I was walking home on the left side of a busy street one night. It was about 10:30 or 11 p.m. on a Friday, so not that late. I was wearing a jacket, jeans, and some cute shoes, but nothing that I would consider to be all that sexy. A man in a nice SUV was driving on the street going the same direction as me. He honked at me and startled me, and when I didn’t respond to him, he turned around in the middle of the road so he could drive up beside me (I was on the sidewalk with about 3 feet of grass between me and the curb).
He asked if he could take me out sometime, as if I were a call girl. I politely said, “No, thank you,” but he persisted. I again said I was flattered but not interested, and I walked away.
I never felt unsafe, but I felt really uncomfortable.
I am really baffled by his behavior. We had never met – he knew nothing about me, nor I anything about him, so why would I agree to go out with him? Why would he persist after I said no? It just seemed really creepy and inappropriate, even though he was polite about it. I tried to be polite to him because I worried that if I was rude (deservedly) or told him off, things might escalate, even though it was a busy street. I should have said something more to him to indicate that what he did was not cool and that he should not try this on other women.
Sadly, I think there will always be men who believe that they have a right to treat other people (usually women) this way.
– Anonymous
Location: 16th St NW, on the border of the Mount Pleasant/Columbia Heights neighborhood, Washington, DC
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