So this happened today and I’m still kind of in disbelief.
I was crossing at a zebra crossing like normal. First car didn’t stop and just flew past, so I thought “alright, pay attention here.” Next car stops, I wave thanks, all good.
Then I get to the second half of the road and there’s a van coming. I’m literally just watching it to make sure it’s slowing down before I finish crossing. Standard stuff, right? Not staring him out, just… not wanting to get run over.
He stops. I cross. I even give him a little wave to say thanks.
Out of nowhere he shouts: “You don’t have to f**ing stare at me.”*
I’m like, “It’s a zebra crossing.”
Next thing I know, he’s jumped out of his van and is right in my face, properly aggressive, saying I shouldn’t be staring at him. I told him I was just watching his van to make sure it was stopping and that I even waved to thank him.
Didn’t matter. He kept going. We ended up shouting and swearing in each other’s faces in the middle of the road.
I honestly thought it was about to turn into a fight. I’ve never reacted like that before either, I usually avoid stuff like this, but something just kicked in and I stood my ground.
Eventually he backed off, got back in his van and drove off.
Now I’m just sat here thinking… how did I nearly get into a fight for literally crossing a road properly and being polite?
Also weirdly can’t even remember what the guy looked like. Whole thing was just a blur.
People are mental.