Street Harassment

Here's one of my worst pet-peeves: Those idiots who feel they might as well yell stuff out their car window at you.

It's worse for women (usually regarding appearance and stuff I think), but it's happened to me a few times in just the last month. This last time I was just running around my neighborhood (it was starting to rain and the sidewalk was covered in algae, so I was probably more like jogging) when this car slowed down next to me and four boys (probably 17-19 years old) starting yelling at me. They started saying "Nice running" and stuff and laughing, then started saying "We're gonna catch you," "You better run now," etc. I knew it wasn't real but it freaked me the heck out. Luckily, I was right near my house and the car had turned behind it, so I sprinted home and locked the door before they could see where I went.

The more I've looked into this, the more I see how big of a problem this kind of thing is, so why must people do it? It honestly makes me not want to go out by myself as much. I just wish it wasn't a thing.

This can happen to all kinds of people. Back in 2001, I was walking back to my car from my place of employment (this was in a small historic town where the parking lots for local businesses were within a couple of blocks) and a group of three high school teenagers were giving me weird looks and muttering things like "beat your ass" in my direction. I kind of laughed it off but if enough of them had decided to gang up on me, I would have been in some trouble. I was a grown man at the time but it was still a bit unsettling.

It's fairly common for people that age to gang up against individuals that they perceive as "easy targets" but if they still act like that after they graduate high school (IF they graduate), it's pretty pathetic behavior, honestly.

When I was in high school, sometimes other kids would yell things at me from their cars as I was walking home but it was rare. The best thing you can do is not act afraid. Easier said than done, however, especially if they appear to be serious with their threats.

For women, absolutely it is way worse. It's a sad reminder that our society is far from civilized.

On Sunday, November 17th, 2019 at 6:45 pm, Nitrocosm said:

Ugh I'm sorry you had to experience that Sounds scary.

In all honesty, I feel like people who do that must have some mental problem. It's like they feel weak and decide to hang-up on someone just to give them a feeling of "power". While it scares me, it doesn't strike me as at all cool or bold because they're just randomly picking on a bystander in a large group. It's pitiful, really.

I'm sorry you both had to deal with stalkers and bullies like that.

I still get cat-called and inappropriate looks from men (and sometimes women!) when I'm walking by myself or going out for a run. It's annoying and honestly I don't know how in this day and age people don't know better. Toxic masculinity, especially with the gang-stalking and bullying other men.

When it comes to walking alone at night, I stay on well-lit streets but I always make sure to have my phone with me. At the first sight of something sketchy like a stranger saying something to me, I get my phone out and call an emergency contact. They'll be able to hear everything going on and send the police if it turns ugly.

You can't be too careful.

On Sunday, November 17th, 2019 at 9:41 pm, bates said:

Yes, it is. Bullies do what they do because they feel inferior and have to make themselves feel powerful by dominating others.