Do you ever pretend not to see people?

Fuzzyduzzy

Walking through a busy street yesterday and saw a work colleague that I just couldn't have been arsed to get stuck talking to. I kept looking ahead and kept walking. Pretty sure he was looking at me. Also did it recently to a relative. Is this a terrible reflection of who I am? I'm finding that same Covid conversation everyone needs to have tiresome.

Rodney Bathgate

If either ever brings it up you can just pretend it must have been your identical twin that they saw.

Charlie19

I do this all the time.

I'd rather come on here and talk to strangers;)

frag420

Mainly chuggers!

But if they persist I point to my earbuds and mime to them that I am on a call...when in reality I am listening to death metal:cool:!!!!

silent_spark

ALL. THE. TIME.

Sometimes, if I see them in time, I change direction or cross the road.

mojesius

Yes, on the train to work in the mornings (pre covid). Nothing worse than having to talk shop before 9am while standing on a packed train.

KaneToad

Occasionally.

My usual trick is to acknowledge them with a big wave & smile but to keep walking. They'll think you're on your way somewhere and time is a factor. Hopefully they don't bump into you again around the corner where you're sitting in McDonalds and dipping individual chips into your ketchup...

monkeysnapper

What I tend to do is smile and say hello and if I can't be arsed to speak to them I either keep walking or say I'm under pressure for time.

I suppose people are different , I have no problem telling people the way it is .

antodeco

This would've made The Sixth Sense alot less of a movie

BrianD3

Bad form to do that to a current work colleague, if you're worried about getting delayed by a banal conversation, just say hello and keep walking.

Having said that I do pretend not to see people but only those that I have not had any contact with for years. E.g. was in the supermarket recently and saw someone from school that I hadn't seen for nearly 30 years. Any conversation at this point would not just be a mere hello and would be potentially very awkward. Best for all involved if we pretend not to see each other.

Yes I would do this regularly, more so with work colleagues or acquaintances than closer friends though. I’d duck into a shop, hide down a different isle, cross the road etc etc.

_Brian

Regular enough.

A lad in work.

duffysfarm

i think that if you didnt want to have a boring conversation then you could have waved and said hello and kept walking, that would have been a polite thing to do imo.

if some one walked by me and ignored me i would be thinking there were a bit of a stuck up ......

if i was the co worker and some one ignored me like that and if they ever needed help at work i would be sure to return the same courtesy that they granted me:)

Fuzzyduzzy wrote: »

Walking through a busy street yesterday and saw a work colleague that I just couldn't have been arsed to get stuck talking to. I kept looking ahead and kept walking. Pretty sure he was looking at me. Also did it recently to a relative. Is this a terrible reflection of who I am? I'm finding that same Covid conversation everyone needs to have tiresome.

Sam Quentin

It happens everyone, and it's mainly because you yourself are not feeling 100% and don't want to present yourself to people in such a mood or not looking up to scratch... Bipolar people probably do it more often than most!? Which is fair enough and should not reflect badly on their character,.the next day they might keep you talking for ages...

fryup

Do you ever pretend not to see people?

isn't that what mobile phones are for??

Church on Tuesday

Only the people I deem not worth viewing anyways.

ILoveYourVibes

No.

I don't go up and talk to them. If they talk to me thats fine.

If i am in a rush ...or not in the moon i will give a little smile nod and walk on.

No big deal.

If i don't see you i really don't see you.

Just do a nod smile ..walk on. Don't be so awkward.

JohnFalstaff

It's not so bad on the street as you can give a quick wave and a hello as if you are rushing on your way to an important rendezvous.

But I hate meeting people in the supermarket as even if you stop to talk to them you invariably end up bumping into each other again at the tills and having to do that awkward 'well here we are again' thing whilst you're taking all your most embarrassing items out of your basket. Yes, I am buying a 48 pack of Tayto and 4 bottles of own-brand gin.

That's why I'm loving the masks these days in the shops. Nobody knows who anyone is. Mask and a hat and you may as well be wearing a balaclava.

Stick headphones on and just say i was in my own world...people say it all the time to me, that they saw me, but i just say i go into my own world with the headphones listening to music /podcasts

RandomViewer

Nod and walk on

Years ago I saw someone I didn't want to talk to on the street so I adjusted the angle of my head to make it appear I didn't have them in my line of sight for plausible deniability if they confronted me, and I walked face first into a lampost. There was swelling and bruising.

