AIBU to stop always moving aside for people in public?

[Clara1984]

I know that I can’t be the only one this happens to but Jesus Christ, today I’ve had enough I’m usually the one moving out of the way of other people but today I decided to conduct a little experiment… people can move for me for a change, I’m hot, tired and got a sore foot and things didn’t go well lol
on about number 16 shoulder barge!
Im not talking about deliberately getting in people’s way, just holding my line, someone will appear from around a corner and expect me to move, but today I didn’t and bang, we have impact! I’m actually astonished how often it’s happened and didn’t realise how passive I have been up until today.
To be honest, I probably won’t be repeating it, as I’ve found it really stressful. Will just go back to tutting and saying “ don’t worry I will move “ under my breath.
Not even sure what my AIBU is, just wanted to rant as I’m pissed off with rude entitled people everywhere!!

I’m not going through life seething with resentment lol it was just an observation and yes I am polite, to my detriment and was just a little experiment to see what would happen. I shall go back to moving out of everyone’s way tomorrow and won’t utter a word in protest.

Yes this is the point I was trying to make, but people now seem to think, I’m just as bad and have been going around today barging people out of the way.

I’ve had this with a young bloke, it was a bit of a stand off and I just laughed and thought it’s not worth my energy

I had that too. Two women, each with a pushchair. Between them, taking up the entire width of the path. I had to step into the road to avoid them. A busy road where we were on the left, so I had to look behind to check it was clear.

I stopped ages ago. I've startled many a man. It's easy, pick your path and hold firm. I also just stop if it's obvious someone isn't going to budge over.

It's been called patriarchy chicken. Not getting out of the way of men who expect women to take up less space/defer to their manly striding.

As others have said, moving for elderly, people with mobility issues, mothers with small children etc goes without saying but had the dreaded wall of teenagers coming towards me today and knew resistance was futile 😅

I am disabled, though not visibly so, I don't use any mobility aid. Most of the time I stop and wait for the people to pass. The ones who are polite will say thank you. The ones looking at their phones tend to be startled and baffled to be standing in front of me.

I’ve refused to move out men’s way for years (unless old / visibly disabled). It helps to walk confidently and assertively. I still enjoy the look of surprise on their face.

TBH, I have found some people on mobility scooters are CF. They will see you approaching and not even slow down... just go full pelt ahead.

I've always moved because of being youngish/fit/no injuries so on average, I'm probably less vulnerable.
Now I do have an injury, and am on crutches, so wouldn't necessarily move.

I’ve noticed a lot of men will walk in the middle of a path rather than to the side so there’s not quite enough room either side …

I find on the whole women tend to be more willing to move, so sometimes I do, sometimes they do.

I just swerve around people unless I don’t have a choice. I don’t have time or the energy to wait for people to let me pass after I’ve asked politely repeatedly for them to do so and they typically ignore me or seemed shocked they are being asked to move and I’m not going to just walk in the street during rush hour.

I’ve had a woman with two school age children standing in the middle of a 4-5ft path see me coming down it with a pram, she was leaving her house and on her phone. I reached her and she just stood there with the kids and still in the middle of the path, blocking. We stood there staring at each other for a moment. I politely asked her to let me past because I obviously couldn’t go in the street and definitely wasn’t going to turn around to cross the street to go two blocks and cross the street back on the same side when she could have just moved a few inches to the left or right to the side and told her children to do the same instead of taking up the entire path. Seemed to take her a moment to process and she then moved as did her kids. Thanked her while internally thinking ‘blimey’.

Couples and groups are the worse who seem to be allergic to walking in a straight line when there would be plenty of room for people walking from opposite directions and the same direction if they did.

Right behind them are cyclists who seem to expect people to have eyes in the back of their head and will not say a word that they want to pass on a narrow path when they’re silent coming up from behind yet ignoring the plenty of space for them on the non-busy road ndxt to them.

Easier when it’s just me alone but when I have the pram with me, not so much.

Not sure what happened between childhood and adulthood where people lost the ability to do straight lines and consider they’re not the only people on the path. I’m always telling my children to stand in a straight line and why and that is what we do on narrow paths and when it’s ok to stand right next to each other’s (the path is at least over 6ft.

Thank you for your input.

Me too.

I don’t mind or tbh even notice moving out the way of individual people.

However, something that drives me absolutely potty is people walking two abreast expecting other pedestrians to step into the road rather than them go single file for a moment.

So, a few weeks ago I decided I would no longer be stepping into the road for people walking two abreast. I make as much room as possible, but I will not step into the road and I just continue walking. If I barge into them then so be it. Or alternatively, I just stop and then they can go around me. Depends on my mood!

It's Patriarchy Chicken game and I play that with men expecting me to dissapear when I have an angry day in my perimenopausal life.

Am I the only one imagining the Bitter Sweet Symphony vid? 🎶😎 (hrtft)

That was my first thought too. Be more Richard Ashcroft when out 😂