I got out of a cab with my mother around 11 a.m. on the side of a busy street, and a truck was stopped at a stop light next to the cab with three “men” in the front. I looked up and they started to wave at me. I was starting to get tired of feeling helpless and giving catcallers the feeling that they won by my shutting me up, so I flipped them off and walked away with my mom. As we were walking on the side of the street, the truck moved from the middle lane to the right lane next to the sidewalk, and slowed down beside us and they told me to “say hello”.
My mom told me to ignore them and eventually they drove away since they were stopping traffic. At that moment it made me feel powerful because I actually fought back against catcallers. However as the day went on, I began thinking about what they said to me after and that maybe I shouldn’t have flipped them off because I wouldn’t have had the second encounter, or I could have done something more, such as spit in their truck window or take a picture of their truck and call the company and complain.
– Anonymous
Location: Brooklyn/NY/USA, Atlantic Avenue
Need support? Call the toll-free National Street Harassment hotline: 855-897-5910
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