A man’s tweet about a seemingly-simple everyday occurrence turned into something of a viral trend on Twitter, when his complaint about being stuck behind slow-walking people sparked a wave of similarly-furious rants.
San Francisco-based tech worker Gabe Rivera vented about that oh-so familiar – yet incredibly frustrating – situation in which you get stuck behind a slower-walking person, and have to speed up to an uncomfortable pace in order to pass them without any awkwardness or lingering.
Although perhaps not detailing the most complex of topics, Gabe’s tweet clearly resonated with the masses, and within hours, had sparked a flood of responses from other Twitter users, many of whom voiced their own feelings about similarly awful situations.
Annoyed: A passive-aggressive fast walker shared his frustrations of walking alongside another fast walker and Twitter has erupted over the relatable confession
Famous: Gabe Rivera, (pictured) is the man behind the fast walker tweet which has accumulated over 80,000 likes and 24,000 retweets
Having amassed over 80,000 likes and 24,000 retweets, Gabe’s original post inspired many to share their own thoughts on the topic, adding their two cents about what can be done in the moment to avoid any frustration.
He first shared the tweet on January 16, and since then it has only grown more popular.
‘You know how when you’re a fast walker and the guy ahead of you is fast too but only 90% as fast as you,’ Gabe wrote in the original post.
‘So, you must pass him, but to pass him you have to walk comically faster than your normal speed, or else you’ll be in his personal space too long as you pass? That’s annoying.’
Same: Gabe’s tweet went viral because everyone could relate, including this guy who drew a chart of the same scenario
Replies: Some of the replies to the tech-worker from San Francisco’s tweet were so hilarious as users shared their own personal experiences with the situation
While Gabe’s tweet was quite popular, user Chaz Hutton, replied to him with an actual chart he drew on a post-it explaining the same exact scenario, writing, ‘I drew this very thing once.’
Some of the replies were so hilarious with users writing things like, ‘the worst,’ to which Gabe responded, ‘It’s inconvenient, but a good way to let everyone else know how terribly slow they are.’
In a certain witty exchange of tweets one woman asked Gabe, ‘When you go to pass the 90-per-cent-as-fast guy, does he speed up to not let you? Because men do this to women which is even more annoying.’
Funny: People gave extremely detailed replies to the tweet because it happens to people everyday on the city streets
Hilarious: Two users had a quick and funny exchange with one another about having the situation named
True: In all of the replies, the scenarios people gave are so true, like this one which explains what some people are thinking when they pass others
He responded saying, ‘Ugh. Not usually. If you secretly record a viral shaming video of said dudes, I will RT.’
The girl immediately wrote back, ‘Hey Siri. Clear my calendar. I need to speed walk all over Manhattan tomorrow.’
Another user shared that sometimes if you walk too fast around a woman, it can be very sketchy and misleading.
Question: In a certain witty conversation, one woman asked Gabe about a situation where men are rude
Chivalry: Gabe had her back and responded like a true gentleman, saying he would retweet anyone who would do such a thing
Busy: The woman thought his response was amazing and said she was going to spend the day running around Manhattan
He wrote, ‘It’s even worse when the person in front is female and you want to overtake so she doesn’t feel that you’re stalking her but if you walk too fast to do so it sounds like you’re chasing her…’
In yet another series of witty banter, one user wrote, ‘There must be a German word for this,’ while a stranger replied, ‘Passenfreude. perhaps.’
While many people exchanged funny comments, others shared their own experiences with the situation and they’re just as comical.
Friends: One of Gabe’s friends was so confused by his fame that she asked him what was happening
Recipe: Just as shocked, Gabe explained to her why he thinks his tweet received so much publicity
One person wrote, ‘A related problem is the person who seems to defy the laws of physics and take up the entire width of the sidewalk by the way they swing their arms or veer ever so slightly from side to side while you try in vain to pass without colliding.’
While user, Matt, commented, ‘And social norms seem to make the entire width of the sidewalk the other person’s personal space. Sometimes you just have to step off the curb into the street.’
Another person shared, ‘Then you realize there’s an obstruction in front of you, say a dog or a baby in a pram or a garbage can.
‘And you need to steer right in front of him, and doing so you awkwardly cut him off, and the only thing you can do is keep going at your comically absurd speed.’
One of his followers was so surprised by the amount of retweets he got, and that was when he only had a mere 18,000.
His friend wrote, ‘Gabe. Why did this get 18k retweets?,’ to which he replied to her saying, ‘I’m surprised too, but I guess it just resonated deeply with a large enough percentage of people. And also it put something into words that rarely is.’