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“Made me feel unsafe in a place where I usually feel safe”

July 22, 2018 By HKearl

I had just gotten off from work after a 2-9 shift at a local restaurant. I stopped at the atm up the street from my house to deposit my tips from the day. While I was finishing up the deposit, a man walks in behind me and says “big winner,” to which I reply “yeah” without looking back. I retrieved my card and made for the exit, but the man was already standing to the side of me and goes “my turn” and then a few seconds later when I was at the exit he calls me a dick.

Not wanting to engage any further, I said nothing and made for my car. When I was about half way to my car, he runs into the parking lot and yells, “F**king c*nt!”

I sprint to my car and drive off as quickly as possible, thinking he is in pursuit. I drove to the exit of the parking lot and stopped to call the police. He saw me stop and was banging on the glass pointing at me from inside of the ATM. He must have figured I was calling the cops because he ran to his pickup truck and drove off. I decided it was not worth it to speak to an officer as I had no idea who this man was.

This incident made me feel unsafe in a place where I usually feel safe, it made me feel confused as to what set this man off, and it made me feel angry that he was able to get away with it. It also makes me feel bad for his next victim, as I’m sure there will be one.

Forgive me for not jumping up and down to befriend you at 10 p.m. while I’m completing an ATM transaction after a 7 hour shift. I will definitely be more cautious the next time and hope I am never caught in a situation like this again.

– BC

Location: Milford, CT

Need support? Call the toll-free National Street Harassment hotline: 855-897-5910

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SSH will not publish any comment that is offensive or hateful and does not add to a thoughtful discussion of street harassment. Racism, homophobia, transphobia, disabalism, classism, and sexism will not be tolerated. Disclaimer: SSH may use any stories submitted to the blog in future scholarly publications on street harassment.
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