I still preferred pounding a lampost with my face to speaking to her.

gmisk

Yep I meet a few odd balls out walking dog...nice enough but they won't half chew your ear off

Sam Quentin

Let's face it: some people are only worth a nod and a quick how-ya....
But some people are worth: NO F#@*&+N WAY SAM QUENTIN I can't believe you're here in Tesco just like meself,.how da f#@k are ya... it's only yesterday 'John' was saying he bumped into you in Aldi, and Tommy was sayin he had great banther with you in Lidl the day before, wait'll I tell them I met you here right here in Tesco today.. yir just a legend Sam an effin Legend,see you at work in the morning.. :cool:

Hannibal_Smith

This is a pretty bad story, but I used to see this girl that I knew from school when running around doing errands for the office I worked for in the 90s. She worked nearby and the two of us were only starting out so were the general dogs bodies where we both worked so we'd see each other out and about a bit. She was dead sound and you'd always get a giggle from chatting with her. I was awful for pretending not to see people, but she was one I'd always stop and have a bit of banter with. One day I was running around trying to get to the bank and the post office before they shut and I saw her on the other side of the road and I knew if she saw me she'd cross over and stop me for a chat. But I hadn't time, so I pretended I didn't see her and kept walking. Now I was on the other side of the street as I say, so it was a perfect get out of chat clause.

Anyhow two weeks later she died! :eek: No word of a lie, died in an accident. I was never best friends with the girl, we weren't in each other's circle of friends at all, but I always know the last time I saw her I tried to avoid her! So now I'm that annoying person you see on the street that stops you for a chat!

RasTa

The stop and chat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5f2LJXz-l2k

Liamo57

Im 62 and life is short. If I meet a prize budgeen in the street or a pub, he gets the cold shoulder, simple as. If he tries to be nice to me, Im not interested. Weak people spend their lives trying to make people like them.

ClydeTallyBump

Pre-covid on public transport, yes, especially after work.

Beechwoodspark

Have had some head wrecks of work colleagues over the years and would go out of my way to avoid them outside of work so

Yes, I have avoided ppl on the street

Lillyfae

I did it during the week to someone I was actually on my way to meet. Alone time is a premium these days, I needed my 10 minutes

mistersifter

If it's someone I haven't seen in years and was never that good friends with in the first place I'll just say hi and keep walking.

Sometimes that awkward thing happens when they go to stop for a chat and you just keep going.

Mad how people feel an obligation to stop and have a "what are you up to these days?" chat. Silly shít.

corner of hells

I maintain a small drool of saliva down from my mouth to my chin , it's a fantastic way of keeping people from wanting to engage with me.

duffysfarm

duffysfarm wrote: »

i think that if you didnt want to have a boring conversation then you could have waved and said hello and kept walking, that would have been a polite thing to do imo.

if some one walked by me and ignored me i would be thinking there were a bit of a stuck up ......

if i was the co worker and some one ignored me like that and if they ever needed help at work i would be sure to return the same courtesy that they granted me:)

In my case I don’t mean I’d ignore someone, if they saw me I’d talk to them but if I didn’t feel like talking to someone and I could avoid being seen by hiding, turning away, going down to tie my lace or what ever then I would.

Strumms

I’m not very good at instigating and maintaining small talk. Hello, with a smile and or wave and keep going.

Before lockdown a girl who I’d always been on good professional terms but really scant little to do with her in a work scenario for quite a while, directly blanked me. I said “hi Nicola”... I just get, ‘the look’. The only reason being I’m thinking I was having a disagreement with her boss on a specific issue which may have impacted some of her work there. The girl in question would be very loyal to her boss, very good at what she does but is a personality vacuum and very much a ‘company’ gal.

I’m pretty much put in a situation where I’ll just have to ignore her now.

gogo

Yes often do this, you know that sinking feeling you get in tesco/Aldi and you see someone you know and you know it’s not just the first contact your going to have to bypass but every single other one in every single aisle... I’ve often considered leaving a shop and going elsewhere.

Most times a smile will suffice, but can’t be dealing with work outside work, so this normally applies to work colleagues only

Sam Quentin

Strumms wrote: »

I’m not very good at instigating and maintaining small talk. Hello, with a smile and or wave and keep going.

Before lockdown a girl who I’d always been on good professional terms but really scant little to do with her in a work scenario for quite a while, directly blanked me. I said “hi Nicola”... I just get, ‘the look’. The only reason being I’m thinking I was having a disagreement with her boss on a specific issue which may have impacted some of her work there. The girl in question would be very loyal to her boss, very good at what she does but is a personality vacuum and very much a ‘company’ gal.

