Last night, for the first time that I can remember, a group of joggers openly tried to get hit by my car. Yes. I really think they did try.Disaffected Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Public behavior has become so bad that I rarely leave my house. I have always been a homebody, but I might look like an agoraphobic now (I'm not).
This, what happened last night, is an escalation.
For me, in 2023, it is nearly impossible for me to keep my temper in public among the ubiquitous rudeness and aggression that surrounds me. Other store patrons. Hostile, lazy, aggressive store clerks.
Driving scares me in a way it never has. I have been driving since I was 12. I'm good, and it's second nature to me.
Now I'm scared to drive around town. Because no road rules are followed. It is now common for people to simply "take" red lights. From a full stop. Even when you, with the green light, are accelerating.
Now pedestrians are trying to get killed, it seems.
Here's the kicker.
I'm not afraid so much of hitting them* as I am afraid of being charged with manslaughter for not being able to suspend the laws of physics against bicyclists or pedestrians.
Yes. I am saying I honestly believe I could be put in jail to punish me deliberately for the actions of others.
That's not insane. I live in Chittenden County, Vermont. Our DA, Sarah George, will not prosecute, nor even hold in detention, actual murderers. Actual murderers.
*Yes. I am saying that public behavior has pushed me to the point where my first fear is no longer "Oh my God, did I kill someone?" That's the first fear a moral person would have. It is the primary fear I had until recently.
I am now in defense mode. I care more about me than I care about them.
This is rational. This is what happens when a man or woman is pushed too far.
Feb 25, 2023·edited Feb 25, 2023Liked by Josh Slocum
I affirm that you are not paranoid. If you hit anyone and there was even a mild clue to their identity as being anything other than a heterosexual white male who has never questioned his "gender identity," you would be prosecuted maliciously and gleefully and with great energy. It would require all the publicity-seeking resources at your disposal, mine, and more, to prevent a grave miscarriage of justice. Yes. You are correct. You are not paranoid.
This is no way to live, but I don't think you are being paranoid, and certainly not immoral. What is the recourse? Become a recluse, or take the onus upon ourselves to be meticulously vigilant and careful, recognizing that we cannot count on anyone else to act accordingly? When I walk on city streets, I see other walkers cross streets without a glance left or right, often with their stupid faces stuck to their phones. This is a little like shoplifting. The shoplifter will get the booty at my expense, because the shopkeeper will be forced to add in the cost of the stolen goods to what I pay for that item.
Can you start searching for possible relocation destinations? Evidently we can’t completely escape but you can definitely stay a step ahead of the insanity!
I wouldn't be surprised if they were trying to get hit, likely under the influence of a drug. As you know, I use psilocybin occasionally, but I do so carefully and responsibly. If I were tripping balls while outside around traffic, I can easily predict that I would engage in behavior that reckless, or worse.
Hmm. They did not have the appearance you would expect.
They were UVM students, trim, athletic, and dressed in winter athletic garb. The exact gear you would expect athletic and serious people who jog in winter to wear in order to jog in winter.
I'm having a hard time crediting that they were on drugs. Possible I suppose.
Yeah, it's just what Occam's Razor would suggest. Probably more likely than serious athletes who enjoy using their bodies outdoors actually trying to get injured by a car, but who knows. They could've been livestreaming about the oppression they suffer at the hands of evil capitalists who are ruining the earth with their cars and set up a close call for drama's sake, heh.
When I lived in LA, I had a young male skateboarder “hitch a ride” by grabbing onto my moving SUV on busy Hollywood Blvd where it would have been unsafe for me to slow/stop (never mind my not wanting make myself vulnerable to HIM, either). I watched in my mirror in horror as he openly laughed at me before finally detaching. People are crazy.
You might want to post this scenario and question on the Burlington subreddit, I’ve noticed discussions about crime there. (From some of the postings I’ve read there, Burlington has really gone down hill since I went to St. Michael’s in the late 1970s.)
