, it happened today, in quick succession and the two lads obviously knew each other. Is this a new 'thing'??? Is it a game??

If anyone can enlighten me on this, that would be great as I'm wondering if it's just me they seem to want to antagonise

[shovetheholly]

Of course, lovely teens sometimes misjudge space - especially in a group. It's normally easy to figure out when this has happened. But there is very definitely also a deliberately intimidating behaviour of walking into someone, and it's done in a very aggressive, hard way. I've had it happen to me twice, once by a woman who was clearly pissed and aggressive, and another time in the dark where I thought for a second I was being attacked. That guy, probably in his early 20s, actually swerved over to the other side of the pavement to hit me, then spat and walked off swearing about women.

[womanwithoutasong]

shovetheholly that's awful! What did you do/say?

[SomethingBorrowed]

There's similar happening around here, where groups of teens seem to have an issue with cars on the roads. They just cross when they want to and swagger across the road, the driver has to brake or else you'd hit them.I don't know why they do this or what it achieves.If I saw one of mine doing this I'd go apeshit

Ok... I will confess... I did this when I was a teen
Obviously stupid and dangerous.
At the time, the idea was that the drivers wouldn't want to hit us so they would have to stop, so in a way you are showing them that you have the power to make them stop.
Again, stupid, I know. Teens do stupid things and think they are being very smart...

[MrJohnsonAteMyCustard]

I've noticed the spitting too. Really, really close to you. SO close that it's touch and go whether it lands on your feet or not. What the hell is going on with these people??

[Janey50]

I get this with loads of people,not just young lads. I notice it particularly on stretches of pavement where there is only room for you to walk single file in either direction. Maybe I am being over-entitled here,but as a disabled person with quite bad mobility problems,am I wrong in thinking it is the duty of the able bodied person to give way to the disabled person? I know back in the days when I was able-bodied,I wouldn't have dreamt of walking straight at someone who was walking slowly with some difficulty,using walking sticks/crutches,and expecting them to move out of my way. To be honest, I think that teenage boys appear to be amongst the more considerate ones,and usually move for me.

[Foxyloxy1plus1]

By the time, you've avoided the manslammers, the phone addicts and the groups who force you off the pavement, walking down the street has become an exercise in agility.

[BlisseyMon]

I've never noticed this but I have noticed teens being a bit dim by not realising that they are blocking the pavement,
For example if a group of them are waiting for a bus they sometimes don't seem to think it might be a good idea to not completely block the pavement.

[SparklyLeprechaun]

I've had this done to me several times recently, quite obviously deliberately, always by young teens in groups. I've got long standing back pain and had a little gobshite barge into me 2 days ago, on one of my bad back days. I gave them a mouthful but then couldn't stop crying in pain. Fuckwits.

[Bettercallsaul1]

That is horrible, holly, and scary too in the dark. I actually haven't encountered this (thank god) and neither has DD. However, she is still reeling from shock at the abuse yelled at women in the capital pretty well all the time. Ghastly misogynist stuff - as is this "manslamming ".

[LadyPW]

I've experienced this from mothers walking their children to school!
Ditto. It seems to be an 'I own the pavement' type of thinking. If a young lad did it to me I'd stick my foot out. He wouldn't look so cool in front of his mates then.

[Lweji]

I notice that in many people, particularly in groups, when they think they don't have to move.
I have no problems slamming into them. They sometimes apologise. I don't. Start paying attention to who's in front of you and learn some consideration.

[MaryMorpho]

I have experienced this, but I thought it was just that I'm more likely to move first because I hate confrontation.

Now though, I've discovered that the best way to get people to let you through is to look at where you want to go, focusing on the middle distance. So choose two people, look between them and act like your mind is on your destination and you haven't noticed them. Almost always they'll make space. However when I do this I still can actually see them and still have a sense of when I need to move (i.e. I'm not "slamming" or facing them down aggressively).

Definitely get the car thing a lot though - I fucking hate that! They walk out right in front of you and then look right at you like "hur hur, you had to stop."

[Lweji]

Just for the record, if they are standing and blocking I always ask politely but loud for them to move.

[user1471596238]

I'm a bloke and it's never even occurred to me. I'm sure that I'm not alone.

[NotYoda]

I haven't seen this. I work right opposite a large Comp, and have teen boys myself.

Actually, it seems to me more the thing to ostentatiously jump out of the way and apologise, or berate your mate for getting in the way. It's quite sweet.

But I don't doubt there are a few who might do this.



I would de-focus my eyes, square my shoulders and walk straight on. I do that anyway - as a small woman I am fed up with being the one who always makes way for other people.

[DJBaggySmalls]

Manslamming isnt accidentally bumping into someone, its a deliberate act of defiance for a specific reason. As others have said, they often spit to show their contempt.
It can also be an attempt to start a fight so be wary of escalating.

[Esspee]

That sucking through teeth thing is called steupsing - can I assume the perpetrators are West Indian?
Thankfully this aggressive behaviour hasn't travelled this far north. Would like to see some little shit (regardless of size) try that with me!

[ZackyVengeance]

never had this problem and have always found teenagers no problem and apart from the summer students and when they are engrossed in their phones. they are great for moving for dc's wheelchair

[NotYoda]

MaryMorpho. that's exactly what I do!

[ssd]

what a load of shite!

people walk into you when you're walking down a road, male female whatever

its usually people on phones or with earphones in

saying its young lads is pathetic op

[Guitargirl]

I have experienced the barging thing from teens but usually young women. I remember one particularly delightful female who barged into me on an otherwise empty pavement and then growled 'move, bitch' in my face. Lovely, she was.

And yeah, the spitting thing too - from men this time. Oh, an my personal favourite, man waiting until he passes you on the pavement and then chooses that moment to burp or fart. It's like his presence is not enough, he feels the need to mark his territory in ever-more disgusting ways.

[NotYoda]

My last experience of pavement-blocking was bunches of 20-something hipsters waiting outside a new Pizza place!

[shovetheholly]

woman - It wasn't late (around 6pm, walking back from work) but it was dark and there weren't many other people around, so I was mildly alarmed. I didn't say anything, just got out of there as quickly as I could and onto a well-lit and busy main road. It was hard enough to make a bit of a bruise, but that was it. I'm generally quite happy and smiley as I walk about, so I don't know what I could have done to offend him, apart from just being a woman in a public space. I don't know how it was intended, but it felt like a judgement from him that I wasn't supposed to be there.

[mistlethrush]

The only time I've had this problem was when I was walking past roadworks so that the pavement had been blocked and a temporary pedestrian route between those plastic barriers had been put in place in the road - restricting the width to 2m. Two people could comfortably pass in opposite directions, and three people could link arms and walk along together but they used the whole width up. I'm not sure where the three girls, with linked arms, thought I was going to go - as there was no option - so I paused fractionally before they got to me, dropped my nearest shoulder slightly and braced for impact and the end girl only stayed upright because she was holding onto her friend. I did get shouted up but I didn't really have any other option so didn't feel guilty in the least!

[Buddah101]

I didnt know this was a "thing" whilst walking with dp recently he was further ahead as Id stopped for some milk and a group of teenagers where quite near to him, I saw one of them, grab his friend and push him into dp.

Dp without even flinching straightened his back and shoulders and knocked this lad back into his mate and the 2 of them fell over totally not expecting dp to do that.

Dp carried on walking, when I caught up to him he said he'd been watching them out of the corner of his eye expecting them to try something on, but didn't think for 1 minutes they'd go down like skittles.