I’m pretty much put in a situation where I’ll just have to ignore her now.

When you pass each other at the photo-copying booth,.just grab her slightly aggressively by her upper arm and guide her in, then just start kissing the face of her... that'll solve that 'wee' problem

I know I know I watch to many rom-coms

B.A._Baracus

We all have done it. Show me a person who hasn't

That said... When you are on the recieving end it's not nice. I personally take it as a sign to what that person really thinks of me.

Sure there are times when you just don't want to talk bs, or in a rush, be into yourself that day or whatever genuine. But I just take it at face value. You don't wanna say hello? That's fine. Next time we meet I won't say hello. Unless spoken to first.

Sam Quentin

I think the main thing is(if you know you're not a bôlox)not to take it personal,.so many people have so much going on. God only knows!?
I personally like the 'guys' who say things like:: ohhh yir talking today are ya and laugh...or.. look at you ya snob ya.. it lets you know,. it's cool it's grand we all have our of days

ILoveYourVibes

I don't think anyone has pretended not to see me ..but if they do the chances are ..i would prefer not to see them anyway. But i am just not graceless about it.

amandstu

I do it most of the time ,but I have a close friend who goes out of her way (subconsciously or consciously ,I can't say) to attract the attention of strangers on the street or in cafes.

I hardly ever get involved in the conversations and keep myself at a physical or a social distance until the conversation is over .

What is amazing though is she has never been snubbed or even made it clear to her that they have better things to be doing.

In fact they are as bad as her for chatting like this.

I am not sure if she has radar for spotting the likely targets but quite often it is simply who we are sat beside ....openers such as "I couldn't help but overhear" can be employed or "that looks lovely on you" or "what a lovely colour" etc etc

tom_murphy112

There is this guy at work, when he starts talking he really doesn’t shut-up. The conversation is the same old ramble of telling the same thing over and over again, with the occasional “you know what I mean” - but doesn’t really allow you to have your side of the conversation.

Since he is a late starter, we always have our headphones in by the time he rolls into the office. One morning I saw him walking into cubical and quickly threw on the head phones, he walked over to my desk and started to chat - But I ignored him and acted like I was listening to music (head nodding etc). Only when he walked away did I realise that my head phones wasn’t even connected to my phone !

I really feel bad - but a simple good morning, can end up costing me 30 minutes of my time with him just rambling on and on.

Hope this counts !

I don't usually pretend not to see people but I also don't have the best observational skills, someone will sometimes say "I said Hi but young didn't see me" — complete blank.

One time I did try avoid someone it backfired. I was walking down the Rathmines Road and saw an ex coming in the other direction. Quickly, I decided to pop across the road but just then a cyclist was coming, and behind that, a long line of traffic. So i stood there on the fairly narrow pavement like a freak, looking at the slow-moving traffic and pretending not to see her as she went past and she muttered "Hello" as she walked behind me. I called "Oh, Hi!" after her, but she knew.

I Am Nobody

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

I don't think anyone has pretended not to see me ..but if they do the chances are ..i would prefer not to see them anyway. But i am just not graceless about it.

I'd pretend not to see you.Just for my own mental well being.

My nearest neighbour. As much for my sake as his. I have written about him before. My existence is not good for his general well being it seems. So I do my best not to see him. Even when walking directly past him and he hisses at me.

PsychoPete

Working in a garage, some customers would drive to the garage door and expect to be served. I'd always ignore them. Some would get extremely narky about it

Ultima Thule

Dan! .........Dan!.......

retro:electro

Yes. But it’s harder now with this queuing outside every shop lark. I was walking into my local super value the other day, popping my mask on as I walked and sanitising my hands when I spotted someone I know through someone, (the worst kind of someone, you don’t know them well enough to chat naturally but enough to have to chat to them in the first place or you’ll look a prat) i spotted them and they spotted me at the exact same time just as I was approaching the queue.

They were at the end of the line meaning I would be right beside them chatting awkwardly for at least five minutes and I just could not be arsed. So I gave a little awkward wave and carried on walking and never joined the queue, just pretended I was off somewhere else even though it was completely obvious by my get up that I had intended on joining it. I was like where tf am I going. So I ended up waking a good distance down the road with my mask on and then back to my car and drove home lol.

previous user

Constantly blank people who I used to go to school with or worked with.

Montage of Feck

I pretend not to see dead people.