A person I know is a clear narcissist. Since I have known him, he has been hit by a car three times. He is both a biker and a runner. I am convinced there is a purposeful carelessness inniges actions, because he thrives on playing victim. Who else gets hit by a car three times in the span of 5 years? Yes, I believe what you are saying. Do I know for certain? Of course not.
And yes, I have seen also some pretty awful bikers. The worst? A couple was driving down the road in front of me next to each other and they absolutely refused to make room for me to drive saved by. It was a busy road, at 5pm. I honked multiple times, but they continued to use the lane cycling next to each other.
And then dared to show me the finger when I finally was able to turn. One man. One woman. I have never been so close to wanting to hurt someone as in this moment.
Think I mentioned one on my show. A woman veered into my turning lane, crossing the solid line, paying no attention, and nearly T-boned me. We both would have been seriously injured or killed because of her irresponsibility.
I laid on the horn to to alert her. I used the horn for what it's meant for: "EMERGENCY STOP OR YOU AND I ARE GOING TO GET HURT!"
Fucking bitch put a manicured claw out of the window, holding a sandwich, and gave me the finger.
Bicycling attracts several types of, to be blunt, shitty people.
A lot of the "racing" bicyclists actually like the risk associated with tightly packed bicycle racing (which is way higher crash risk than riding even halfway correctly around traffic) and they apply that reckless attitude to riding on the road. They often drive like assholes when they're in their cars too.
Then there's the anti-car activists, which make up most of the advocacy scene. They're scared shitless to ride on most roads. They need a safe space which they want to be "protected bike lanes" on every road.
The few mostly-normal bicyclists out there try to teach that being out on the public roads (and trails for that matter) requires cooperating with others. These bicyclists often use with glasses-mounted mirrors or helmet-mounted mirrors to see what's coming from behind and utilize "control and release" when appropriate.
Yes. Absolutely. The low boredom tolerance hits the mark here as well. Most people being hit by a car once modify their behavior so it won’t ever happen again. He seems to have learned HOW to make it happen.
In my experience some walkers, more runners and a lot of bikers (both bicycle and motorcycle) seem to have an attitude of "I own the road, deal with it". Sort of an in your face dare not to yield to them, because certainly we know, regardless of how careless they are, the driver of the car will be at fault.
I had this attitude for awhile. Freshman year, I had the worst depression I've survived so far, and every night walking home from campus I would step to cross the road the instant I had the signal, without looking. I was half hoping to get hit and killed. It's an unlikely explanation for group behavior, but anger in an individual that they don't have proper skills to deal with can absolutely manifest as stupid risk-taking of this kind. Yes.
I can predict roughly what's going to happen in more cases with people like me who are normal and observant, and who run into situations like this.
We are being deliberately pushed. We are being baited. Directly, and with intention.
The goal is to make us snap and hurt someone. Or to maneuver us into a situation in which no action we take can stop us from accidentally hurting someone else (like in a car that can't stop on a dime just because a bicyclist wants to exercise her legal right of way).
We will be prosecuted.
Worse, posts like this will be used to demonstrate that we, the normal people, are paranoid.
It may not be a coordinated, top-down conspiracy. But these social factors are aligning in just this way.
Yes. You are correct. It's an ongoing tactic on many levels. James Lindsay has been warning about "Drag Floyd" for awhile. Every time there's some event that correctly sparks outrage among normal people, he talks about it as the bait it really is and adds, "Do not give them Drag Floyd."
The discourse surrounding peds and bicyclists (who are now labeled as "vulnerable road users") has gotten to the point to where they can do no wrong because it is always the fault of the oppressive motorist no matter what in their eyes. That's in part of why jaywalking laws are being repealed. Cluster Bike Activists are hell bent on copying their strawman idea of Dutch Strict Liability which they believe a motorists is always at fault when a "vulnerable road user" is hit but they misunderstand the law https://john-s-allen.com/blog/2017/12/dutch-strict-liability-myth/
The amount of damage the've done to responsible and courteous bicyclists (I rest assure we exist..) is unforgivable not to mention having their entire advocacy oriented at hating on anything related to driving cars. Like with the Green Elites, they tend to occupy unaccountable positions at governments or at consulting firms that feed only government work too.
