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by huehehue 3558 days ago
If you've ever been to NYC, this is pretty much the tour bus ticket salesmen. Some will follow you from behind with their arms outstretched in front of your face, flashing tour bus tickets.

After a particularly stressful day, one guy decides to take it upon himself to follow me like that for the better part of a city block. Ignoring him wasn't working, so I (honestly quite gently) brushed his hand out of my face, and the guy goes off, threatening to call the police and pulling in bystanders, asking if they just witnessed the terrible assault I've committed.

I guess the moral of the story is, don't work near Times Square.

2 comments

I worked in Times Square for several years for two separate companies. I could make a long list of reasons why this is a disagreeable area to traverse twice a day, but that would be an emotive digression.

Instead I'll tell you what we locals do. You'll never be bothered by any vendor again. You do this : walk quickly, purposefully, scarcely making eye contact with your surroundings. Zig zag through crowds like it's destiny.

Perhaps I've made a terrible impression on the tourists I push past, but the signal I give off to vendors is, "I'm not in scope." I even act as a sort of sociopathic enforcer, particularly against those bus tour guys who stand in busy sidewalk areas with their signs.

I have intense familiarity with NYC Paris and London,having lived in all of these places. Being polite or nice or understanding to a random stranger on the sidewalk that wants something from me aggressively is to me a test to see whether I'm a sucker. Whether I'm vulnerable.

Save your politeness for people who aren't hustlers.

Next time: sneeze on their hands.
Assault with a deadly weapon, depending on your germs.
Somebody sticks their hands in my face just as I'm about to sneeze, you're gonna have a hard time proving that one, assuming anything projected from a sneeze could possibly constitute a deadly weapon. A ham sandwich would be too large, and an unrealistic example.