“This man gets out the car and starts following me”

It was around 10 p.m. and I was walking home from a friend’s house. My friend lived a little less than a mile away from me. Walking past a bodega, a tall man spoke and immediately asked for my number. I replied, “No thank you” and I kept walking.

About five blocks later, this same man pulls up in a car. A woman was driving. the man motioned me to come closer to the car, kind of like a, “Hey come over here” wave. Frustrated, I told him to fuck off.

Next thing I know, this man gets out the car and starts following me. It was the weirdest thing. Once I started walking faster, he started running towards me. Then I took off running. The man chased me and I finally got to the main street (at the time I lived right on 7th Ave) and didn’t see him behind me.

Once I put my key in the door, I looked over my shoulder and saw him in the car pointing at me and they drove off. what the fuck was that? I’m still confused about the whole thing. It happened 3 years ago. What was this man trying to do? Was he trying to heal a bruised ego by harassing someone who turned him down? How could a woman take place in the harassment?

What hurt the most was when I called two of my closest friends (roommates who are both male) to come by and just hang with me until I felt safe and they chose to stay at some party. Was I wrong to think that I needed a trustworthy man around to help the situation? Or is it wrong for men and women alike to think that the only time a woman is in danger is AFTER she’s been physically violated? I guess it’s wrong for both.

– Anonymous

Location: Harlem, NY

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