They also love to use the term "traffic violence" the terms "accident," "crash," or "collision" are now taboo. And it's always the "driver" who is at fault and the "people who bike/walk/etc" who are the victims.
It's a complete disconnect from human nature, Josh.
I live in Nashville and work downtown. People walk 4 abreast on sidewalks, I have stepped into the street to get out of their way. Basic societal norms are by the wayside. My husband and I have made our home our oasis and infrequently go out, usually to lunch. It's crazy out there. You're not being paranoid. Where did our world go?
Wow, I thought I was just being more reclusive, not that I had fellow reclusives. The nastiness of social media, the abusiveness of the mainstream media, the gleeful support of tyrannical Covid restrictions- it’s like the suppressed devil inside some people has won out and now sits on their shoulders no longer whispering in their ears but shouting so loud that they cannot see or hear anyone but themselves. I find myself talking out loud to myself in public much more often. “Excuse me” and “Thank you” are two phrases most used in response to those who should of said them neglecting to do so. In the past when someone held a door open for me I would have said thank you reflexively as they would have done just what anyone would do in the circumstances. Now, I say thank you with a bit of true appreciation and wonder that such courtesy still exists in others.
Agree w every word of this. Even workers at stores will become annoyed if you need to move down an isle that they happen to be stocking in- when in the past they would have quickly moved over & have apologized for being in your way!!
Our subdivision home has rear entry driveways which mean alleyways to drive down to park your car. When you exit the alley to turn on to the street, you have a wonderful "blind" exit (or entry). Stockade fences on either side block your view. Sidewalked yards on either side mean walkers (or young bikers) walk right across the alleyway, crossing in front of any car that might be exiting. Did I mention totally blind until your car front end exits the blind fence obstacles and now sits where the "crosswalk" is prior to being able to enter on the street?
Once upon a time, when my children were young, I taught them to NOT stride (or ride) across that gap liked they owned it. People driving could not see you. And people drive down alleyways like they're Mario Andretti. It's a combination of stupid. I can't tell you how many adults just walk right out there in that FU stride. And how many drivers just barrel right through there like FU, too. I always slow down before the fence blockade ends and creep out, just in case. When my kids were little, 25+ years ago, the neighborhood was full of kids. I would have died if I had hit a child. Now it's stupid adults I have to look out for.
No one thinks anymore - or practices common courtesy. And they sure as hell don't teach their kids to be respectful and courteous towards others or to "consider the possibilities". Red light and stop sign runners infuriate me. That could be my child that they T-bone and kill if my child just happens to be driving through the green light at that intersection.
I don't know about Vermont, but here there is about a 5 second delay between a light turning red and the cross street light turning green. Our betters' attempt at curtailing the flagrant law breaking, potential death dealing activities of seriously stupid people. And that delay is on top of the 5ish second yellow light. And jack wagons STILL run the red light. It's insane. I hate driving anywhere. I've always said I'll have a stroke while driving my car because people infuriate me with the callous disregard they put on display when they are behind a wheel.
Forty years ago, in my mom's neighborhood, the "funny" thing to do was push a "friend" who was walking with the group into the street as a car approached. Ask me how I know. Those idiots grew up and contributed to the gene pool.
I live in a metropolitan area and that sounds like normal pedestrian behavior in my area - even before COVID. I'm sorry it's come to less urban parts of the country. They may not have been trying to get hit by you but they definitely don't try to get out of the way. In fact, I almost ran someone over just the other night. Pedestrians in dark clothing at night (of course - /eyeroll) were crossing in the middle of the road (not at the intersection but close) where I had a green light. I did not see them at first and only saw them when THEY realized I wasn't slowing down and hurriedly got out of the way. It was frightening. I really wish pedestrians were more careful. Oh, the one that does drive me nuts is when the pedestrians do have the right of way but walk slowly. Let's not try to actually help the other person out. Nope. Slow walk across the street with a line of cars waiting make a right turn.
