I live in a great city for walking, so I get honked or hollared at on a fairly regular basis. The worst are the guys that pace me in their cars, especially when I’m with my kids.
Once, I was walking home from the grocery store with my 7-year-old stepson and my infant daughter. This guy slowed down and said, “Hey” or “hi” or whatever.
I said a quick, “Hey” and literally scurried across the next cross street. I was hesitant to confront the guy because I was worried about the safety of my children and you never know how a guy is going to react.
Instead of driving off, he pulled up a bit and paced me again asking, “How are you doing?”
I stopped and said, “I’d be a whole lot better if you weren’t doing this.”
He responded with, “I understand,” and drove away.
At first, I was relieved and thankful that he left without incident, but then I got angry. If he understood that pacing a woman with his car to hit on her could make her uncomfortable, then why in the hell did he do it?
At least I got an opportunity to educate my boy on how this sort of thing affects woman and hopefully he’ll grow up into a respectful man.
– Robyn
Location: Portland, OR
