Maybe this is not the worst kind of occurrence, but I would still call it harassment.
I look alternative, with piercings and ear tunnels, and although this should not even be an issue, I tend to dress in a way that covers me up pretty much.
So, I was on the bus, minding my own business, surfing the Internet on my phone, when this posh guy sat down one seat away from me and put his man-bag on the seat beside me. He asked me where the bus was going, and I told him very, very curtly. It was pretty obvious I am not a person up for small talk. Two minutes later, he asked me where I was from, and he had to ask, like, 3 times until I even looked up, startled, because I was so immersed in texting a friend. I started shouting at him so that the whole bus would hear and I told him to stop harassing me. Of course, the inevitable nonsense followed, he called me rude and badly educated (as if that mattered) and made it seem like I was the aggressor.
Maybe I don’t get something here, but I was quiet, I was sitting in the corner minding my own business, and I paid for the bus ticket like everybody else, so I should also be allowed to ride the bus in peace. It was so clearly a power thing, because that type of person would probably call the police if an alternative/goth etc person moved in next to them.
We must react, we must shame these men, let everyone know their real face, and we need laws to protect us, asap!
Do you have any suggestions for dealing with harassers and/or ending street harassment in general?
– Anonymous
Location: London, UK
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