Josh, I was a bicyclist. I always hugged the edge of the road, never rode two abreast, always single file in a group. However, as a group, cyclists were held with disdain in these parts and I have actually had people in trucks intentionally drive close enough to be considered a brush up and a friend of mine was actually hit by a guy’s huge mirror sticking out from his truck. She was able to maintain control but it bruised her ribs and torqued her wrist enough to require some medical attention. I do notice people are more rude than ever. Pulling guns and pointing them at drivers who are deemed to be impeding their travels seems to be on the uptick, too. Even on these country roads in Texas. Disgusting.
Feb 26, 2023·edited Feb 26, 2023Liked by Josh Slocum
Omgoodness yes! The bikeriders in my city now ride side by side instead of single file & sometimes 3 are side by side in the motor vehicle lanes! Even when they hear cars behind them they’ll sometimes even slow down. This is a recent development & I really think ppl are on some weird power tripping missions… masks, playing chicken w cars, etc… I avoid these groups of people.
I’ve been hate watching The Last of Us and this moment in time feels very much like that. The zombies aren’t as identifiable, but the breakdown of society and fighting for something larger than oneself is eerily similar.
Public behavior has become so bad that I rarely leave my house. I have always been a homebody, but I might look like an agoraphobic now (I'm not).
This, what happened last night, is an escalation.
For me, in 2023, it is nearly impossible for me to keep my temper in public among the ubiquitous rudeness and aggression that surrounds me. Other store patrons. Hostile, lazy, aggressive store clerks.
Driving scares me in a way it never has. I have been driving since I was 12. I'm good, and it's second nature to me.
Now I'm scared to drive around town. Because no road rules are followed. It is now common for people to simply "take" red lights. From a full stop. Even when you, with the green light, are accelerating.
Now pedestrians are trying to get killed, it seems.
Here's the kicker.
I'm not afraid so much of hitting them* as I am afraid of being charged with manslaughter for not being able to suspend the laws of physics against bicyclists or pedestrians.
Yes. I am saying I honestly believe I could be put in jail to punish me deliberately for the actions of others.
That's not insane. I live in Chittenden County, Vermont. Our DA, Sarah George, will not prosecute, nor even hold in detention, actual murderers. Actual murderers.
*Yes. I am saying that public behavior has pushed me to the point where my first fear is no longer "Oh my God, did I kill someone?" That's the first fear a moral person would have. It is the primary fear I had until recently.
I am now in defense mode. I care more about me than I care about them.
This is rational. This is what happens when a man or woman is pushed too far.
I affirm that you are not paranoid. If you hit anyone and there was even a mild clue to their identity as being anything other than a heterosexual white male who has never questioned his "gender identity," you would be prosecuted maliciously and gleefully and with great energy. It would require all the publicity-seeking resources at your disposal, mine, and more, to prevent a grave miscarriage of justice. Yes. You are correct. You are not paranoid.
This is no way to live, but I don't think you are being paranoid, and certainly not immoral. What is the recourse? Become a recluse, or take the onus upon ourselves to be meticulously vigilant and careful, recognizing that we cannot count on anyone else to act accordingly? When I walk on city streets, I see other walkers cross streets without a glance left or right, often with their stupid faces stuck to their phones. This is a little like shoplifting. The shoplifter will get the booty at my expense, because the shopkeeper will be forced to add in the cost of the stolen goods to what I pay for that item.
Can you start searching for possible relocation destinations? Evidently we can’t completely escape but you can definitely stay a step ahead of the insanity!
I wouldn't be surprised if they were trying to get hit, likely under the influence of a drug. As you know, I use psilocybin occasionally, but I do so carefully and responsibly. If I were tripping balls while outside around traffic, I can easily predict that I would engage in behavior that reckless, or worse.
Hmm. They did not have the appearance you would expect.
They were UVM students, trim, athletic, and dressed in winter athletic garb. The exact gear you would expect athletic and serious people who jog in winter to wear in order to jog in winter.
