LA woman out for a walk says man insisted she use the road so his dog could have the sidewalk: ‘I assume you’re smart’
A walk that turned into a lecture on sidewalk entitlement.
What was supposed to be a normal walk on the streets of Los Angeles unexpectedly turned into an encounter where a woman was allegedly told to walk on the road instead of the sidewalk to make way for a man’s dog. The woman was left even more confused when the man turned the encounter into a lecture on entitlement.
The incident was shared by Banbeige (@banbeige) in a TikTok video that has garnered over 565,100 views. According to Banbeige, the encounter took place months before she posted the video, while she was walking alone through the streets of Highland Park in Los Angeles, California, during the day.
During Banbeige’s walk, she came across a man walking with his dog. Although it wasn’t made clear whether she and the man were walking in the same or opposite directions, the man allegedly stopped to confront her about giving him and his dog space to walk on the sidewalk.
Man talks about shared entitlement
“I live in the hills, sidewalks are narrow. Months ago this guy walking his dog yelled at me (a woman walking alone),” Banbeige told viewers in her video’s caption. She alleged that the man had yelled at her after being left in disbelief that the TikToker didn’t move from her spot on the public sidewalk. “What, you’re gonna make me and my dog walk in the street?” the man told Banbeige, based on her account.
In the video, the man can be heard telling Banbeige that if a car were to pass by, it would be harder for him to move his dog out of the way, before going on to discuss who is entitled to the sidewalk.“It’s harder to get out of the way of a car,” the man said. “So, I know that you feel entitled to the sidewalk, but call me entitled to the sidewalk. So, it’s a shared entitlement.”
The man seemingly tried to make Banbeige, who remained silent the entire time, understand his point of view—even going as far as to question her intellectual capabilities. “I assume you’re smart as a human being. It’s harder to maneuver a person and a dog,” the man said, before telling Banbeige he would “do my best” to stay out of her way.
The man’s explanation that it could be more difficult to quickly avoid oncoming traffic while directing a four-legged companion out of the way is valid. However, allegedly making a person step off the sidewalk to make space for you is a different matter altogether.
Dog walking etiquette dictates handlers should make space for pedestrians
According to Omega Law Group, pedestrians have the right to use Los Angeles’ sidewalks. As public spaces, sidewalks must be shared with others, including street vendors, bikers, and various subgroups. Legally, the man has no grounds to ask Banbeige to move off the sidewalk simply due to limited space unless the TikToker does so of her own accord.
Instead, this situation highlights the importance of dog walking etiquette. Generally, handlers are encouraged to yield to oncoming pedestrians. FluffyPuppy suggests that dogs should be kept by the handler’s side to provide a clear path for others on the sidewalk. In other words, it’s the handler’s responsibility to maneuver their dog to avoid obstacles, or in this case, people, on the path.
In Banbeige’s comment section, viewers expressed confusion over the man’s reasoning and questioned why he felt the need to escalate the situation. “What is he even saying,” a commenter wrote. Another chimed in, joking, “Even his doggo is looking for a way out of this convo.”
Others felt like the interaction didn’t deserve any acknowledgement from Banbeige. “My nana always said these type of men just talk to hear their own voice,” one commenter said. Some were a bit more blunt in how they would’ve reacted to the confrontation: “I would’ve walked away mid sentence.”
Banbeige’s video, fortunately, ended without much fanfare. Amid her apparent confusion, Banbeige told the man that they “were all good” before leaving him on the sidewalk. This isn’t the first time a sidewalk encounter left someone confused, like the time a woman was accused of stalking someone after standing on a corner. Banbeige later wondered in her caption, “Is this how men act now? so cringe!”
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