[kleiba]

There were times in my life (thesis writing) where I'd go and sit in the library all day to work and come home in the early evening. The psychological stress on me during that time was tremendous. Every evening, after coming home, I'd have a small dinner and then go for a one-hour walk, always the same route. At that time, I lived in a small town, and my route would take me down a dead-end street, across another one, and then on to the fields where there weren't any cars and hardly any people. Just a wide space with a bit of a view. This was usually just before sunset. Continuing on, I would eventually get back to a different part of the town I lived, I had to climb up some stairs and walk through a quiet neighborhood before getting back to my own street. All in all, it took around one hour to walk that way.

I believe that this process really helped me save my sanity during that time of extended mental stress. I could literally air our my brain, and also get some mild physical activity after sitting in the library all day. I tried really hard not to think about my thesis, but just to take in the scenery, the light, the wind. Sometimes it rained. It was really healthy.

In contrast, I remember a former co-worker telling me about a road trip they once did. I think it was in Arizona, but I might be wrong. Anyway, after driving for many hours, they decided to take a break and just to walk down the road for a few minutes before hitting the road again.

So they pulled over and started walking. Sure enough, in no time, they get stopped by the cops who inquire what the heck the are doing! They weren't walking on the road or in any otherwise dangerous fashion -- but apparently in that area, just being out and about on foot was enough of a reason to be considered suspicious. :-)

[aninhumer]

If someone gets out of their car in the middle of nowhere and starts walking, it's fairly possible that they've broken down or run out of fuel, in which case the police could help them out.

I don't know how the interaction in question went, but it's possible they were just interpreting an earnestly concerned police officer as suspicious because of a (justifiable) distrust of police.

[fuzzywalrus]

Maybe this is my Northwestern showing but as a (nearly)lifer of the Pacific Northwest, I can honestly say that if I see someone walking, I assume they're out for a walk even when I lived in a town of 2500. I imagine this is the privilege of living somewhere known for natural beauty because I think "Why wouldn't you want to be outside?"

It's fascinating to read about inherent fear of being questioned. I don't think its ever crossed my mind, and its not uncommon to see cars parked along side random roads all through Oregon and Washington. I guess I'm lucky in this regard.

[sliverstorm]

HN is full of people who are paranoid about the NSA, CIA, FBI, and local police department. Right or wrong, I don't think it's representative of the attitude general population.

[Declanomous]

To quote Nirvana: Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't after you.

I wouldn't say the general population trust police officers. Being able to trust the police is a form of privilege that minorities, the poor, etc. often don't have. Most individuals from an upper-middle class background don't have reason to distrust the government.

The people on HN are probably an exception. I think perception of law enforcement depends largely on whether a person has found the authority figures in their life to be benevolent or malicious. Authority figures, especially law enforcement, tend to view those outside the norm with suspicion.

[VMG]

Reminds me of this story

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pedestrian

> Eller writes that Bradbury's inspiration for the story came when he was walking down Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles with a friend sometime in late 1949. On their walk, a police cruiser pulled up and asked what they were doing. Bradbury answered, "Well, we're putting one foot in front of the other." The policemen didn't appreciate Ray's joke and became suspicious of Bradbury and his friend for walking in an area where there were no pedestrians. Using this experience as inspiration he wrote "The Pedestrian", which he sent to his New York agent Don Congdon in March 1950. According to Eller, "[the story's] composition in the early months of 1950 predates Bradbury's conception of 'The Fireman,'" the short novella that would later evolve into Fahrenheit 451.[2]

[noonespecial]

This happened to me in a small rural town in Iowa in 2013. It was so rare to see a younger guy in a hoodie walking around my parents' neighborhood that residents called the police. I was taken back to my parents house in the back of a squad car to "verify my identity". I was curtly informed that "just going for a walk" was probably not a good idea.

I have never felt more dystopian.

[chippy]

talk to your local volunteer politicians, you know, the ones on your town council, who may well be ex hippies, or at least understand what you are concerned about.

[jon-wood]

Nice story, it also reminds me that Farenheit 451 also featured the protagonist walking when everyone else is driving so it must have made an impact on him.

[RobertoG]

"but apparently in that area, just being out and about on foot was enough of a reason to be considered suspicious."

Maybe, this is an American thing. Some colleagues of me explain how, in a job trip to Atlanta, they decide to go back to the hotel walking. They could see the hotel from where they were, so, why not?

Sure enough, the police stopped them and wanted to know what was wrong.

They have a lot of fun explaining it.

[JustSomeNobody]

Sometimes police will stop people who look the complete opposite of suspicious just to make sure they don't need help.

[RobertoG]

Yeah... but because they are walking..

I think that say something about how the city is designed.

[ethanbond]

Younger US cities aren't designed for walking so yes it looks weird when you're walking around.

