Thread by @ChloePees

I’ve noticed the whole pandemic this weird thing where I’ll be walking down the street and someone will lock eyes with me and suddenly walk straight towards me then change course right before they collide with me, almost like a glitchy NPC.

I don’t know why people do it but it’s scary! Has anyone else experienced this in cities or otherwise? It’s like they’ll be walking straight not towards you but opposite direction adjacent you then see you, make intense eye contact and jerk into a path directly towards you... 😟

I’m in NYC. Is this some kind of intimidation thing that young people are doing? Like remember when there was that thing online where women were walking at men to see if they’d move if they didn’t move for them and were colliding with strangers on the street because of it

Only other explanation I can think of is that they’re in a shocked daze about how surreal it is out with everyone in masks and other post apocalyptic vibes and they’re already dazed from being on phones all day and suddenly snap out of it and remember they’re going the wrong way

And it’s like maybe they’re not looking at any person specifically maybe their gaze just rests on whoever is in front of the direction they suddenly realize they need to go and maybe they don’t think anyone will notice because of masks and everyone else being in a daze themselves

But I swear every time it happens I feel like the person is about to stab me or something

Doesn’t help that there are stories every day of strangers stabbing strangers unprovoked on NYC subways in the middle of the day

The explanation I’d think of if I heard this would be “they’re actually looking at you because they’re just trying to coordinate with you so they can merge into your line of walking and get past you without collision” but this is different, the actual experience is not that

Like I’ve experienced the unspoken walking coordination eye contact, I mean ffs I worked in a restaurant it was like my entire day. This is not that. This is something more sinister...

But the question is, is it really, or am I reading it as more sinister because eyes without nose or mouth come across more sinister and mysterious than an entire face? I don’t know.

It hasn’t happened in maybe like a month (I’ve been out more sparingly because of the cold and snow and ice) but it still sticks in my mind as one of the most surreal things I keep seeing during the pandemic.