DEAR MISS MANNERS: In this digital age, I increasingly find myself brought up short at store entrances and exits, at the tops and bottoms of escalators and in the middle of sidewalks by people who must respond to a text immediately or edit a selfie before posting on social media.
Of course, this is nothing new, and my response has been to say, “Excuse me,” with the hope that the persons blocking my path will step to the side. But what is the polite follow-up when they do not move, and continue to block the way? (At times, I have not been able to stop in time and have accidentally bumped into them, but this does not seem an optimal strategy.)
GENTLE READER: Perhaps Miss Manners has enjoyed too much slapstick in her day, but causing a human pile-up seems to her an amusing strategy for making your point -- if only you could keep from harming anyone in the process. She supposes there is no guarantee.
In lieu of that, a gentle touch on both shoulders to physically move the traffic-blockers should sufficiently startle them into never wanting to cause the problem again.