Feeling Like An Idiot In Antwerp

Ever since the traffic policeman threatened me with a 50euro fine for crossing a road while the pedestrian light was red, and followed that up with an outraged yet long suffering threat to involve the police and impose 12 hours of jail time because I had no identity papers, I have a deep-seated aversion to breaking any kind of law here.
Today ... January sales madness hit Antwerpen streets ... there were people everywhere. So there I was, standing on the curb, obediently waiting for green lit permission to cross a particular road, and I felt like the village idiot as people looked left and right, and without breaking their stride, crossed that damn road, leaving me alone on the other side.