Day 14: What Did Batman Say To Robin

Holy Unsafe Crossing Batman! That Guy's Walking Illegally Across The Street Without The Security Of A "Cross" Signal And/Or Crosswalks!

Today we discuss J-walking, the ultimate in living on the edge of danger (next to running with scissors, using paint thinner in an unwell ventilated area and using an aerosol can in a way other than directed).We've attacked why people do it, but I think the more hard hitting question is, "Why is it called J-Walking?"

My Partner In Crime's Response:

J-walking is illegal, yet you wouldn’t know it living in New York or Chicago. It doesn’t even feel slightly dangerous when I do it anymore, because no one thinks twice about dashing across a however-many-lanes highway on a mad dash to work or to pick up the kids or in an attempt to juggle all the impossible tasks we thrust upon ourselves on a moment-to-moment basis.

Yet when I do it, I am still breaking the rules of both the law and of common sense. Why do I think it’s a good idea to play Frogger with garbage trucks, semis, and sports cars just to get to where I’m going just a few minutes earlier?

Therefore, j-walking is named after the Blue jay. Blue jays are birds that defy the laws of nature. First of all, they’re blue. What other animal is blue other than some cartoon characters? Also, they are known to attack cats when the felines get too near their nests. Yeah, that’s right: The birds attack the cats. This freak of nature doesn’t follow the rules, so, naturally when someone saw the bird walk across the street – instead of fly, of course – they huffed and thought, “Typical. That strange blue bird is refusing to fly and instead is walking across the street. It’s Blue jay walking.” And of course the phrase “blue jay walking” was shortened to just j-walking through history like virtually all sentences or phrases during the game Telephone.

My Response:

This is a solid argument my Partner In Crime has posed. However, let me know lay down some knowledge on your ass. J-walking as we know it is when someone crosses the street either outside of the crosswalks or when s/he does not yet have the right of way.

That said, J-walking is usually done by idiotic people. They can be white, black, brown. It doesn't matter. Idiocy does not discriminate. These people are usually on the phone not realizing they do not yet have the right of way, are black and walk too slow, old and walk too slow, are a child and walk too slow with an irresponsible adult who is either black and/or on the phone. They can be a business man/woman trying to get to work 47 seconds earlier. A tourist who is simply a moron and does not understand what the colors of red, yellow and green mean. It simply does not matter.

For this reason J-Walking is derived from "Jarboni Walking" as in, "Ayo! Look at that jabroni walking across the street that just almost got hit by a car and doesn't realize it!" or "God damn that jabroni walking across the street just got hit by a car."

Origins of this term are murky, but trust me, dear reader, I have researched this topic for almost 4 minutes. Dating back to 1775 "Jabroni Walking" stems from Paul Revere's famous midnight ride. When the British started crossing the streets, without use of crosswalks mind you, Paul Revere rode his horse and exclaimed, "Jarbonis are walking! Jabronis are walking!"

A bucket wench responded, "Oy, whaut in the bloody 'ell are you tawlkin abote" (Apparently she was lower class British and Canadian). Not having enough time to explain, Revere tweaked his statement. "The British are coming! The British are coming!" Everyone then came up in arms, and that, as they say, is history.