- He saw me walking.
- He walked into the grass & mud when I was 15m away.
- He continued to walk in the grass & mud past me.
- When he was past me for an additional 10m, he walked back onto the sidewalk.
Yeah I was wearing what I think is pretty good style (picture attached), but was that all the reason to get his sneakers wet and muddy?
There was plenty of space on the sidewalk for us to just, walk on our respective right sides.
Need perspective of some men.
Picture of my outfit.
Edit 1
I am going with "DeltaWingDragon"s response. Most likely a covid era leftover behavior, especially because I was wearing a mask and he was not.
Edit 2
For the men posting about not wanting to be a threat, in this case I think it would have been best for you (not him, as his reason is unknown and likely what the precious edit mentioned), is to pass by while following the sidewalk sharing rules (move to your right side of the sidewalk) and nodding a "good morning" or whichever time day it was as you go bye, without shifting much eye focus from the path you're walking.
Please don't internalize that you're a threat, you can be much more then what you're painted as.
Can't speak for every guy, but some of us will make sure to give extra room on the sidewalk to purposefully indicate that we're not a threat. A bit of mud is a small price to pay to know that we have prevented even a modicum of fear from springing up in the hearts of a random passerby.
Many of us understand why women choose the Bear over the Man.
"Dangerous by default" is one hell of a thing to internalize ๐
Speaking for myself, it's more like "I know I can look intimidating, and I don't want you to feel uncomfortable, have a nice day". I know there's nothing wrong with me, but other people have had bad experiences.
It's a bit white knight core ngl. Personally, I do avoidance but it's cause I'm uncomfortable with the people not because I want to make them feel better ๐ญ
"White knight" indicates an unstated intent to build a reputation to eventually earn rewards.
Some of us just don't want to start shit.
IDK about "white knight"; I first heard the phrase "dangerous by default" from a black man recounting how he got nervous being on an elevator with a white woman.