I don't know anything about Atlanta but in Arizona, per parent comment's story, for example, it's strange to see people walking around because it's way too hot in 80% of the state to walk around for leisure. On top of that, the towns are so spread out that it makes no sense to walk from point A to point B.

So if people are walking around, they're doing so aimlessly in a climate that is not really conducive to doing so. It seems reasonable to think they're either in trouble or up to trouble.

[coldtea]

>I don't know anything about Atlanta but in Arizona, per parent comment's story, for example, it's strange to see people walking around because it's way too hot in 80% of the state to walk around for leisure.

I don't think it has anything to do with the temperature.

You see tons of people walking around in cities in equally hot or hotter climates, from Cairo to the tropics...

[ethanbond]

EDIT: Leaving my comment for posterity, but on second thought with a bit of reframing, I think you're right. If it weren't quite as hot out, people probably still wouldn't walk around all that much. This can probably be attributed to the horrible experiment that is The American Suburb.

ORIGINAL: You're overlooking a lot of important factors.

Distance: I highly doubt people in Cairo are walking 10+ miles to the nearest market.

Attire: If walking around in the summer in Arizona raises suspicion, I cringe to imagine what suspicions would be raised by doing so in long flowing robes that cover skin head to toe.

Sweat: In my experience in the tropics, being a bit sweaty is quite normal and acceptable. In The South (the southeast) it seems more acceptable, but in the dry Arizona desert, it's not quite normal to be drenched in sweat.

Air conditioning: AC is everywhere in Arizona. As such, the mode of survival is getting from AC to AC as quickly as possible. If AC weren't everywhere, people would probably find sweat more acceptable, but... it is.

Skin tone: I'm pasty white and was born and raised in Arizona. In my travels to the tropics I never once ran into a person as white as me who enjoyed walking in the heat.

All of these together make walking pretty rare. Sure, if people didn't have another option besides walking you'd have a population of fit, well-tanned Arizonians all over the streets. Markets would probably be built closer to homes and suburbs would shrink. People wouldn't need cars and would probably be more comfortable without AC 24/7. As a result, a bit of sweatiness would come to be expected and wouldn't be a source of self-awareness. But that's not the reality of that region.

[cylinder]

The whole point is that walking is seen as highly unusual. We understand that the reason is poor city planning. We don't need to empathize with the cop. It's just ridiculous it's gotten to this point.

[alphapapa]

The only parts of cities like that that are actually "designed" are the downtown and a few special developments. The rest just grows as people move and buy land and open businesses.

Most people drive cars, and most people prefer having some room to breathe, and there's no shortage of space, so lots are made big enough to have parking and empty space, etc.

There's not some kind of anti-walking design conspiracy here.

[TulliusCicero]

This is incorrect. American cities are usually designed around car dominance, at the expense of walking. Examples include:

- Primary metric for road design and evaluation being "level of service", which means "how many cars can move through here in a given period of time". Pedestrians are second-class citizens.

- Minimum parking requirements subsidize car use and make urban environments pedestrian-unfriendly by spreading out points of interest.

- Zoning regulations mandating that most of a city's residential area consist of detached single-family homes on large lots, mixed-use generally limited or non-existent.

- Under-investment in transit (transit use is generally paired with walking at the start and end).

- Freeways running all the way into and through cities split urban areas into sections that are difficult to navigate between by walking.

I could go on and on about how American cities are hostile to walking, but that covers some of the big ones. It's true that these decisions have or had popular support, so it's not a conspiracy, but it was certainly designed.

[greenleafjacob]

That stop is illegal under Terry if the police lack reasonable suspicion that the person is both armed and presently dangerous.

[aninhumer]

I'd guess that in the context the parent is talking about, "stop" just means driving up and talking to them, not actively detaining them.

[JustSomeNobody]

Yes, this is what I meant.

[wil421]

Really depends where you are walking in Atlanta and if you look out of place. Where they walking in the road or look confused?

Certain areas can be no loitering zones. Other areas are known drug zones and you can be arrested for going there without a clear purpose.

[marcusgarvey]

>Other areas are known drug zones and you can be arrested for going there without a clear purpose.

How could this be a lawful arrest?

[wil421]

Let's say your a drug addict but don't happen to have anything on you, they look you up and your background has prior arrest for drugs. Maybe you look like your on drugs and have all the tell tale signs. In this case your gonna go to jail.

What if you're a tourist or someone who got lost trying to go to find Ikea. They would hassle you and most likely give you a lecture then lead you out of the area.

These types of areas have signs. If you are interested why they have such areas watch Snow on the Bluff, it's a very accurate depiction.

[lgieron]

> Maybe you look like your on drugs and have all the tell tale signs. In this case your gonna go to jail.

Wait, the illegal possesion laws extend to the drugs being already in your blood?

[slededit]

Public intoxication is a crime.

