UPDATE to the Change.org Petition!!
Remember this? — “Banjo Billy’s Bus Tours have been helping tourists fall in love with Boulder, Colorado with their nautical bus decorations and fun stories about local folklore since 2005. However, they took their goofy humor too far when they installed a button that the driver can push to make the bus produce a loud and cartoonish wolf whistle towards a women as the bus passes her.”
The woman who started the petition after being the target of their wolf-whistle just sent out this update:
“After my petition reached a few hundred signatures, I contacted my local radio station, KGNU. They featured me on their Friday morning show, and contacted the bus company about my petition. Banjo Billy’s has since commented on the petition “We meant no harm by the wolf whistle. Our female drivers use it with male pedestrians as well. We were an equal opportunity whistlers. The horn also barks, whinnies like a horse and quacks like a duck. Either way, we have removed the wolf whistle from our repertoire.”
Even though I feel as though this is kind of missing the point (it does not matter if men are being wolf whistled at if women are being negatively impacted.)
I am excited that the button has been removed. Thank you so much to all of the supporters of this petition, you have helped to positively effect change in our community.
Sincerely,
Esme Rodehaver”
Verbal street harassment is so normalized that it can be hard for people who aren’t impacted by it to understand it at all, so I’m not surprised the company didn’t really get it and why perhaps they shouldn’t honk/make ANY noise at persons walking down the street, female or male. But I’m glad they at least agreed to stop using the wolf whistle; change has to start somewhere. Congrats Esme for bringing this issue forward and holding the company accountable!