I'm having a hard time crediting that they were on drugs. Possible I suppose.
Yeah, it's just what Occam's Razor would suggest. Probably more likely than serious athletes who enjoy using their bodies outdoors actually trying to get injured by a car, but who knows. They could've been livestreaming about the oppression they suffer at the hands of evil capitalists who are ruining the earth with their cars and set up a close call for drama's sake, heh.
Occam's razor has to be tuned specifically to the context in which it is being used.
The Occam's razor you applied was tuned to a world that used to exist, recently.
But that world does not exist now.
College self righteous arrogance .
This is MY TOWN.
When I lived in LA, I had a young male skateboarder “hitch a ride” by grabbing onto my moving SUV on busy Hollywood Blvd where it would have been unsafe for me to slow/stop (never mind my not wanting make myself vulnerable to HIM, either). I watched in my mirror in horror as he openly laughed at me before finally detaching. People are crazy.
You might want to post this scenario and question on the Burlington subreddit, I’ve noticed discussions about crime there. (From some of the postings I’ve read there, Burlington has really gone down hill since I went to St. Michael’s in the late 1970s.)
I'm just up the road from St. Mike's. At least they still have a great volunteer ambulance crew. Helped save my life when I had a heart attack.
That’s wonderful!
A person I know is a clear narcissist. Since I have known him, he has been hit by a car three times. He is both a biker and a runner. I am convinced there is a purposeful carelessness inniges actions, because he thrives on playing victim. Who else gets hit by a car three times in the span of 5 years? Yes, I believe what you are saying. Do I know for certain? Of course not.
And yes, I have seen also some pretty awful bikers. The worst? A couple was driving down the road in front of me next to each other and they absolutely refused to make room for me to drive saved by. It was a busy road, at 5pm. I honked multiple times, but they continued to use the lane cycling next to each other.
And then dared to show me the finger when I finally was able to turn. One man. One woman. I have never been so close to wanting to hurt someone as in this moment.
Yep. I've had countless encounters like this.
Think I mentioned one on my show. A woman veered into my turning lane, crossing the solid line, paying no attention, and nearly T-boned me. We both would have been seriously injured or killed because of her irresponsibility.
I laid on the horn to to alert her. I used the horn for what it's meant for: "EMERGENCY STOP OR YOU AND I ARE GOING TO GET HURT!"
Fucking bitch put a manicured claw out of the window, holding a sandwich, and gave me the finger.
Bicycling attracts several types of, to be blunt, shitty people.
A lot of the "racing" bicyclists actually like the risk associated with tightly packed bicycle racing (which is way higher crash risk than riding even halfway correctly around traffic) and they apply that reckless attitude to riding on the road. They often drive like assholes when they're in their cars too.
Then there's the anti-car activists, which make up most of the advocacy scene. They're scared shitless to ride on most roads. They need a safe space which they want to be "protected bike lanes" on every road.
The few mostly-normal bicyclists out there try to teach that being out on the public roads (and trails for that matter) requires cooperating with others. These bicyclists often use with glasses-mounted mirrors or helmet-mounted mirrors to see what's coming from behind and utilize "control and release" when appropriate.
https://cyclingsavvy.org/2020/11/control-release-for-safe-passing/
Let's cut to the chase.
A disproportionate number of these people are actual diagnosable psychopaths, or heavy in psychopathic traits.
Having a low boredom threshold and a propensity to take extreme risks just in order to feel *something* is a known diagnostic indicator.
Yes. Absolutely. The low boredom tolerance hits the mark here as well. Most people being hit by a car once modify their behavior so it won’t ever happen again. He seems to have learned HOW to make it happen.
In my experience some walkers, more runners and a lot of bikers (both bicycle and motorcycle) seem to have an attitude of "I own the road, deal with it". Sort of an in your face dare not to yield to them, because certainly we know, regardless of how careless they are, the driver of the car will be at fault.
