RANT: late 20s, early 30s male, 5’9″, 150lbs with black backpack on California

[calimilhouse]

Dear Young Man,

On April 25th at approximately 7:10pm I was walking down California Ave with my mother and father (close to Seattle Fish Market). The three of us were walking side by side and taking up the entire sidewalk. As you attempted to walk by us you knocked my mother (a small 60 yr old woman) in the shoulder and jaw enough for her to fall into my father. You did not stop to apologize or excuse yourself. We yelled to you and you turned around, standing about 20ft away from us, then started throwing excuses about how you attempted to walk around her but she wasn’t watching where she was going. I stopped my 6’1″ 200lb father from laying you out. and that pretty much ruined our evening as the incident jarred my mother.

I am writing this because I forgive you. I’m sure you were having a bad day and did not feel like moving out of the way for a senior lady on her way to a nice birthday dinner. That you did not like the three of us strolling and having a good time without acknowledging your existence or pain. I hope whatever you are going through, you get through it and on other side come out a better human being.

Sincerely,
John

P.S. I have burned the image of you in my mind.

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[NoExcuse]

I agree with you there was no excuse for this man to knock into your Mother, shame on him! I have walked many a sidewalk and there is no excuse for anyone to take up the whole width of a sidewalk, when myself and my husband see someone coming towards us one of us moves to the back and makes room for the on coming person/people so no one needs to step off of the sidewalk or be knocked into like this man did to your Mother, just saying you could had gotten behind your parents so this person could pass by without hurting anyone. BUT YES he had NO EXCUSE to do something like he did!

• This reply was modified 5 years, 11 months ago by NoExcuse.

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[hightide]

Dear John,

I’m sorry that you allowed your sense of entitlement to ruin your evening. Here’s hoping you soon learn how to get along in the world with courtesy and appreciation.

Jim

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[calimilhouse]

@NoExcuse, thanks for your kind words. Of course, one of us should have moved and this would have all been avoided but we were not aware of ourselves in that moment.

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[JoB]

perhaps he wasn’t either?

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[Author]

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