[YZF]

About 10 years ago myself and a few co-workers (from Canada) travelled to Wilmington, Delaware on business. We check in to a hotel in downtown Wilmington and inquired as to the nearest restaurant. We were given some pointers, told it wasn't too far, and decided to walk. It was after business hours and the streets were pretty deserted, no cars or pedestrians. 10 minutes later a police cruiser pulls up besides us and the policemen inside inquire to what we're up to and then inform us this isn't a safe place to be walking around and tell us to head back to our hotel. After that they pulled up in front of some random house and one policeman was taking cover behind the cruiser while another was knocking on the door. Both of them had their hands on their guns as far as I recall.

Anyhow, we ended up eating in the hotel...

Walking in the USA. :)

That said there are cities or at least parts of cities in the US that are no problem. I've walked around San Francisco, New York City, Seattle amongst others and always felt perfectly safe. I think one big factor is public transport. If you have public transport you have people walking; at least to it and back.

[maroonblazer]

There are parts of downtown Atlanta that are dangerous to walk in, especially at night. The police may have thought the colleagues needed help.

[Spooky23]

A guy I went to high school with is in the process of walking across the United States. He's pushing his gear in a cart that looks like a baby carriage. His first week on the road, someone frantically called the cops to report a man walking down the road with a dead baby in a stroller.

[hrayr]

I think you may be referring to this guy. He did an AMA on reddit [1]. He also posts updates on his instagram[2].

[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/4iqo3g/im_the_guy_wal...

[2] https://www.instagram.com/bendoeslife/

[Spooky23]

Different dude... This guy is going the opposite direction. Good guy going on a pretty neat adventure.

https://altamontenterprise.com/05062016/one-step-time

[jff]

Man, how many people are doing this? There was a guy on the Something Awful forums who tried this, but his cart was a tow-behind bicycle trailer that he was pushing by hand and a wheel broke after less than 20 miles... also he hadn't been eating anything so he called an Uber and went home. It's probably for the best because his route took him through Nevada and New Mexico in the height of summer.

Does your friend also cite Hobo Nick as inspiration?

[vram22]

>walking across the United States

Long back I had read an article or series in National Geographic about an American who did that - walked from coast to coast. Great story.

[dalke]

Probably https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Walk_Across_America :

> Walk Across America is a nonfiction travel book first published in 1979. It was the first book written by travel author Peter Jenkins, with support from the National Geographic Society. The book depicts his journey from Alfred, New York to New Orleans, Louisiana. While upon his journey of self-discovery, he surmounted the travails of travel, engaged himself in others' lives, lost his best friend, experienced a religious conversion, and courted a new wife.

[vram22]

I read that Wikipedia page you linked to, and others linked from it. Interesting stuff. The info about "The Farm" :) (where Jenkins stayed for a while) and "The Publishing Company" run by The Farm made for nice reading about alternative / appropriate tech, etc. People were doing this years ago. I've mentioned this in a few forums, about people like E. F. Schumacher. Done a bit of it myself, like biogas plants, organic gardening, etc.

[vram22]

Cool. I think it is the same person.

[parennoob]

> Sure enough, in no time, they get stopped by the cops who inquire what the heck the are doing! They weren't walking on the road or in any otherwise dangerous fashion -- but apparently in that area, just being out and about on foot was enough of a reason to be considered suspicious. :-)

...and sometimes this attitude of "people who are walking around are suspicious" can lead to pretty dire consequences if your skin is the wrong color: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/indian-grandfather...

[ocschwar]

In parts New Mexico and Texas, if you're driving and see someone walking, it's considered proper to stop and ask if he's hydrated. Never mind whether he has a reason to be walking there.

[agumonkey]

One hour of above moderate walk will do wonders. If you have subtly wild natural spots to go through, it's guaranteed. Japanese researchers are looking into the benefits of forest walking. There's a subtle complexity in non human processed places that tickle our senses in deep ways. It's as stressing as massaging.

[seanmcdirmid]

I was jet lagged at a resort hotel in Tucson, and decided to walk to a Starbucks at 4 am in the morning. It took around 3 hours (I misjudged the distance) on partially rural desert roads, beautiful stars at that time in the morning with tall cactus silhouettes in the background (was close to the mountains, while Tucson is very good about keeps light pollution down). No police, but the walk back was a pain with the Arizona sun out by then.

[z3t4]

If I would see some dudes walking along the road in nowhere, I would probably also stop and ask if everything was ok, or call the cops.

[SilasX]

In college (small Texas city), I lived in an apartment just catty-corner to the university, but some parts of it lacked a sidewalk (though still had a curb). When taking the 10-minute walk home, some people would stop and assume I needed a ride!

[sirtastic]

Walking meditation is a thing. I found it highly effective in my life and a big part of why I'm an avid hiker/backpacker enthusiast.