I had this attitude for awhile. Freshman year, I had the worst depression I've survived so far, and every night walking home from campus I would step to cross the road the instant I had the signal, without looking. I was half hoping to get hit and killed. It's an unlikely explanation for group behavior, but anger in an individual that they don't have proper skills to deal with can absolutely manifest as stupid risk-taking of this kind. Yes.
Humdeedee - /\ /\ exactly what you've said.
I can predict roughly what's going to happen in more cases with people like me who are normal and observant, and who run into situations like this.
We are being deliberately pushed. We are being baited. Directly, and with intention.
The goal is to make us snap and hurt someone. Or to maneuver us into a situation in which no action we take can stop us from accidentally hurting someone else (like in a car that can't stop on a dime just because a bicyclist wants to exercise her legal right of way).
We will be prosecuted.
Worse, posts like this will be used to demonstrate that we, the normal people, are paranoid.
It may not be a coordinated, top-down conspiracy. But these social factors are aligning in just this way.
I am correct. You had better watch out.
This is what happens in “selfless” read boundary free Marxist-communist societies. Everyone is reduced to a primitive criminal.
Yes. You are correct. It's an ongoing tactic on many levels. James Lindsay has been warning about "Drag Floyd" for awhile. Every time there's some event that correctly sparks outrage among normal people, he talks about it as the bait it really is and adds, "Do not give them Drag Floyd."
Yes. This 💯 %
I wrote a thread just this AM on the drama triangle in the Urbanists/Anti-Car/Cluster Bike Activists crowd. https://twitter.com/GreenLeapFwd/status/1629535208499298317
The discourse surrounding peds and bicyclists (who are now labeled as "vulnerable road users") has gotten to the point to where they can do no wrong because it is always the fault of the oppressive motorist no matter what in their eyes. That's in part of why jaywalking laws are being repealed. Cluster Bike Activists are hell bent on copying their strawman idea of Dutch Strict Liability which they believe a motorists is always at fault when a "vulnerable road user" is hit but they misunderstand the law https://john-s-allen.com/blog/2017/12/dutch-strict-liability-myth/
The amount of damage the've done to responsible and courteous bicyclists (I rest assure we exist..) is unforgivable not to mention having their entire advocacy oriented at hating on anything related to driving cars. Like with the Green Elites, they tend to occupy unaccountable positions at governments or at consulting firms that feed only government work too.
They also love to use the term "traffic violence" the terms "accident," "crash," or "collision" are now taboo. And it's always the "driver" who is at fault and the "people who bike/walk/etc" who are the victims.
It's a complete disconnect from human nature, Josh.
I live in Nashville and work downtown. People walk 4 abreast on sidewalks, I have stepped into the street to get out of their way. Basic societal norms are by the wayside. My husband and I have made our home our oasis and infrequently go out, usually to lunch. It's crazy out there. You're not being paranoid. Where did our world go?
Yep. Walking down any city street these days has become a game of chicken. Normal manners and courtesies are vamoose.
Special thanks to my friend Holly (read her here: https://hollymathnerd.substack.com/) for privately and publicly validating what I say.
She lives here, too, and it matters to me that someone else pops up and says "Josh isn't lying or being hysterical."
I can imagine that much of what I report from Vermont might seem like I'm the problem, or that I'm fantasizing these scenarios.
Wow, I thought I was just being more reclusive, not that I had fellow reclusives. The nastiness of social media, the abusiveness of the mainstream media, the gleeful support of tyrannical Covid restrictions- it’s like the suppressed devil inside some people has won out and now sits on their shoulders no longer whispering in their ears but shouting so loud that they cannot see or hear anyone but themselves. I find myself talking out loud to myself in public much more often. “Excuse me” and “Thank you” are two phrases most used in response to those who should of said them neglecting to do so. In the past when someone held a door open for me I would have said thank you reflexively as they would have done just what anyone would do in the circumstances. Now, I say thank you with a bit of true appreciation and wonder that such courtesy still exists in others.
Agree w every word of this. Even workers at stores will become annoyed if you need to move down an isle that they happen to be stocking in- when in the past they would have quickly moved over & have apologized for being in your way!!
