This happened a while ago, and I know it’s super petty, but it’s been something nagging at me ever since it happened. I was at Walmart. Was walking down one of the main isles to get to a register (so one of the BIGGEST aisles in the store). A woman was standing in the middle of the aisle with her cart. She was not waiting in any lines, she was just standing there. As I was approaching her, she made clear eye contact with me. I saw her reach for her cart, as if she was about to move it so I could pass, but then stopped. Me, seeing her actively notice that she was in my way and seeming to disregard me completely, annoyed me. There was just enough room to squeeze past her on the side where there was no traffic (and, yes, the store was busy). As I was squeezing past, a guy said “excuse me” while passing her on the other side. She then said, very loudly: “I want to know why *you* can say ‘excuse me’ but this person can’t.” I immediately turned around and glared at her, flabbergasted that she had the nerve to say that when she was *intentionally standing in the middle of the aisle and refusing to move.* I almost always say “excuse me” in these situations. To me, “excuse me” is a way to let someone know you are needing to pass. Since this lady already saw that I was needing to pass her before I was close enough to say anything, and intentionally opted to not move, saying “excuse me” did not seem necessary (or, honestly, deserved). I probably wouldn’t have given it as much thought as I have, because it seemed obvious the woman was just being rude, but my SO was with me, and when I made a comment about the interaction, all he had to say about it was “I would’ve just said excuse me.” As if I was the problem. It made me wonder if I was being delusional. So, AITA for thinking that someone who is intentionally standing in my way doesn’t deserve my politeness?? Again, I know it’s super petty, but I want to put this stupid thing that’s been bugging me to rest. Edit: in case anyone else asks why something this small still bothers me: I honestly don’t know. I have general anxiety that is triggered in social interactions, and I have a lot of ptsd from social issues as a child, so that probably has something to do with it. But it’s honestly not that serious. Im just posting this out of curiosity and boredom.
This happened a while ago, and I know it’s super petty, but it’s been something nagging at me ever since it happened. I was at Walmart. Was walking down one of the main isles to get to a register (so one of the BIGGEST aisles in the store). A woman was standing in the middle of the aisle with her cart. She was not waiting in any lines, she was just standing there.