This is part of the Monday series “Street Respect. “Street respect” is the term for respectful, polite, and consensual interactions that happen between strangers in public spaces. It’s the opposite of “street harassment.” Share your street respect story and show the kind of interactions you’d like to have in public in place of street harassment.
My husband and I were out running with our dog in our neighborhood. We decided to grab some sandwiches on our way back home. Of course I was dressed in tight running pants and a bit flush from our workout. I was outside the shop alone with our dog when a group of 6 or so men came out of a store and started walking down the sidewalk in my direction. I immediately got nervous when they started to look at me, I was totally a target for some sort of comment. But I was totally surprised as they walked by. Some smiled and nodded politely and one guy engaged me in a pleasant conversation about my dog’s breed and how he had had a similar dog as a kid. He then told me to have a nice day and the group walked off.
Moments later we were walking back and passed this same group of guys, hanging out by a car, on one of our neighborhood streets. They just waved politely. It certainly made me feel very good!
– Tanya
Location: Olympic and Vermont, Los Angeles, CA