Our subdivision home has rear entry driveways which mean alleyways to drive down to park your car. When you exit the alley to turn on to the street, you have a wonderful "blind" exit (or entry). Stockade fences on either side block your view. Sidewalked yards on either side mean walkers (or young bikers) walk right across the alleyway, crossing in front of any car that might be exiting. Did I mention totally blind until your car front end exits the blind fence obstacles and now sits where the "crosswalk" is prior to being able to enter on the street?
Once upon a time, when my children were young, I taught them to NOT stride (or ride) across that gap liked they owned it. People driving could not see you. And people drive down alleyways like they're Mario Andretti. It's a combination of stupid. I can't tell you how many adults just walk right out there in that FU stride. And how many drivers just barrel right through there like FU, too. I always slow down before the fence blockade ends and creep out, just in case. When my kids were little, 25+ years ago, the neighborhood was full of kids. I would have died if I had hit a child. Now it's stupid adults I have to look out for.
No one thinks anymore - or practices common courtesy. And they sure as hell don't teach their kids to be respectful and courteous towards others or to "consider the possibilities". Red light and stop sign runners infuriate me. That could be my child that they T-bone and kill if my child just happens to be driving through the green light at that intersection.
I don't know about Vermont, but here there is about a 5 second delay between a light turning red and the cross street light turning green. Our betters' attempt at curtailing the flagrant law breaking, potential death dealing activities of seriously stupid people. And that delay is on top of the 5ish second yellow light. And jack wagons STILL run the red light. It's insane. I hate driving anywhere. I've always said I'll have a stroke while driving my car because people infuriate me with the callous disregard they put on display when they are behind a wheel.
Forty years ago, in my mom's neighborhood, the "funny" thing to do was push a "friend" who was walking with the group into the street as a car approached. Ask me how I know. Those idiots grew up and contributed to the gene pool.
I live in a metropolitan area and that sounds like normal pedestrian behavior in my area - even before COVID. I'm sorry it's come to less urban parts of the country. They may not have been trying to get hit by you but they definitely don't try to get out of the way. In fact, I almost ran someone over just the other night. Pedestrians in dark clothing at night (of course - /eyeroll) were crossing in the middle of the road (not at the intersection but close) where I had a green light. I did not see them at first and only saw them when THEY realized I wasn't slowing down and hurriedly got out of the way. It was frightening. I really wish pedestrians were more careful. Oh, the one that does drive me nuts is when the pedestrians do have the right of way but walk slowly. Let's not try to actually help the other person out. Nope. Slow walk across the street with a line of cars waiting make a right turn.
It's aggression. Narcissistic aggression, these fucking pedestrians.
Someone with less control than I have is going to hurt one of them, and it's going to be their fault.
Josh, I was a bicyclist. I always hugged the edge of the road, never rode two abreast, always single file in a group. However, as a group, cyclists were held with disdain in these parts and I have actually had people in trucks intentionally drive close enough to be considered a brush up and a friend of mine was actually hit by a guy’s huge mirror sticking out from his truck. She was able to maintain control but it bruised her ribs and torqued her wrist enough to require some medical attention. I do notice people are more rude than ever. Pulling guns and pointing them at drivers who are deemed to be impeding their travels seems to be on the uptick, too. Even on these country roads in Texas. Disgusting.
I've seen it from both sides as a bike rider, too, Kathy.
Today, where I am, is different from how it was five years ago.
Five years ago I would have been writing about aggressive drivers acting awful toward considerate bicyclists.
Those do not exist any longer. It is the bikers who are aggressing.
Omgoodness yes! The bikeriders in my city now ride side by side instead of single file & sometimes 3 are side by side in the motor vehicle lanes! Even when they hear cars behind them they’ll sometimes even slow down. This is a recent development & I really think ppl are on some weird power tripping missions… masks, playing chicken w cars, etc… I avoid these groups of people.
I’ve been hate watching The Last of Us and this moment in time feels very much like that. The zombies aren’t as identifiable, but the breakdown of society and fighting for something larger than oneself is eerily similar.