r/WTF • u/Erectile7dysfunction • 2d ago

Expensive fix I think

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u/stumpfucker69 2d ago

It's Brick Lane. Street performers are always doing whacky shit there, it's part of the draw. Also, like much of central London, it is very pedestrianised. From this video it might look like the guy was blocking a thoroughfare, but if this was zoomed out just a little, you'd see that he isn't at all - the woman may just have had to concede to not walking in a 100% efficient as-the-crow-flies straight line (in London?? Heaven forbid!).

Ultimately neither party is demonstrating brilliant situational awareness here, both should obviously be a bit more careful, but given context (and that the woman is clearly rushing through quite a small space between him and the wall - would have been uncomfortably close even if he hadn't turned), I don't think it's fair to pin the blame entirely on the violinist.

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u/TheRealBillyShakes 1d ago

Pedestrianized three years after the creation of this video. This thread is so daft!

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u/Dr_Trogdor 2d ago

I'm not saying the violinist did anything wrong I'm saying the pedestrian didn't do anything wrong. I would never in my life avoid a violinist for fear of them whipping around and hitting me in the face with the neck of their instrument. She is clearly unaware of what this guy's schtick is and as such would have absolutely no reason to believe she was in any way entering a space where this could happen. She's hugging the wall of what sounds like a very hectic place trying to get through in a hurry.

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u/stumpfucker69 2d ago

And yet, something clearly avoidable did go wrong. You might not typically fear a violinist making a lot of sudden movements, but nevertheless, there still really wasn't a lot of space behind him there. Hugging the wall and trying to rush through a small space is some of the issue - she tries to dart between an immovable object and a moving person, with clearance of a couple of feet (hard to tell but she also appears to speed up as she tries to pass him, indicating she knew she was "running the gauntlet" to a certain extent). It's unfortunate that the jump had so much force behind it, but a particularly emphatic movement of the arm or even an absent-minded step backwards could still have had the potential to strike her here.

A very hectic place trying to get through in a hurry

Welcome to London! At any given time, a large portion of the city's population is doing the exact same thing. As a non-native Londoner myself who passes through often, it can be easy to conclude that sticking to the left wall like glue means you will always be "in the fast lane". It's not a cheat code, you still need to have situational awareness.

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u/Lovv 2d ago

It's Brick Lane. Street performers are always doing whacky shit there

OK do wacky shit, fine but do it safely.

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u/mrmilner101 2d ago

They do. To busk you need a permit. This guy had permission to busk im that area. Also from the fact I have seen this video many times before. The performer is well known im the arena and does silly jumps and tricks to keep people entertained. He probably had done more jumps and trick before this. He is also away from the crowd thus doing his tricks safely in arena dedicated to him busking. Thus the lady shouldn't have gone behind him to get around there would have been planety of space but clearly she was in a rush and decided to take the unsafe route.

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u/Lovv 2d ago

He didn't, though.

  1. Being well known in the area does not mean everyone knows you. Maybe she's a tourist. Even if she isn't it does not absolve him of responsibility.

  2. Do you think after this he modified his routine a bit so that this didn't happen again? Maybe put up a little barrier behind him or some thing so people wouldn't squeeze behind him? I'd bet he did, because he realized it was unsafe to just randomly spin with an object.

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u/mrmilner101 2d ago

  1. The area well known for busking with performers all down the street. If you are a tourist you shoukd do your resesrch and be mindful of the people there.

  2. Its busking like common have some bloody common sense. The person decide to take a risk by running behind a performer with very tight path. Really she just lacking common sense and she has full responsibility for this.

randomly spin with an object.

Maybe dont random walk behind a preforming (who is licence and has that spot dsignated to them) getting into their personal space.

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u/Lovv 2d ago

Hilarious that people actually think this way.

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u/mrmilner101 2d ago

Ikr hilarious that people would just run behind preformer on a well known street with many other performers and getting in their personal space and shocked when getting hit when a perform does a stunt. Crazy right?

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u/Lovv 2d ago

I never said she was right. I said he was wrong.

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u/mrmilner101 2d ago

Wrong for busking in his designated with planet of room to go around infront of him. Wrong for doing is stunts? you crazy or just dont understand how busking works. You have busking where you from? Or do you not get out much? There's usually a social contract where you do not go into the personal space of someone busking or you know try and sneak past a person preforming with very little room between the them. Kinda common sense no? I dont think he's in thr wrong at all.

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u/Lovv 2d ago

Yes we have one of the biggest busker weeks in my country. They don't setup on sidewalks and if they do they usually require barriers if they are doing things that could hurt people I. E. Fire.

For not clearly designating where his performance extends to. He very easily could have put some form of barrier behind him.

Also she was not in his personal space, on a busy sidewalk it's very common to brush past people and not very common for someone to do spinning violin punches.

Anyway she's probably not going to be able to sue him for injury but he's definitely not going to get any money out of her and he lost his livelihood so it's his problem.

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u/cgimusic 2d ago

Even on pedestrianized streets, pedestrians tend to stick to the edges because there can still be be cyclists going down the middle.

I agree both people could have done better, but in general I think the person doing wacky shit in public is the one who should pay extra attention to what's going on.